Abstract
This paper describes an experience in the development of a network, based on peer-to-peer and wireless technologies, explains the choices, and compares this approach to the traditional, infrastructure based, wireless network. The environment hosting such a wireless network is a challenging one, that is an harbour area in South Italy. Hardware, software and especially dynamic routing protocols have been evaluated for suitability to such an environment. The choice of a cheap, consumer level hardware equipped with a customized Linux and OLSR protocol have proven sufficiently robust for actual deployment. The experience results from a cooperation of a university department, DISI, and a company, Fantuzzi Reggiane