Editing Wi-Fi (section)

==== Ad hoc and Wi-Fi direct ====
Wi-Fi also allows communications directly from one computer to another without an access point intermediary. This is called [[wireless ad hoc network|''ad hoc'' Wi-Fi transmission]]. Different types of ad hoc networks exist. In the simplest case, network nodes must talk directly to each other. In more complex protocols nodes may forward packets, and nodes keep track of how to reach other nodes, even if they move around.

Ad hoc mode was first described by [[Chai Keong Toh]] in his 1996 patent of wireless ad hoc routing,<ref>{{Cite patent|country=US|number=5987011|title=Routing Method for Ad-Hoc Mobile Networks|status=|pubdate=16 November 1999|gdate=|invent1=Toh|inventor1-first=Chai Keong|inventorlink=Chai Keong Toh}}</ref> implemented on Lucent WaveLAN 802.11a wireless on IBM [[ThinkPad]]s over a size nodes scenario spanning a region of over a mile. The success was recorded in ''Mobile Computing'' magazine (1999)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mobileinfo.com/education/magazines.htm|title=Mobile Computing Magazines and Print Publications|website=www.mobileinfo.com|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160426220723/http://www.mobileinfo.com/education/magazines.htm|archive-date=26 April 2016|access-date=19 December 2017}}</ref> and later published formally in ''[[IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications]]'', 2002<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Toh|first1=C.-K|author-link=Chai Keong Toh|last2=Delwar|first2=M.|last3=Allen|first3=D.|date=7 August 2002|title=Evaluating the Communication Performance of an Ad Hoc Mobile Network|journal=[[IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications]]|volume=1|issue=3|pages=402–414|doi=10.1109/TWC.2002.800539}}</ref> and ''ACM SIGMETRICS Performance Evaluation Review'', 2001.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Toh|first1=C.-K|author-link=Chai Keong Toh|last2=Chen|first2=Richard|last3=Delwar|first3=Minar|last4=Allen|first4=Donald|date=2001|title=Experimenting with an Ad Hoc Wireless Network on Campus: Insights & Experiences|url=http://ftp.math.utah.edu/pub/tex/bib/toc/sigmetrics.html|journal=ACM SIGMETRICS Performance Evaluation Review|volume=28|issue=3|pages=21–29|doi=10.1145/377616.377622|s2cid=1486812|access-date=8 October 2021|archive-date=2 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211202183049/http://ftp.math.utah.edu/pub/tex/bib/toc/sigmetrics.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

This wireless ad hoc network mode has proven popular with [[multiplayer video game]]s on [[handheld game console]]s, such as the [[Nintendo DS]] and [[PlayStation Portable]]. It is also popular on [[digital camera]]s, and other [[consumer electronics devices]]. Some devices can also share their Internet connection using ad hoc, becoming hotspots or [[virtual router]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://techsansar.com/internetworking/wireless-home-networking-virtual-wifi-hotspot/|title=Wireless Home Networking with Virtual WiFi Hotspot|last=Subash|date=24 January 2011|website=Techsansar|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110830150439/http://techsansar.com/internetworking/wireless-home-networking-virtual-wifi-hotspot-2946/|archive-date=30 August 2011|url-status=live|access-date=14 October 2011}}</ref>

Similarly, the Wi-Fi Alliance promotes the specification [[Wi-Fi Direct]] for file transfers and media sharing through a new discovery and security methodology.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.networkworld.com/news/2009/101409-wi-fi-direct.html?hpg1=bn|title=Wi-Fi Direct allows device-to-device links|last=Cox|first=John|date=14 October 2009|website=[[Network World]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091023052219/http://www.networkworld.com/news/2009/101409-wi-fi-direct.html?hpg1=bn|archive-date=23 October 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref> Wi-Fi Direct launched in October 2010.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wi-fi.org/news-events/newsroom/wi-fi-gets-personal-groundbreaking-wi-fi-direct-launches-today|title=Wi-Fi gets personal: Groundbreaking Wi-Fi Direct launches today|date=25 October 2010|publisher=[[Wi-Fi Alliance]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626120701/http://www.wi-fi.org/news-events/newsroom/wi-fi-gets-personal-groundbreaking-wi-fi-direct-launches-today|archive-date=26 June 2015|url-status=live|access-date=25 June 2015}}</ref>

Another mode of direct communication over Wi-Fi is [[Tunneled Direct Link Setup]] (TDLS), which enables two devices on the same Wi-Fi network to communicate directly, instead of via the access point.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wi-fi.org/knowledge-center/faq/what-is-wi-fi-certified-tdls|title=What is Wi-Fi Certified TDLS?|publisher=[[Wi-Fi Alliance]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141108145755/http://www.wi-fi.org/knowledge-center/faq/what-is-wi-fi-certified-tdls|archive-date=8 November 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>