# Moving Ad Hoc Networks--A Comparative Study
## 6 Comparison of MANET, VANET, FANET, and SANET (MVFS)
This kind of network can operate alone and can also be connected to a wired backbone through a gateway. The origin of ad hoc networks can be traced back to the aloha network. When the IEEE 802.11 standards were developed by IEEE, the packet radio network was renamed as an ad hoc network. Ad hoc comes from Latin and means \"for a specific purpose or occasion\" or \"only for this situation\". At that time, the packet radio network was used in large-scale military and rescue operations, and by adopting a new name, IEEE hoped that the ad hoc network would become a temporary network for a specific purpose and a short-term existence. It should be noted that the ad hoc network defined by the IEEE802.11 standard is a network composed of only those sites that can be connected directly through a wireless medium, that is, an independent basic service set (IBSS). IBSS has no access point and is a single-hop ad hoc network, but currently, the ad hoc network being studied is usually multi-hop. The working group of the mobile ad hoc network (MANET) was established in 1997 and is responsible for developing and researching routing algorithms for MANETs with hundreds of nodes and formulating the corresponding standards. The work of the manet working group achieved remarkable results, and a dozen internet-draft standards have been formulated. * Independence: Compared with conventional communication networks, the biggest difference from ad hoc networks is the ability to quickly set up mobile communication networks, anytime and anywhere, without the need for hardware support for the infrastructure network equipment. This organization is not dependent on existing telecom network equipment and has a degree of independence. This dedicated networking feature is great for disaster management, remote communications, and other applications. * Structure: Ad hoc networks allow the mobile host to move freely within the network. The movement of the host will cause the link between the hosts to increase or disappear, and the connections among the hosts are constantly changing. The host may also be a router in an ad hoc network. Therefore, the movement will continuously change the network topology. For conventional networks, the network topology is relatively stable. * Communication bandwidth: Wired infrastructure is not supported in ad hoc networks. However, communication between the stations is achieved via wireless transmission. Because of the physical characteristics of the wireless channel, the network bandwidth provided by the wireless channel is much smaller than the wired channel bandwidth. Furthermore, considering various factors such as collision, signal attenuation, and the noise interference caused by competing to share wireless channels, the actual available bandwidth of the mobile terminals is less than the maximum theoretical bandwidth value. * Host energy: In an ad hoc network, the hosts are all mobile device nodes, for instance, PDAs, portable computers, or palmtop computers. Because the host may be in a state of non-stop movement, the energy of the host is mainly provided by the battery, such that the ad hoc network has the characteristic of limited energy. * Distributed characteristics: Ad hoc networks do not have central control nodes, and hosts communicate with each other through distributed protocols. If one or more nodes on the network fail, the other nodes will continue to function properly. * Life cycle: Wireless networks are mainly used to meet temporary communication needs. The survival times are generally short compared to those of wired networks. * Physical security: Compared to fixed networks, mobile networks are generally more vulnerable to physical security attacks, and are vulnerable to eavesdropping, denial of service attacks, and spoofing. Some of the current connection security technologies are used on wireless networks to reduce security attacks. However, the natural distribution of the ad hoc network has a certain survivability compared to a centralized network.