MESH Networks

This is an excellent way of providing coverage in hard to wire environments or where cables
cannot be used or if cable length is too long (> 100 m).
Indoor mesh access points:

Cisco Aironet 1130 Series controller based

Cisco Aironet 1240 Series controller based

The APs deliver network access to users over the 2.4-GHz frequency and use the 5-GHz band
to backhaul traffic.
The APs use AWPP (Adaptive Wireless Path Protocol) which is Cisco Proprietary for
communication. Because it dynamically learns the best way to route traffic wirelessly across
multiple hops back to the wired network, the AWPP ensures maximum network availability.
Benefits of Mesh Network include:

Coverage to places where coverage had not been possible due to wiring restrictions.
With AWPP , mesh-enabled access points automatically
find the nearest path to the core network, and the controller supports zeroconfiguration deployment, automatically detecting and configuring the access points when
connected.

Centrally managed hence simplifies WLAN design, administration and operation.

AWPP provides self-healing from and resiliency to interference and network outages,
reducing management costs.

Universal port capability enables enterprises to leverage the unused Ethernet port to
configure access points within the mesh network to function as wireless bridges.The mesh
access point attaches to the device or switch via the unused Ethernet port and backhauls
the traffic to the rest of the wireless network.

Unified indoor and outdoor mesh enables clients to roam seamlessly between indoor
and outdoor networks, making it possible for users to continue using services and
applications while they move from the indoor areas of a facility to its outdoor areas.

APs should be set to bridge mode

There will be MAPs and RAPs. RAPs are the wired networks backhaul connection whereas the
MAPs have no wired connection.

Adding MAPs decreases the total available bandwidth

Outdoor Coverage
Often Mesh networks but can be inter building bridges.

For Mesh, only subsets of the nodes need to be connected to the wired network (root
access points). The RAPs then offer radio links to other APs Mesh Access Points (MAPS).
MAPS then also offer radio connectivity for other APs etc etc. For Cisco, MAP is default. An
AP can be MAP or RAP. Traffic takes the best path from any MAP to the RAP, based on best
path determined with a Cisco proprietary protocol, Adaptive Wireless Path Protocol (AWPP).
Mesh networks are a tradeoff between performance and investment.

Single radio APs are cheap but client communication prevents AP from
sending or receiving on the backhaul and the AP will also need to use the same radio
channel to communicate. This type of deployment offers limited
performance and cannot scale easily. QoS cannot be deployed. Should only be used
where only 2.4 and one channel is possible.

Dual radio APs use one radio (5) for backhaul communication and the other
(2.4) for client access. Backhaul is usually a bottleneck for RAP. To increase backhaul
performance you can use 802.11an radios, use 40-MHz channels on the backhaul, add
more RAPs, or use RAPs and MAPS that have 2 802.11a
radio modules. Also limit your network to 10 to 20 MAPs max per RAP, and 2 to 3 hops
max to the RAP, although the controller code limit is 32 MAPs
per RAP and 8 hops.
RAP Starts:

From Config, it Discovers and associates to the controller

broadcasts every 500 ms on its backhaul radio a Neighbor Update

message saying it can be used to reach controller

bridge group name (BGN) on the RAP groups APs.

MAP starts:

Tries to use Cable to reach controller first,

If fails, it enables the backhaul radio and scans 5GHz radio several
times looking for APs with same BGN if configured.

MAP selects AP with best path to wired network and joins

controller.ThisisdeterminedusingAdaptiveWirelessPathProtocolAWPP which is a
combination of Signal to Noise Ratio and hop count.SNR and hop count is the ease
value. The higher the ease value (higherSNRandlowerhopcount ) the prefered the
route.

AWPP is a Cisco proprietary protocol. IEEE has

802.11s Hybrid Wireless Mesh Protocol (HWMP) for mesh network inter AP
routing. The HWMP has up to 6 MAC addresses in the mesh frame: Original
source, Point of entry in the mesh cloud, Sending mesh AP, Receiving mesh
AP, Point of exit from the mesh cloud, Final destination

MAP sends network updates for other APs to use it as

relay. Neighbour updates have the ease values included. When an AP chooses a
path, it adds a 20 percent bonus to the chosen path ease value to increase path
stability.

