Networks

• There are two types of network a Bluetooth-enabled device can access. One is an ad-hoc network created by various Bluetooth devices contacting each other directly. The other is an infrastructure-based network where the Bluetooth device accesses an existing network.
  
  

Configurations

• Bluetooth technology is based on a number of different protocols. Network access decision making is based on the personal area network protocol (PAN). PAN defines three different roles. The group ad-hoc network (GN) role helps form ad-hoc networks. Network access between devices relies on one device assuming the role of network access point (NAP), to get onto a physical network, the NAP will be a network bridge which has a Bluetooth transmitter/receiver and a network cable. Devices connecting to the NAP are called PAN users (PANU).
  
  

Considerations

• There are a number of devices available on the market to allow network access to Bluetooth devices. These are NAPs. Communication between the PAN user and the NAP is defined by the Bluetooth network encapsulation protocol (BNEP).