A broad overview of the home networking field, ranging from wireless technologies to practical applications

In the future, it is expected that private networks (e.g., home networks) will become part of the global network ecosystem, participating in sharing their own content, running IP-based services, and possibly becoming service providers themselves. This is already happening in the so-called "social networks" and peer-to-peer file sharing networks on the Internet--making this emerging topic one of the most active research areas in the wireless communications field.

This book bridges the gap between wireless networking and service research communities, which, until now, have confined their work to their respective fields. Here, a number of industry professionals and academic experts have contributed chapters on various aspects of the subject to present an overview of home networking technologies with a special emphasis on the user as the center of all activities. Coverage includes:

• Networked home use cases and scenarios

• Media format, media exchange, and media interoperability

• Location-aware device and service discovery

• Security in smart homes

• Secure service discovery protocol implementation for wireless ad-hoc networks

• Multimedia content protection in consumer networks

• Mobile device connectivity in home networks

• Unlicensed mobile access/generic access network

• Wireless sensor networks in the home

• Ultra-wideband and sensor networking in the home environment

With a balanced mix of practice and theory, Technologies for Home Networking focuses on the latest technologies for speedier, more reliable wireless networking and explains how to facilitate workable end-to-end solutions from a user's perspective. This book is an ideal resource for practicing engineers, designers, and managers with an interest in home networking and also serves as a valuable text for graduate students.

Sudhir Dixit, PhD, is the Head of Network Technology, USA, in Nokia Siemens Networks. His current area of interest is broadband access. Previously, he was a research fellow and a senior research manager in Nokia Research Center, where he worked on IP/ATM, wireless, content networks, and optical networks. He has published or presented over 150 papers, published three books, and holds sixteen patents. Dr. Dixit is on the Steering Board of the Wireless World Research Forum and is also Chair of the SIG on Self-Organization of Wireless World Systems. He is a Fellow of IET and IETE and a Senior Member of IEEE.

Ramjee Prasad, PhD, is the Wireless Information Multimedia Communications Chair and Codirector of the Center for PersonKommunikation, Aalborg University, Denmark. He has published over 300 technical papers and twenty-three books. Dr. Prasad is a Fellow of IET and IETE, a Senior Member of IEEE, and a Member of NERG.