November 16, 2012
Wireless mesh networks can be an ideal solution for mission critical applications in municipal networks. With the advent of the licensed 4.9GHz frequency band, public safety entities can have their own network, one that has sufficient bandwidth for voice, data, and video applications. These networks can be designed to cover wide geographic areas and enable clients to maintain network connectivity while on the move.
Mesh networks form instantaneously and automatically heal themselves when a link is interrupted or broken, and will route traffic based on bandwidth availability. This self-healing capability helps minimize downtime since there are multiple routes back for every node on the network. MIMO wireless mesh networks include built-in redundancy as the mesh will always send the traffic down the best available path. If one node should happen to go down, such as when there is a power outage, the traffic automatically reroutes to the next best available path.
Mesh systems can operate both outdoors and indoors which allows the network to extend into public facilities such as office buildings, stadiums and convention centers or other facilities. Indoor mesh WLANs can minimize the need to have a cable connection for each access point saving money and installation time. Theses devices use 2.4GHz and 4.9GHz for client access, and the 5GHz frequency band for the mesh. Depending on the manufacturer a mesh device can have 2-4 radios per unit.
For more information about mesh networks contact us at 978-952-6000 or sales@directnetserv.com
