The first wireless mesh networks were mobile ad hoc networks – with wireless stations moving around and participating in a peer to peer network. Mesh is an attractive approach for wireless networking since wireless nodes may be mobile and it is common for a wireless node to participate in a network without being able to hear all of the other nodes in the network. Mobile peer to peer networks benefit from the sparse connectivity requirements of the mesh architecture; and the combination of wireless and mesh can provide a reliable network with a great deal of flexibility.
The popularity of Wi-Fi has generated a lot of interest in developing wireless networks that support Wi-Fi access across very large areas. Large coverage access points (AP) are available for these scenarios, but the cost of deploying these wide area Wi-Fi systems is dominated by the cost of the network required to interconnect the APs and connect them to the Internet— the backhaul network. Even with fewer APs, it is very expensive to provide T1, DSL or Ethernet backhaul for each access point. For these deployments, wireless backhaul is an attractive alternative and a good application for mesh networking.Wireless connections can be used between most of the APs and just a few wired connections back to the Internet are required to support the entire network. Wireless links work better when there is clear line of sight between the communicating stations. Permanent wireless infrastructure mesh systems deployed over large areas can use the forwarding capabilities of the mesh architecture to go around physical obstacles such as buildings. Rather than blasting through a building with high power, a wireless mesh system will forward packets through intermediate nodes that are within line of sight and go around the obstruction with robust wireless links operating at much lower power.This approach works very well in dense urban areas with many obstructions.
There are many different types of mesh systems and they often get lumped together. Since early wireless mesh systems were focused on mobile ad-hoc networks, many people assume that wireless mesh systems are low bandwidth or temporary systems that can not scale up to deliver the capacity and quality of service required for enterprise, service provider and public safety networks.That is not the case. Engineered, planned and deployed effectively, wireless mesh networks can scale very well while still offering a cost-effective evolution strategy that preserves the network investment. Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of single, dual, and multi-radio mesh options is the first step.
The popularity of Wi-Fi has generated a lot of interest in developing wireless networks that support Wi-Fi access across very large areas. Large coverage access points (AP) are available for these scenarios, but the cost of deploying these wide area Wi-Fi systems is dominated by the cost of the network required to interconnect the APs and connect them to the Internet— the backhaul network. Even with fewer APs, it is very expensive to provide T1, DSL or Ethernet backhaul for each access point. For these deployments, wireless backhaul is an attractive alternative and a good application for mesh networking.Wireless connections can be used between most of the APs and just a few wired connections back to the Internet are required to support the entire network. Wireless links work better when there is clear line of sight between the communicating stations. Permanent wireless infrastructure mesh systems deployed over large areas can use the forwarding capabilities of the mesh architecture to go around physical obstacles such as buildings. Rather than blasting through a building with high power, a wireless mesh system will forward packets through intermediate nodes that are within line of sight and go around the obstruction with robust wireless links operating at much lower power.This approach works very well in dense urban areas with many obstructions.
There are many different types of mesh systems and they often get lumped together. Since early wireless mesh systems were focused on mobile ad-hoc networks, many people assume that wireless mesh systems are low bandwidth or temporary systems that can not scale up to deliver the capacity and quality of service required for enterprise, service provider and public safety networks.That is not the case. Engineered, planned and deployed effectively, wireless mesh networks can scale very well while still offering a cost-effective evolution strategy that preserves the network investment. Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of single, dual, and multi-radio mesh options is the first step.
