A Survey on IEEE Standards for Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

Mobile Ad Hoc Networks ( MANETs ) are complex distributed systems that comprise wireless mobile nodes that can freely and dynamically self – organize into arbitrary and temporary “ ad hoc “ network topologies, allowing people and devices to internetwork in areas with no pre – existing communication infrastructure. Adhoc networking concept is not a new one, having been around in various forms for over two decades. Unlike traditional mobile wireless networks, ad hoc networks do not rely on any fixed infrastructure. Instead, hosts rely on each other to keep the network connected. The growth of laptops and 802.11 / Wi – Fi wireless networking has made MANETs a popular research topic. The introduction of new technologies such as IEEE 802.11, 802.15, 802.15.4, 802.16, 802.20 are helping to enable eventual commercial MANET deployments outside the military domains. These recent evolutions have been generating a renewed and growing interest in the research and development of MANET. This paper attempts to provide an overview of this dynamic field. It explains the important role that mobile ad hoc networks play in the evolution of future wireless technologies, its characteristics, capabilities and the architecture of MANET. It also explains the IEEE standard 802.11 for Wireless LANs ( WLANs ) and all the circumventing design issues and how it can be used to enable ad hoc networking.