ESP8266 Community Forum

- Tue Oct 07, 2014 4:14 pm #1391 Please note that I wrote "the AT firmware", it may well not be the case for custom firmwares based on the provided API that may be more extensive that what is available through AT commands.

Given its vulnerability, I don't know if WPS is desirable
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wi-Fi_Prot ... rce_attack

I turned it off completely on all my devices.

- Tue Oct 07, 2014 4:34 pm #1393 Okay, so now I'm confused.

I'm looking at page 18 of the ESP8266_Specifications_v4.pdf (I'm not sure where I got it...) it talks about "the application and firmware", and mentions WiFi direct / P2P several times.

I assumed that you were just enhancing the existing firmware. Is "the AT firmware" a different firmware base written using the provided API? In that case, maybe the API does support WiFi direct, and it just needs to be added to the AT firmware.

I really need to take a look at the SDK!

- Tue Oct 07, 2014 7:55 pm #1397 In my understanding of current 802.11 speak - AP mode (on a device), P2P and Wifi Direct are all the same thing.

The P2P comes from two devices talking to each other directly without needing a router in the middle. It is not meshing. Wifi Direct layers some more user authentication on top of P2P. This is supposed to be a replacement for the old Ad Hoc mode. But I think about the only thing it is actually useful for is using a Phone to print to a Wifi Direct printer when you are at another company and can't log onto the network.

Old Ad Hoc is actually more useful since it provides a good foundation to build a mesh on.

Where I get my modules

- Wed Oct 08, 2014 9:59 am #1426 I'm not looking for meshing necessarily. I'm just looking for a way to e.g. create an IoT device that one can connect to directly without that device necessarily being connected to an AP, and the connecting device can maintain connection to the internet through an AP.

My understanding is that WiFi direct was intended (at least partially) as a potential replacement for Bluetooth. For example, you could have a mouse built around an esp8266 and connect it to your laptop via WiFi Direct. You wouldn't want to have to pair it with an AP when you take your laptop somewhere else, but you still want your laptop to be able to connect to an AP.

The FAQ on this page: http://www.wi-fi.org/discover-wi-fi/wi-fi-direct implies that a device can (optionally) support connection to an AP and other connections via WiFi Direct:

* Can a device simultaneously connect to a regular Wi-Fi network and a group of Wi-Fi Direct-certified devices at the same time?

All devices certified under the Wi-Fi Direct program allow the user to connect to an infrastructure or a Wi-Fi Direct-certified network. Some devices certified under the Wi-Fi Direct program support connections to both an infrastructure network and Wi-Fi Direct-certified group at the same time (e.g. a laptop may support an infrastructure connection while also belonging to a Wi-Fi Direct-certified group). Simultaneous connection to a Wi-Fi Direct-certified group and an infrastructure network is an optional feature.