MESH

Forum - Deploying an outdoor campus network with very little interference.

1. What are the distance limitations of the MESH function?

2. How much thruput is lost with each Mesh hop.

3. If the distance is too far, can I use the poe-out port to deliver a ptp shot without introducing a switch?

3. What should I know about the shorcomings of MESH.

Thanks!!!

Ted

Hi Ted,

1. Are there any buildings, tress or any obstacles in between the Aps as this will reduce the distance. Line of sight is preferred. With an E500 for example up to 200 meters should be possible.

 

2. 50% + 

 

3. Yes you can.

 

4. Mesh is a good tool to have but I wouldn't recommend building an entire wireless network with it. If you're meshing 1 or 2 AP's that may be OK (depending on throughput requirements). However if you’re looking at more than this then there are better solutions, have a look at the PTP & PTMP solutions from Cambium.

 

Further reading:

https://community.cambiumnetworks.com/t5/cnPilot-E-Series-Enterprise-APs/Best-practices-when-deploying-WiFi-Mesh/td-p/61413

https://community.cambiumnetworks.com/t5/cnPilot-E-Series-Enterprise-APs/Mesh-feature-FAQs/m-p/56242#U56242

hi ted,

hope this will answer your queries,

1. What are the distance limitations of the MESH function?

Instead of distance, we shall look into good SNR between MESH peers, disatnce can vary from location to location. Keep SNR of 35 and above for better performance. The disatnce also depeneds on use of type Wi-Fi APs. For long distance E501S and E502S are better comparted to E500 

2. How much thruput is lost with each Mesh hop

In clean enviorment we have seen less than 10% to 15% loss from hop to hop 

3. Wi-Fi mesh is not replacment for regualr PTP / PMP link, long disatnce, it is recommed to have regual WAN backahul products. With sector APs like E501S and E502S, in clear line of sight we can deploy Wi-Fi MESH for 500 meters  

4. What should I know about the shorcomings of MESH

cnPilot Wi-Fi APs use WDS protocol for Wi-Fi MESH. In multihop deployment, MESH connection break can use down link APs to loose connectivity to core network