User's Guide

The intelligence of a BreadCrumb network is in how it adapts rapidly to the creation or destruction of the

links in the mesh as devices are moved, switched OFF or ON, blocked by obstructions, interfered with by

other devices, or otherwise affected. This adaptation takes place automatically and immediately as

needed.

1.2.2 BreadCrumb Mesh Connections

In order for two BreadCrumbs to establish a mesh link to each other, they must be set to the same radio

channel and have the same Network ID. The Network ID is computed from:

• Network Name (simply a configurable name for the network, default is “Rajant Mesh Network”)

• Network Key (a passphrase or key used for establishing mesh connections and obfuscating unen-

crypted network management traffic)

• Packet cipher setting

• MAC cipher setting

• Per-hop verification setting

• Key Sequence Number (defaults to 0)

To modify these settings via BC|Commander, the administrator must be logged in using the Crypto Of-

ficer credentials.

1.2.3 Compatibility with v10

It is possible to have a mesh with both v10 and v11 BreadCrumbs. This is useful while upgrading a net-

work from v10 to v11. The following settings must be configured on the v11 BreadCrumbs in order to es-

tablish mesh links with v10 BreadCrumbs:

• Access Point: Enable Access Point must be checked, and Access Point: ESSID must match the prima-

ry ESSID of the v10 BreadCrumb on at least one radio of the same frequency. Version 10 firmware

uses the BreadCrumb’s primary ESSID instead of the Network Name.

• Security: Version 10 Network Authentication Key and Security: Version 10 Network Encryption Key

must match the NAK and NEK of the v10 BreadCrumb. Both v10 and v11 have the same default val-

ues.

• InstaMesh: Enable v10 Compatibility must be checked.

Note

Because the crypto settings between v10 and v11 are different, the v10 Compatibility mode will only

work if ALL crypto settings are disabled on both the v10 and v11 BreadCrumbs.