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Mesh Networks
Mesh networks are based on intelligent
wireless routing technology and a self-organizing, self-healing, and
self-configuring architecture.
Once deployed, mesh networks
dynamically respond to varying use conditions, providing optimal route
selection in the event of failures and environmental changes.
In a wireless mesh network, each node
need only transmit as far as the next node. Nodes act as repeaters to
transmit data from nearby nodes to peers that are too far away to reach,
resulting in a network that can span large distances, especially over
rough or difficult terrain.
Mesh networks are also extremely
reliable, as each node is connected to several other nodes. If one node
drops out of the network, due to hardware failure or any other reason,
its neighbors simply find another route.
Extra capacity can be installed by
simply adding more nodes or points of entry to the wired network
infrastructure.
Mesh networks may involve either fixed
or mobile devices, with the potential to utilize mobile mesh nodes or
even client wireless devices to extend the mesh network.
Mesh networks can provide
communications in difficult environments ranging from on-scene first
responder emergency situations to communications throughout tunnels and
oil rigs to battlefield surveillance and high speed mobile video
applications on board public transport.
The choice of radio technology for wireless mesh networks is crucial. In
a traditional wireless network where laptops connect to a single access
point, each laptop has to share a fixed pool of bandwidth. With
mesh technology and adaptive radio, devices in a mesh network will only
connect with other devices that are in a set range. The advantage
is that, like a natural load balancing system, the more devices the more
bandwidth becomes available, provided that the number of hops in the
average communications path is kept low. Additionally, the use of
multi-mode mesh networks allows for increased capacity as internode
communications can utilize different spectrum than that which is used
for wireless access to client devices.
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