Spec to bring enterprise mgmt. to P2P Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi Alliance develops new protocol for stations connecting directly

Industry analysis by expert Joanie Wexler, plus links to the day's wireless news headlines

The Wi-Fi Alliance -- a self-described marketing organization chartered to accelerate the use of wireless LANs -- is increasingly inventing and promoting the use of new Wi-Fi protocols. The latest example is a spec for direct, peer-to-peer Wi-Fi connections that's likely to trump the IEEE's ad-hoc mode specification written into the original 802.11 standards.

The alliance is nearing completion of its Wi-Fi Direct protocol, which specifies how enterprise management, security and other features can extend to laptops, handsets and other Wi-Fi stations conducting peer-to-peer Wi-Fi sessions.

By way of background, IEEE 802.11 standards define infrastructure and ad hoc modes of operation. Infrastructure mode, predominantly used today, has all clients communicating through an AP. In ad-hoc mode, by contrast, communication takes place directly between two Wi-Fi stations, such as two file-sharing laptops or a laptop and a Wi-Fi-enabled printer.

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The Wi-Fi Alliance -- a self-described marketing organization chartered to accelerate the use of wireless LANs -- is increasingly inventing and promoting the use of new Wi-Fi protocols. The latest example is a spec for direct, peer-to-peer Wi-Fi connections that's likely to trump the IEEE's ad-hoc mode specification written into the original 802.11 standards.

The alliance is nearing completion of its Wi-Fi Direct protocol, which specifies how enterprise management, security and other features can extend to laptops, handsets and other Wi-Fi stations conducting peer-to-peer Wi-Fi sessions.

By way of background, IEEE 802.11 standards define infrastructure and ad hoc modes of operation. Infrastructure mode, predominantly used today, has all clients communicating through an AP. In ad-hoc mode, by contrast, communication takes place directly between two Wi-Fi stations, such as two file-sharing laptops or a laptop and a Wi-Fi-enabled printer.

Traditionally, many businesses have disabled ad-hoc mode because they enforce corporate security policies at the AP and AP-connected switches and gateways. Users who communicate in ad-hoc mode bypass those security measures, something that should be corrected with the new spec.

Edgar Figueroa, the Wi-Fi Alliance's executive director, says that each pair of Wi-Fi stations will become its own network domain that can exchange discovery and capabilities information with the AP WLANs. The P2P communication -- which has historically taken place "off net" -- could now also participate in the radio frequency management, power management and channel coordination capabilities of the WLAN, giving IT control over the quality of the sessions, he says.

The Wi-Fi Alliance expects to begin certification for Wi-Fi Direct in mid-2010. It does not certify products for 802.11's ad-hoc mode.

Note that some Wi-Fi vendors are already building products using Wi-Fi chipmaker Atheros' existing Direct Connect P2P Wi-Fi technology. Andy Davidson, senior director of software engineering at Wi-Fi chipmaker Atheros, says Direct Connect will be compatible with Wi-Fi Direct.

Read more about wireless & mobile in Network World's Wireless & Mobile section.

Joanie Wexler is an independent networking technology writer/editor in Silicon Valley.