What is WiFi Direct? Samsung - WiFi Direct

There are many terms that are incomprehensible to ordinary users, which is why it is worthwhile to deal with each of them. You may be interested in the question of what is WiFi Direct. This technology was announced a long time ago, it was intended to simplify the installation of communication between a pair of separate Wi-Fi-devices. In a way, this is a Wi-Fi-based Bluetooth. From the first it is distinguished by greater speed and distance, and from the second - simplicity of tuning and safety. And everything seems to be fine, but it's really worth considering.

A bit of history

To understand what WiFi Direct is, you need to look into the past. For the organization of wireless communication of consumer devices, Bluetooth, which is rather simple, differs by a short range, low cost and quite reasonable energy requirements, was used directly. In our time, when smartphones almost overtook computers in performance, I want something more. And here it is worth noting that there is Wi-Fi, which works faster, it has more range, but there is an important nuance.

The original idea was that Wi-Fi can work in two modes: direct, when several devices organize a simple peer-to-peer network, and an infrastructure one that uses an access point, which is a kind of arbiter of traffic. The second option developed over time and moved forward, and the first was simply stuck in the nineties: now it is not supported by all household devices, it is characterized by low speed of operation, and also by insecurity. That is, it is dangerous, uncomfortable and completely inapplicable, so modern Wi-Fi simply can not do without an access point.

And how are things now?

Manufacturers of household Wi-Fi so want to simplify the lives of modern users, that home access points at the moment there are almost no settings, and many of them work directly from the box on defaults. Many users simply do not know how to turn on WiFi. It is this factor that has allowed the emergence of a huge number of free Wi-Fi from the best Internet providers. This was the reason for such a strong promotion of Wi-Fi, but it also gave birth to many myths about the insecurity of such connections. All of the above led to the fact that the priorities of vendors were replaced in favor of a simple and secure wireless network. This is where the question arises: what is WiFi Direct.

Features

This method of connection has many advantages:

- a secure direct connection between devices, installed similarly to Bluetooth, that is, you just need to select from the list a suitable element, without thinking about PSK and SSID;

- The speed of these networks is much faster than traditional Bluetooth;

- A much larger distance between devices is allowed;

- a high degree of reliability and security is guaranteed by the constantly running WPA2, which can not be disabled.

Implementation

So, what is WiFi Direct becomes clear, it remains to understand the issues associated with the delicacies of providing such access. The adoption of a new amendment to the 802.11 standard will take several years. It was decided to contrive within the specifications and standards currently available.

Each Wi-Fi device actually has a software access point that can declare itself, as well as the capabilities of the device, and supports WPS. Depending on what kind of gadget is in front of you, you can implement some additional functions, for example, routing or switching traffic.

Thanks to the implementation of SoftAP to a device that has WiFi Direct support, you can also connect ordinary gadgets that have the ability to work with WPA2. The device with an advanced module can simultaneously be connected to Wi-Di and Wi-Fi, which provides tethering.

What does this give?

The result of all these developments is the user's ability to connect directly to the printer and print photos from the camera, or simply send them to a digital photo frame. The guest will be able to broadcast video directly to your TV, without the need to waste time on connecting the local network and stuff. This will all happen quickly and easily. Samsung WiFi Direct chipsets already exist, as well as products from other manufacturers.

Specifications

So, if we talk about what is WiFi Direct, then on the hardware level it does not differ much from the usual Wi-Fi-module. It turns out that the technical characteristics of the new solution almost coincide with modern wireless networks. New gadgets will be compatible with existing Wi-Fi devices. Most new chips assume a 2.4 GHz operation, so they should seamlessly interact with earlier versions of the 802.11 standard, and in some cases, compatibility with 802.11n is expected. Modules will operate at a frequency of five megahertz, which will allow them to connect to newer networks. According to the information provided, it can be understood that most of the chips can support both frequencies.

WiFi Direct is not always a one-on-one connection

The fact that this standard is designed to connect two devices to each other does not always mean that the possibilities will be limited only by this. You can create a connection between entire groups of devices, for example, working on WiFi Direct Windows 7. Such configurations are supposed to be used for multiplayer games. In this case, players will not need access to the Internet or any mobile or other coverage. Even in desert conditions, they will be able to form a small wireless network if the devices are placed within reach of each other. In this case, not all network participants must support this standard. Just one WiFi Direct chip is able to take on the task of coordinating the traffic passing between devices with Wi-Fi modules.

It is worth noting that sometimes creating groups is not possible, because some gadgets were originally created only for one-on-one connection. The specifications of the standard do not contradict this, since the ability to connect to multiple users is an option. For each particular device, there is a description in which it is said about this parameter.