Users Guide

Dell PowerConnect W-Series ArubaOS 6.1 | User Guide Secure Enterprise Mesh | 217
Chapter 8
Secure Enterprise Mesh
The Dell secure enterprise mesh solution is an effective way to expand network coverage for outdoor and indoor
enterprise environments without any wires. Using mesh, you can bridge multiple Ethernet LANs or you can
extend your wireless coverage. As traffic traverses across mesh APs, the mesh network automatically reconfigures
around broken or blocked paths. This self-healing feature provides increased reliability and redundancy: the
network continues to operate if an AP stops functioning or a connection fails.
Dell controllers provide centralized configuration and management for APs in a mesh environment; local mesh
APs provide encryption and traffic forwarding for mesh links. This chapter describes the Dell secure enterprise
mesh architecture, in the following topics:
 “Mesh Access Points” on page217
 “Mesh Links” on page219
 “Mesh Profiles” on page221
 “Mesh Solutions” on page223
 “Before You Begin” on page226
 “Mesh Radio Profiles” on page227
 “RF Management (802.11a and 802.11g) Profiles” on page232
 “Mesh High-Throughput SSID Profiles” on page240
 “Mesh Cluster Profiles” on page244
 “Ethernet Ports for Mesh” on page249
 “Provisioning Mesh Nodes” on page251
 “AP Boot Sequence” on page254
 “Verifying the Network” on page255
 “Remote Mesh Portals” on page256
Mesh Access Points
Mesh APs learn about their environment when they boot up. Mesh APs are either configured as a mesh portal
(MPP), an AP that uses its wired interface to reach the controller, or a mesh point (MP), an AP that establishes an
all-wireless path to the mesh portal. Mesh APs locate and associate with their nearest neighbor, which provides
the best path to the mesh portal. Mesh portals and mesh points are also known as mesh nodes, a generic term
used to describe APs configured for mesh.
A mesh radio’s bandwidth can be shared between mesh-backhaul traffic and client traffic. You can, however,
configure a radio for mesh services only. If you have a dual-radio AP, a mesh node can be configured to deliver
client services on one radio and both mesh and WLAN services to clients on the other. If you configure a single-
radio AP to deliver mesh services only (by disabling the mesh radio in its 802.11a or 802.11g radio profile) that
mesh node will not deliver WLAN services to its clients.
CAUTION: Dell strongly recommends staging mesh APs before you deploy them. Identify the physical location of the APs,
configure them for mesh, provision the APs and verify connectivity before physically deploying them in a live network. For other
pre-installation considerations, see “Before You Begin” on page 226.