Introduction and application of wireless Mesh Access Networks

Wireless Mesh access networks are worth learning. Here we will mainly introduce wireless Mesh access networks and their application instructions. As a new generation of Wireless LAN technology, the wireless Mesh access technology has gradually become the focus of the business community and consumers.

The term "Mesh" originally meant that all nodes are connected to each other. The Wireless Mesh access network is a completely different network from the traditional wireless network. A traditional wireless network must first access a centralized access point (AP) for wireless connection. In this way, even if two 802.11b nodes are interconnected with each other, they must communicate through the access point. In the wireless Mesh access network, each node can communicate directly with one or more peer nodes.

What is a wireless Mesh access network?　

A wireless Mesh access network, also known as a multi-hop (multi-hop) network, is a new wireless network technology that is completely different from a traditional wireless network. In traditional wireless LAN (WLAN), each client accesses the network through a wireless link connected to the AP. If you want to communicate with each other, you must first access a fixed access point (AP). This network structure is called a single hop Network. In a wireless Mesh access network, any wireless device node can act as both an AP and a router. each node in the network can send and receive signals, each node can communicate directly with one or more peer nodes.

The biggest benefit of this structure is that if the recent AP is congested due to heavy traffic, the data can be automatically routed to a nearby node with low communication traffic. Based on the network conditions, data packets can be routed to the nearest node for transmission until the final destination is reached. This method is multi-hop access. Wireless Mesh access network is a new wireless network architecture. Its core guiding ideology is to enable each node in the network to send and receive signals, due to the low scalability and poor robustness of traditional WLAN, the emergence of Wireless Mesh Technology represents another great leap in wireless network technology and has a very broad application prospect. Wireless Mesh access network is a wireless regional network solution suitable for covering large areas of open area cities (including outdoor and indoor.

Features of Wireless Mesh Network

It is composed of a group of Network-distributed wireless APs, which are connected through wireless relay links in point-to-point mode, extend the wireless "Hotspot" in traditional WLAN to a "hot zone" that is truly covered by a large area ". Self-configuration: APS in the wireless Mesh network can be automatically configured and centrally managed, simplifying network management and maintenance. Self-healing: the AP in the wireless Mesh access network provides white dynamic discovery and dynamic routing connections, eliminating the impact of spof on services and providing redundant paths. High bandwidth: the "Hotspot" coverage of traditional WLAN is extended to a wider range of "hot zone" coverage, eliminating the bandwidth decrease caused by the increase of distance of the original WLAN. In addition, in a Mesh system, signals can avoid interference from obstacles, so that signal transmission is unobstructed and blind spots are eliminated.

High utilization: high utilization is another technical advantage of Mesh networks. In a single hop Network, a fixed AP is shared by multiple devices. As network devices increase, the AP communication network availability will be greatly reduced. In a Mesh network, because each node is an AP, this type of problem does not occur at all. Once the availability of an AP decreases, the data is automatically transferred by selecting an AP. Compatibility: The Mesh adopts the standard 802. The 11b/g standard is widely compatible with wireless client terminals. In addition, the wireless Mesh access network provides better mobile roaming capabilities and end-to-end secure connections.

Wi-Mesh Alliance

The Wi-Mesh alliance is composed of companies with the same concept. It is expected that wireless users can enjoy the convenience of seamless communication regardless of the manufacturer's products through a set of wireless Mesh network standards. The Wi-Mesh alliance proposal is based on the IEEE Standard Association (IEEEStandards Association) Guiding Principles and expands the reuse and compatibility of technologies based on existing and future 802.11 communication protocols.

Members of the Wi-Mesh alliance are industry leaders from various fields, including zhibang technology, Nortel, ComNets, InterDigital, NextHop, And Thomson. They are actively working together to promote the standardization of global wireless Mesh areas (Mesh WLAN) to promote the interconnectivity between various wireless communication devices and services. Through extensive technical cooperation among partners, the Wi-Mesh Alliance met with the 802.11 Task Group (TGs) of the American Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE, the latest network standard proposal for the world's wireless mesh areas was successfully submitted. The Wi-Mesh alliance proposal is designed to expand 802.11n high-output specifications in the future. This policy will support existing Wi-Fi network bases around the world and expand the establishment of Wi-Fi networks in existing specified radio channels. Recently, Nortel also released the Mesh network architecture, announcing that it will work with traditional telecom networks in the future to form a complementary Seamless Roaming network.

Mesh Network's five advantages　

Compared with traditional WLAN, the wireless Mesh access network has the following incomparable advantages:

(1) Fast deployment and easy installation.

Installing Mesh nodes is very simple. Just remove the device from the box and connect it to the power supply. You can easily add new nodes to expand the coverage and network capacity of the wireless network. Mesh is designed to minimize the number of wired devices and APS, thus greatly reducing the total cost of ownership and installation time. The cost savings brought by this alone are considerable. The configuration and other network management functions of the wireless Mesh access network are the same as those of the traditional WLAN. the user experience of WLAN can be easily applied to the Mesh network.

(2) NLOS ).

The use of wireless Mesh access network technology can easily Implement NLOS configuration, so it has a wide range of application prospects in outdoor and public places. Users with direct line of sight with the transmitting station receive wireless signals first, and then forward the received signals to non-direct line of sight users. In this way, the signal can automatically select the optimal path to continuously jump from one user to another, and finally reach the target user without direct line of sight. In this way, users with direct line of sight actually provide wireless broadband access for nearby users without direct line of sight. The non-line-of-sight transmission feature of the wireless Mesh access network greatly extends the application and coverage of wireless broadband.

(3) robustness.

A common way to achieve network robustness is to use multiple routers to transmit data. If a router fails, the information is transmitted by another router through the backup path. Mesh networks are more robust than single hop networks because they do not depend on the performance of a single node. In a single hop Network, if a node fails, the entire network will be paralyzed. In the Mesh network structure, each node has one or several data transmission paths. If a fault or interference occurs on the nearest node, the data packet is automatically routed to the backup path for further transmission. The entire network is not affected.

(4) flexible structure.

In a single hop Network, the device must share the AP. If several devices need to access the network at the same time, communication congestion may occur and the system running speed may decrease. In a multi-hop Network, devices can connect to the network through different nodes at the same time, so the system performance will not decrease. Mesh networks also provide greater redundancy mechanisms and communication load balancing functions.

(5) high bandwidth.