Wireless Networking: Introduction to Bluetooth and WiFi

'Wireless Technologies: An introduction to Bluetooth and WiFi' starts from the ground up for a new user and does a gradual progression into the technical details around wireless communications. There is also a deep dive into two of the most widespread wireless technologies - Bluetooth and 802.11 WiFi. The latest update adds information about Bluetooth Low Energy and Wimax Networks.

A wireless network is a flexible data communications system, which uses wireless media such as radio frequency technology to transmit and receive data over the air, minimizing the need for wired connections. Wireless networks are used to augment rather than replace wired networks and are most commonly used to provide last few stages of connectivity between a mobile user and a wired network.

Wireless networks use electromagnetic waves to communicate information from one point to another without relying on any physical connection. Radio waves are often referred to as radio carriers because they simply perform the function of delivering energy to a remote receiver. The data being transmitted is superimposed on the radio carrier so that it can be accurately extracted at the receiving end. Once data is superimposed (modulated) onto the radio carrier, the radio signal occupies more than a single frequency, since the frequency or bit rate of the modulating information adds to the carrier.

Bluetooth and WiFi have dramatically altered how people use devices to connect and communicate in everyday life. Bluetooth is a low-power, short-range technology for ad hoc cable replacement; it enables people to wirelessly combine devices wherever they bring them.

Conversely, WiFi is a moderate-range, moderate-speed technology based on Ethernet; it allows people to wirelessly access an organizational network throughout a campus location. Although the technologies share the 2.4 GHz band, potentially overlapping applications, and have been pitted against each other in the press, they do not compete and can even been successfully combined for corporate use.

1. Overview on Wireless Technologies, Usage Scenarios and related Taxonomy
2. Bluetooth Architecture: Protocol Stack, Baseband, Link Manager Protocol, Logical Link Control and Adaptation, Service Discovery, Cable Replacement, Telephony
3. Bluetooth Adopted Protocols: PPP, TCP/UDP/IP, OBEX, Content Formats, WAP
4. Bluetooth Usage Models: File Transfer, Synchronization, Three-in-One Phone, Ultimate Headset
5. Bluetooth Specifications: Bluetooth 1.0 and 1.0B, Bluetooth 1.1, Bluetooth 1.2, Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, Bluetooth 3.0 + HS, Bluetooth 4.0 + LE (Bluetooth Low Energy), Bluetooth 4.1, Bluetooth 4.2, Bluetooth 5
6. Bluetooth Connection Establishment, Bluetooth Security
7. Wireless LAN and 802.11 WiFi: Architecture, 802.11 Physical Layer, 802.11 Data Link Layer, 802.11 Security
8. 802.11 Standards: 802.11 b, 802.11 a, 802.11 g, 802.11 n MIMO, 802.11 ac Wave 1 and Wave 2, 802.11 ax
9. Comparative Analysis of Bluetooth and WiFi along with lesser known technologies like HyperLand and HomeRF
10. WiMax Networks: Forum, WiMax Protocol, WiMax Architecture
11. Zigbee: Architecture, Zigbee Device Types, Zigbee Network Model
12. Wireless Communications Usage scenarios and a market focussed future outlook

This book is a great pick to use in an introductory class on Wireless Communication Networks and is used by universities around the world for a Wireless Networks 101 course.

This book is also a great place to start for marketing and industry focussed readers as the book goes beyond the 802.11 technology and elaborates a more consumer centric, usage focused detail of the industry.