User's Guide

AirTight Management Console Configuration
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Wireless mesh networks are used indoors or outdoors where laying a wired network may not be a cost-
effective option. They can be used in specific areas where there is a need to be connected to the network
while moving around in the specified area. They can be used in stadiums, schools, military
establishments etc.
The source mesh AP communicates with the destination mesh APs in the same mesh directly or through
a series of hops from one mesh AP to another until the destination mesh AP is reached. The
communication between wireless clients and APs, and communication between APs takes place through
wireless or wired networks.
AirTight devices with AP capability support creation of a wireless mesh network. A wireless mesh
network, created using AirTight devices, consists of root and non-root APs.
A root AP is an AP that is directly connected to the wired network. A non-root AP is an AP that is not
directly connected to the wired network. It connects to the wired network through the root AP. A non-root
AP can communicate with the root AP directly, or through another non-root AP. There could be one or
more than one root APs and multiple non-root APs in the wireless mesh network.
The root AP connects to a AirTight Wi-Fi/WIPS server through the wired network. All the clients and other
non-root mesh APs talk to the AirTight Wi-Fi/WIPS server through the root AP.
AirTight device models with two radios that are capable of operating in AP mode, that is, SS-300-AT-C-
55, SS-300-AT-C-55-E, SS-300-AT-C-60, SS-300-AT-O-70, C-75, C-75-E and C-65 support mesh
networking. One radio is used as a dedicated mesh radio and the other radio is used to offer Wi-Fi access
to wireless clients. This also means that mesh networking is currently supported for a/n and b/g/n
platforms, but not supported on the 802.11ac platform.
A mesh network created using AirTight devices is logically implemented as a tree topology.
In a tree topology, there is a parent node and there are multiple child nodes. The child node is referred to
as a downlink in the mesh profile configuration. The parent node of a child is referred to as an uplink.
Set up a Mesh Network
To set up a wireless mesh network, you must first identify the APs that would behave as mesh APs. The
APs could be a combination of different AirTight device models supporting mesh networking, or multiple
devices of a single AirTight device model.
You must define a mesh profile on the AirTight Wi-Fi server if you wish to set up a wireless mesh network.
A mesh profile represents the mesh network parameters. You can add, edit and delete mesh profiles.
The mesh profile defined for the wireless mesh network must be applied to one of the radios of the mesh
APs. This radio acts as the dedicated radio to communicate with the other APs on the mesh network.
You must apply a device template with per device configuration enabled, to all the mesh APs. Then, you
must specify which of the mesh APs are root APs. The other APs in the mesh will be treated as non-root
APs, by default.
Once you have defined the mesh parameters and overridden the device template settings for the mesh
AP, you will be able to see a pictorial representation of the mesh network topology in the Locations
section on the AirTight Management Console. For details on viewing the mesh network topology, refer to
the 'View Mesh Topology' section in Manage Location Layout
.
IMPORTANT! You cannot create a wireless mesh network that is a combination of AirTight APs and APs
from vendors other than AirTight. The mesh network must consist of AirTight APs only.
To set up a wireless mesh network for a location, do the following.
1.
Select a location from the location tree.