MAPs require a good SNR (>20 dB) to use another AP as a next hop
to the wired network then choses the one with the highest ease. AP considers SNR
> 10dB. If only links < 20 dB SNR are found, the AP tries to use the link that has the
highest SNR above 12 dB and higher ease but flags those links with a Poor SNR
tag.

Mesh APs usually have higher power levels and antennas than indoor APs. Signal
travels and reflects farther therefore delay is higher and can be affected by humidity. As the
frequency increases, propagation issues due to rain attenuation also increase and is worse
for 5 GHz band. MAPs should be 13 to 30 feet (4 to 10 m) above street. If link length is > 11
km, earth curvature should be taken in account. 40% of the frensel zone should be free from
obstacles.

References:
1.

CCNP Wireless (642-732 CUWSS) Quick Reference Guide by Jerome Henry

2.

IPexperts CCNP CUWSS Wireless Voice on Demand (642-731)

3.

CUWSS Student Guide v1.0

CCNP Wireless CUWSS 642-732 Summary Notes 8 : Bridging Models

Point to Point Wireless Links

Cisco Aironet 1500 Series Access Point can use its backhaul radio to bridge two wired
segments in point to point mode. Its a mesh network with only one MAP and no WLAN clients. If
Ethernet bridging is enabled, then wireless client access can be provided but is not
recommended if the MAP is too high on the rooftop.

Point to Multi-Point Wireless Links

A RAP acts as a root bridge and connects to multiple MAPs as non root bridges with their wired
LANs. Feature is disabled by default. Bridging needs to be enabled to support Ethernet bridging.

Might or might not support additional wireless clients depending on height of building.

Site Surveys for Bridges

The factors that determine how far the mesh link goes:

Fresnel zone

free space loss

antenna gain

cable loss

data rate

link distance

transmitter power

receiver sensitivity,

Most important considerations are:

Line of Sight

This is the free path between the two points

If distance is greater than 800 m (0.5 miles), you need to consider the earths
curvature. Also for such links directional high-gain antenna is recommended and must
be aligned so that their main radiated
power lobes are directed at each other. The 17dBi sector antenna can achieve distances
of up to 9 miles (14 km) away.

Determine elevation of structures available for link the poles, buildings and towers
that the equipment will be installed on.

Determine distance between the sites using GPS.

Determine Fresnel clearance (F)

This is the elliptical zone surounding the visual Path

First Fresnel zone should be at least 60 percent clear of obstructions.

F (feet) = 72.6 * Sq. root of (D/4f)

F fresnel zone radius in feet

D path total in miles

f frequency (GHz)
For 60% clearance: 0.60 F (feet) = 43.3 * Sq. root of (D/4f)

If more of 40 % of the Fresnel zone is obstructed, you will need to raise

antennas or remove the obstacles or build a new structure, cut the trees or find an
alternative location.

Cisco 1500 Mesh Access Point Range Calculation Utility is recommended to

calculate the fresnel zone, the distance between bridges, cable loss, required antenna
height, and the recommended fade margin

APs to be used 1300, 1400 and 1500 that can be used for both the P2P
and P2MultiPoint Links. Cisco 1500s can be used for Mesh Networks also

Determine power and antenna requirements

Information that you need for the survey

Length of the wireless Link

Is there a clear Line of Sight (LOS)

Minimum acceptable data rate for communication

Antenna type for the link

Is it P2P or P2Multipoint connectivity

Can AP area support AP weight

Do you have access to both ends of the location

Do you have proper permits required

Need for a partner (Bridges should always be done with a partner)

For outdoor environments, lightening protection should be used.

Install lightening arrestor which dissipates energy induced into the cable from a
nearby lightning strike but does not protect against a direct strike.

Transtector ALPU-TSU allow low-voltage power, such as Power over Ethernet (PoE), to
pass, while blocking high-voltage power from static electricity discharges.

Ground AP between AP and network before installing power.

Fiber to copper transeiver should be installed to limit damage to the network connected to AP
in the event of a direct lightning strike. Because the conductor in fiber optic cabling is glass,
the current cannot travel over the fiber, and the energy is dissipated as heat, melting the fiber
optic cabling. To use this method, one meter of fiber optic cabling is needed, and two copperfiber transceivers which require power. The two transeivers should not be plugged into the same

power outlet to avoid creating a path for the current to bypass the fiber optic cabling.