Mobile Computing

Devices on the network all communicate through a single access point: a device that allows wireless devices to connect to a wired network using Wi-Fi Problem: the large overhead of maintaining the routing tables; Mobile Ad-Hoc Network (MANET) It is a continuously self-configuring, infrastructure-less network of mobile devices connected without wires Each device is free to move independently in any direction, and will therefore change its links to other devices frequently. Hence, it has a dynamic topology.The primary challenge in building a MANET is equipping each device to continuously maintain the information required to properly route traffic; Challenges Infrastructure-less design adds difficulty in fault detection and management Dynamic topology results in route changes and packet loss Scalability is still unsolved, challenges include addressing, routing, configuration management, interoperability, etc. Varied link/node capabilities cause variable processing capabilities Energy constraints limit processing power; ad-hoc networks rely on each node being a “router”