Users Guide

Dell PowerConnect ArubaOS 5.0 | User Guide] Secure Enterprise Mesh | 189
Chapter 7
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 includes the following topics:
z “Mesh Access Points” on page 189
z “Mesh Links” on page 191
z “Mesh Profiles” on page 192
z “Mesh Solutions” on page 195
z “Before You Begin” on page 198
z “Mesh Radio Profiles” on page 199
z “RF Management (802.11a and 802.11g) Profiles” on page 204
z “Mesh High-Throughput SSID Profiles” on page 211
z “Mesh Cluster Profiles” on page 214
z “Ethernet Ports for Mesh” on page 219
z “Provisioning Mesh Nodes” on page 222
z “AP Boot Sequence” on page 224
z “Verifying the Network” on page 225
z “Remote Mesh Portals” on page 225
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, that mesh node will not deliver WLAN services to its clients.
For mesh as well as traditional thin AP deployments, the Dell controller provides centralized provisioning,
configuration, policy definition, ongoing network management and wireless and security services. However,
unlike the traditional thin AP case, mesh nodes also perform network traffic encryption and decryption, and
packet forwarding over wired and wireless links.
Note: Remote Mesh Portal only (not Mesh points) is supported on RAP-5WN. Mesh is not supported on RAP-2WG.