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How to create and configure an AD HOC wireless network to share the Internet? Step by step guide

How to create and configure an AD HOC wireless network to share the Internet? Step by step guide

AD HOC WiFi networks are the most used in homes and also in companies with small numbers of integrating devices. It has the great advantage that resources can share and its assembly is very fast.

Thanks to this kind of decentralized network we can access the different nodes in a direct way without having to resort to a structure managed by a router. In this way the data information that comes and goes through the members of the network is very active.

We will show you the different components that an AD HOC network has and we will also show you how to configure one of these networks in a safe way, showing you the advantages and disadvantages that it has.

What is an AD HOC WiFi network and what can it be used for?

An AD HOC network is a type of wireless network that is characterized by being point-to-point and where its nodes can communicate with each other without relying on a fixed infrastructure as long as each of the components of the network have the same hierarchical level.

That is, since there is no structure or anything, we will not need routers or access points for communication between the reception and sending of data between these nodes.

When an AD HOC wireless network exists, its components communicate with each other carrying and bringing in the information that exists in the network, making it a very dynamic way of forwarding data.

This class of networks handle IEEE 802.11 type standards . If other devices need to be connected, these nodes can quickly integrate into an AD HOC network and belong to it with a certain range.

AD HOC wireless networks are used primarily in home networks where no greater complexity of installation is needed.

They are also used when there are civil or natural emergencies of different scales, because they are easy to implement and by not having a managed structure the nodes can work perfectly.

It is widely used when you need to share information or file between different computers or devices that belong to the wireless network.

While it is true that they do not have access to the Internet, this can be solved by applying cards that adapt to the AD HOC mode settings connected through the same username or SSID, or through USB tethering or tethering .

These issues, Internet connection, we will see at the end of this post.

What are the components needed to create an AD HOC network?

Cuáles son los componentes necesarios para crear una red AD HOC

The elements we need to be able to build an AD HOC network are the following:

  • Network interface board, as every network needs each node to have these cards to be able to access the support of the specific wired network scheme.
  • For those wireless networks what we will need will be wireless network cards to connect to each other.
  • Workstations, which may be computers or mobile devices, which we will call in the future, network nodes.
  • Shared resources , it is generally the main purpose of an AD HOC network, and it is to share the different peripheral resources among the members of the network, for example, a printer.

What advantages and disadvantages do AD HOC wireless connections have?

Like any decentralized network structure, it has advantages and disadvantages, which are mentioned below:

Advantages

The advantages of this kind of networks are the following:

  • They are of easy to assemble , simply the configuration has to be done in each node in a very simple way. Windows offers the possibility in a few steps to configure each computer.
  • You can share files and data in a faster way since being all interconnected does not require a process management to go to a leader or master and then return that information or file to another node.
  • You can share the Internet connection with other devices, doing this an important advantage because with very few resources we can get some computer to work as a modem for the others.
  • In the beginning, are cheaper than other managed networks, no extra costs are required as determined wiring for connection to the router.

Disadvantages

Among the disadvantages of this network we can name the following:

  • When the nodes are interrelated, when one disconnects probably the network is disarmed or at least nodes within reach of the one disconnected.
  • The security is very low in this type of networks , since all the nodes are connected to each other if an intruder enters any of those nodes can belong quietly to the AD HOC network as a whole.
  • The elements shared in this class of wireless networks is also a problem since they need all users or nodes to have access to the hardware or file to be shared for it. It is necessary to have accounts enabled in each of those devices to access the hardware or file that is needed.
  • Antennas, with this element we will gain in signal and avoid interference between nearby devices.

Steps to securely configure an AD HOC wireless network

Pasos para configurar de forma segura una red inalámbrica AD HOC

Next, we will show the steps we need to do to configure a wireless network of AD HOC features.

Installing wireless network cards

If our computers do not have these boards installed we will have to do it so that they can communicate through radio waves.

Address configuration

In order to configure the NICs that we will have in each of our work teams we will have to perform the following steps:

  • We choose effectivelyHomeART
  • We look for the option “Control Panel”
  • And we choose “Network Connections”
  • At this moment all NICs will appear, select the one that corresponds and right click

Creation of the network

At this time, we will see a window with a menu in which we will have to:

  • Search for option «Properties»
  • We search sufficientlyApplication
  • Choose “Networks wireless ”
  • We add the AD HOC network we want to have
  • Next, we choose « Accept »

Choice of network name AD HOC

  • We choose the SSID, which is the name we will give to the network
  • It will ask if we need to connect even if the network is not broadcasting, which we will choose not to get more security
  • We look for the “Network authentication”
  • option and choose “Data encryption” , in which we can put disabled
  • We activate the option «This is an AD HOC team-to-team network. No wireless access points are used »
  • We click on“ Accept ”

Creation of IP on the network

In this step we will generate different IPs for each member of the network, for this we will follow these steps:

  • We chose to activate «Use Windows to configure my wireless network settings»
  • We look for our network with the name we gave it, that is our SSID
  • We choose the tab GeneralGeneral
  • What we will do now is create IP manually since we will not have DHCP servers
  • Select «Use the following IP address»
  • Enter the IP address and subnet mask
  • Next, select “Use the following address DNS ” for which we will write a default mask, for example 255.255.0

Network connection

The last step we have left is to connect to the AD HOC network we have created:

  • We go to the taskbar and right click on the wireless network
  • Select the option “See all”
  • Choose the network that we have created
  • We click on clearlyConnect

What are the best alternatives to AD HOC to share the Internet?

Cuáles son las mejores alternativas al AD HOC para compartir Internet

When we want to transmit the Internet in the AD HOC network, we can convert one of the nodes into a modem and thus obtain as a result that each component of the network has access to the Internet.

There are different ways, of which we will mention 2 below:

Tethering

With this mechanism we can convert any member of a network into an Internet transmitter, making it become a gateway.

In order to configure an iPhone mobile device as Tethering, we will have to follow these options:

  • Select «Settings»
  • Click on «Cellular data»
  • Choose « Share Internet » and we activate this option

If our device is Android, we will do these steps:

  • We will go to «Settings»
  • We choose the optionMore instead
  • We click on «Wireless and networks»
  • We look for the option «Share Internet and WiFi zone»
  • We choose «Create point of WiFi access »

If we want to configure our computer with Windows operating system we will do this guide:

  • We select «Home»
  • We choose «Settings»
  • We click on «Network Internet »
  • We select « Zone with mobile wireless coverage »
  • We look for the option« Share my Internet connection with others devices » and we click on it
  • We choose the name of the network and its access password
  • We choose « Save »

USB anchor

Converting a device through a USB tether means that we will connect our mobile device with a computer through a cable so that it can act as a modem.

For this we will perform these steps on our mobile with Android operating system:

  • Select «Settings»
  • Click on keyMore
  • We look for the option «Connections»
  • Select “Shared connection and modem”
  • Click on the “Shared connections” option
  • Finally we press accounAccept for

For Apple brand devices we only have to keep in mind that our iTunes is connected to the latest updated version.