Ad-hoc WiFi networking

[shaunp]

Hi all, I've set up ad-hoc WiFi networks on a Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition handheld and have had some difficulties doing things that are relatively easy with a WiFI access point and doing other things that are tricky enough on their own. Can y'all help me out?

1) Is there any way to get a list of all machines (e.g. IP addresses and MAC addresses) attached to an ad-hoc network? For example, I'd like to setup an open network and know how many machines are attached at a given time and how to reach them over the network.

2) Is it possible to query an ad-hoc network to determine if there are any web servers, FTP servers, VNC servers, etc. present and, if so, which IPs/MACs are associated with them? I believe this is called service discovery. Also, I need to detect servers even if they are configured to use non-standard port addresses (e.g. at web server at TCP port 1000 instead of 80). As an aside, I'd imagine that machines on an ad-hoc network should be able to select which servers they'd like to make public. I believe this is called service advertisement.

3) Is there a way to refer to machines by name instead of by IP address on an ad-hoc network? For example, everytime a specific device is added to a particular ad-hoc network it is known as "Foobar" by all other machines (i.e. so http://Foobar in a web browser would work).

4) Is there any way to restrict membership to an ad-hoc network such as via a MAC filter list or using a personal certificates?

5) Is it possible to ensure all communications on an ad-hoc network are encrypted and readable only by members of the network?

For all of these scenarios, I'd like to find a solution which works with Mac OS, Windows, Windows Mobile, etc. without requiring any proprietary software to be installed on any machines (i.e. any required software would preferably be based on existing standards with s/w available on multiple platforms). Largely, this is because I want to work with open networks where any type of machine (such as Linux) can attach and accomplish the above tasks such as advertise an FTP server to other members of the ad-hoc network for file transfers.

Thanks in advance!

[shaunp]

Hi all, I've set up ad-hoc WiFi networks on a Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition handheld and have had some difficulties doing things that are relatively easy with a WiFI access point and doing other things that are tricky enough on their own. Can y'all help me out?

1) Is there any way to get a list of all machines (e.g. IP addresses and MAC addresses) attached to an ad-hoc network? For example, I'd like to setup an open network and know how many machines are attached at a given time and how to reach them over the network.

2) Is it possible to query an ad-hoc network to determine if there are any web servers, FTP servers, VNC servers, etc. present and, if so, which IPs/MACs are associated with them? I believe this is called service discovery. Also, I need to detect servers even if they are configured to use non-standard port addresses (e.g. at web server at TCP port 1000 instead of 80). As an aside, I'd imagine that machines on an ad-hoc network should be able to select which servers they'd like to make public. I believe this is called service advertisement.

3) Is there a way to refer to machines by name instead of by IP address on an ad-hoc network? For example, everytime a specific device is added to a particular ad-hoc network it is known as "Foobar" by all other machines (i.e. so http://Foobar in a web browser would work).

4) Is there any way to restrict membership to an ad-hoc network such as via a MAC filter list or using a personal certificates?

5) Is it possible to ensure all communications on an ad-hoc network are encrypted and readable only by members of the network?

For all of these scenarios, I'd like to find a solution which works with Mac OS, Windows, Windows Mobile, etc. without requiring any proprietary software to be installed on any machines (i.e. any required software would preferably be based on existing standards with s/w available on multiple platforms). Largely, this is because I want to work with open networks where any type of machine (such as Linux) can attach and accomplish the above tasks such as advertise an FTP server to other members of the ad-hoc network for file transfers.

Thanks in advance!

[Cybrid]

This is a guess. I think it is possible to get the name referral using a host table. ad-hoc networks can be encrypted but you'll need to balance your encryption needs with the capabilities of the machines. Many PocketPC's don't support newer encryption schemes.
you could use the host table to restrict access to certain MAC addresses. There are ping utilities that can address the issue of finding a new machine on the network. No clue about the rest.

[poisonz]

I know its late reply, but I just want to share...
All of those OP is asking, is some what called too much. Its like you have a PC and you want it to do Server type jobs.
All the answer can be done, when you have a good DHCP server, DNS server and port scanner to do the job you want.
You are hosting your own network, means you know which ports are FWD to which IP address to do FTP, HTTP and VNC.
A Good DHCP server will gives you MAC, WKS name and IP address.
(you must enable DHCP server if you want to open your network for others)
DNS server will give you activity log of what are they doing online.

Tip: Get a Linksys or Belkin Router, it will answer most of your question.