Wireless Access Point Vs. Ad Hoc Network
Some people confuse wireless Access Points with Wireless Ad Hoc networks. An Ad Hoc network uses a connection between two or more devices without using a wireless access point: the devices communicate directly when in range. An Ad Hoc network is used in situations such as a quick data exchange or a multiplayer LAN game because setup is easy and does not require an access point. Due to its peer-to-peer layout, Ad Hoc connections are similar to Bluetooth ones and are generally not recommended for a permanent installation.
Internet access via Ad Hoc networks, using features like Windows' Internet Connection Sharing, may work well with a small number of devices that are close to each other, but Ad Hoc networks don't scale well. Internet traffic will converge to the nodes with direct internet connection, potentially congesting these nodes. For internet-enabled nodes, Access Points have a clear advantage, with the possibility of having multiple access points connected by a wired LAN.
Read more about this topic: Wireless Access Point
Famous quotes containing the words access, point and/or network:
“Lesbian existence comprises both the breaking of a taboo and the rejection of a compulsory way of life. It is also a direct or indirect attack on the male right of access to women.”
—Adrienne Rich (b. 1929)
“A route differs from a road not only because it is solely intended for vehicles, but also because it is merely a line that connects one point with another. A route has no meaning in itself; its meaning derives entirely from the two points that it connects. A road is a tribute to space. Every stretch of road has meaning in itself and invites us to stop. A route is the triumphant devaluation of space, which thanks to it has been reduced to a mere obstacle to human movement and a waste of time.”
—Milan Kundera (b. 1929)
“How have I been able to live so long outside Nature without identifying myself with it? Everything lives, moves, everything corresponds; the magnetic rays, emanating either from myself or from others, cross the limitless chain of created things unimpeded; it is a transparent network that covers the world, and its slender threads communicate themselves by degrees to the planets and stars. Captive now upon earth, I commune with the chorus of the stars who share in my joys and sorrows.”
—Gérard De Nerval (1808–1855)