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o A wireless mesh network consists of multiple nodes that
communicate with each other. If for whatever reason a node
is blocked and separated from the network for a while, other
nodes in its vicinity cover the respective area and take the
load.
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Self-Management
o Once set up, a wireless mesh network can manage its load to
avoid clogging a certain network node. If one node becomes
very busy, the network traffic is redirected trough other
nodes, maintaining a good balance of the network load. The
self-management feature, which allows for the system to find
the best traffic paths when congestion occurs, provides a
system that may experience less failure and downtime.
Speed
o Unlike a traditional network, where a device acts as a server,
which handles all data, and requires all data packets to run
through it, in a wireless mesh network each node acts as an
individual server. This allows for greater speeds for local
connection, which run directly from the source to their
destination, without needing to pass through a server.
Interconnectivity
o Since wireless mesh networks use the same protocols as
regular wireless network, it is easy to establish connectivity
between your own local networks and a wireless mesh
network. A wireless mesh network can be a good method to
connect two local networks, situated in opposite parts of a
city, without using the Internet. This way, the data speeds are
increased and the chances of a network drop are very low.
Wireless Mesh Networks (WMN)
Mesh is a technology that comes from the optical networking world and
has been adapted to the Ethernet market. Mesh is a very smart way to
provide resilient networks. Mesh architecture creates the opportunity to
change data paths within a second when problems occur. Compared to
the older solutions for network resilience, mesh really was a big step
forward.
In the Ethernet WAN world mesh has been fully implemented and
widely accepted. In the smaller Ethernet LAN world however nobody is
using it. The question can be asked, why is everybody discussing
(needing) this in the WLAN Ethernet world?
Obviously mesh is mainly related to city-wide (outdoor) Wireless LAN
networks and those indoor networks where there are no Ethernet cables
available. This immediately explains why mesh has become so popular.
Particularly in these networks the radios have to rely on each other to
build a successful WAN access, and when one radio fails another has to
maintain the path to the WAN. Also the mesh standard is built in such a
way that radios are able to find each other easily without any human
interference: mesh has its own intelligence!
Disadvantages of WMNs.
So, why isnt everybody using mesh today as its advantages seem to be
so appealing? The main reasons why we dont advise the use of mesh
are the negative sides of mesh: bandwidth consumption and lack of
interoperability.
Bandwidth (double use):
WLAN has already the disadvantage that almost 50% of the gross data
rate has to be used for overhead. These overheads are really important to
get stable links and to transmit the data without interruption. To build a
mesh network another 50% of the available data-rate has to be reserved
for the fault-back path. As such, radios are sending the same data twice.
With the continued rapid growth of bandwidth demand, WMN are
unlikely to be able to deliver the speeds required by consumers.
Interoperability:
The IEEE has ratified the 802.11s standard to make a first step into the
mesh world. The standard explains how multivendor networks can be
built by setting up alternative paths based on Layer 2. It sadly missed the
needed mesh-intelligent (layer 3) level, so every mesh vendor is still
offering his own proprietary solution.
Disadvantages
The more extensive the network, in terms of scope or of physical
area, the greater the investment necessary to build it will be, due,
among other considerations, to the amount of cabling and the
number of hardware ports it will require. For this reason, such
networks are uncommon.