| The advent of ubiquitous computing and the proliferation of portable computing devices have raised the importance of mobile and wireless networking. Recently, there has been a tremendous interest in broadband wireless access systems, including wireless local area networks (WLANs), broadband wireless access, and wireless personal area networks (WPANs). This domain is a subject of huge research and many standardization activities are undertaken throughout the world.
Based on the most recent developments in the field of wireless technologies related to WLAN, WPAN, wireless sensor networks (WSN) and wireless metropolitan area network (WMAN), this book gives a detailed description of the widespread or recently used standards like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, ZigBee, and WiMAX. Our book aims at regrouping in a single volume up-to-date information related to these different technologies, which can be used separately or combined to provide specific applications. The emergence of these very promising systems is mainly due to great technological progress in the field of wireless communication protocols; they will also make it possible to offer a broad range of new applications in both civilian and military domains. The inherent characteristics of these systems imply new challenges. Our book deals with several relevant topics related to the evolution of these spontaneous, selforganized, or cellular-based networks. Through its seven chapters, we tackle critical problems such as the design of medium access control (MAC) and routing protocols, the support of the quality of service, the security mechanisms, the mobility/roaming aspects, etc. We preferred to follow an analysis-oriented approach which aims at drawing up complete states of the art on both technology and standards.We also present some practical aspects and highlight some trends as a stake for future standards. This book is intended for readers with knowledge of networking and protocols. The audience includes network engineers, designers, implementers, undergraduate/graduate/postgraduate students, and information systems managers. |
