Bluetooth: The Global Technology


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Introduction

As technology managers and technicians, we are constantly engaged in an ongoing
struggle between functionality, usability, and security. To effectively balance our
concerns, we must keep pace with changes in technology. The telecommunications and
computing industries continue to create and market technologies designed to enhance
mobility and functionality, both at home and at work. Any organization that desires to
exploit opportunities must realize that greater mobility demands a global technology.
Bluetooth provides mobility and will emerge as a scalable, economic global technology.

Why Bluetooth?

Bluetooth will become the short-range wireless technology of choice because it provides
mobility, security and functionality in one small package. The small form factor of the
Bluetooth radio also provides a unique balance of component cost, physical range,
bandwidth, and power consumption. The Bluetooth specification is much more than just
a cable replacement technology, because it is capable of wireless connections to a wide
variety of portable electronic devices via one-to-one, and one-to-many device
connections. Bluetooth enabled devices are also capable of simultaneous voice and data
connections, as well as, ad hoc networking. All electronic devices that support
Bluetooth, or the closely aligned IEEE (The Institute of Electrical and Electronics
Engineers, Inc.) 802.15.1 standard for Wireless Personal Area Networks (PAN), will
have a 1.5-inch transceiver chip that uses the globally available, unlicensed, Industrial,
Scientific, and Medical (ISM) Band ranging from 2.4 GHz to 2.485 GHz (gigahertz).
Future development of Bluetooth promises greater functionality and interoperability with
other Bluetooth devices, as well as enhanced data transfer capabilities with IEEE 802.11
(Wireless Local Area Networks).

What is Bluetooth?

Bluetooth is an open-source standard that borrows many features from existing wireless
standards such as IEEE 802.11, IrDA (Infrared Data Association), DECT (Digital
Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications), Motorola’s Piano, and TCP/IP to connect
portable devices without wires via short-range radio frequencies (RF).

Bluetooth Ad Hoc Networking

In an ad hoc network, there is no fixed infrastructure. The network is established on the
fly, via wireless links. Individual devices act as routers when relaying data from one
device to other when the two devices are too far from one another for direct
communications. Since ad hoc networks are mobile and constantly changing in topology,
ad hoc networking presents intriguing security challenges.
Bluetooth Security
Bluetooth supports several security features depending on the application, and user
requirements. These features range from the protection against eavesdropping, inherent
to the frequency-hopping spread-spectrum technology, to the use of keys or Personal
Identification Number (PIN), and password combinations. With the use of PINs
(alphanumeric strings of up to 16 characters), the 128-bit SAFER+ encryption algorithm
is used to create very strong security and encryption between devices. If required,
additional security can be added in the application software.
Bluetooth enabled devices promise ad hoc
networking. Ad hoc networking is the
capability to quickly establish and dissolve
small groups of devices with little user
interaction, and no requirements for
permanent address assignment among
connecting devices. When two Bluetooth
enabled devices come within range of one
another, one device becomes the Master
and the other, a slave. The Master device
establishes synchronization among all slave
devices by using its clock and hopping sequence.
Once connected, the devices form a Piconet.
A Piconet can have a total of eight devices, one
master and seven active slaves. A Piconet can
also include as many as 255 parked slaves, which are
devices synchronized with the Piconet but not actively
sending or receiving any signals.