User Guide

Table Of Contents
Bridge GUI Guide: Network Configuration
48
support the mesh network and user controls to configure and
tune it.
NOTE: FastPath
Mesh and STP link
management are mutu-
ally incompatible. Net-
worked Bridges must all
be configured to use the
same Bridging Mode.
Unless the network can be physically configured to eliminate
any possibility of bridging loops (multiple OSI [open systems
interconnection] layer-2 paths to the same device), either
FastPath Mesh or STP must be used when Bridges are deployed
in a mesh network.
Supported FastPath Mesh and STP network topologies are
illustrated and described in detail in Chapter 1.
3.2.1 FastPath Mesh Bridging
Nodes on a FastPath Mesh network are of two basic types:
Mesh Point (MP) - a Fortress Bridge with FastPath Mesh
enabled
Non-Mesh Point (NMP) - any node that is not an MP
FP Mesh nodes can connect over their Ethernet ports or radio
BSSs. An FP Mesh interface must be configured for the type of
connection it provides:
MPs connect to other MPs only on Core interfaces.
NMPs connect to MPs only on Access interfaces
A given interface can be of only one type; so MPs and NMPs
cannot share an interface. Per-port
FastPath Mesh Mode
settings for radio BSSs and Ethernet ports are described in
sections 3.3.4.4 and 3.7.3, respectively.
All MPs on a given FP Mesh network are peers. Directly
connected MPs are neighbors.
An MP that serves as a link between the FP Mesh network and
a conventional hierarchical network is a Mesh Border Gateway
(MBG).
An FP Mesh network presents to NMPs as a flat, OSI layer-2
network, while optimizing operations to eliminate inefficiencies
Table 3.1. STP Networks Compared to FastPath Mesh
function STP FP Mesh
self-forming
supported supported
self-healing
supported
a
supported
end-to-end encryption
supported supported
all paths available at all times
not supported supported
optimal path selection
not supported supported
automatic IPv6 mesh addressing
not supported supported
independent DNS and .ftimesh.local domain
not supported supported
configurable network and neighbor cost weighting
not supported supported
a. except for STP root node