A New Chapter For Wireless

Now that wireless networks are becoming ubiquitous and robust enough to carry more than just cellphone and SMS traffic, wireless developers have opened a new chapter in the technology's evolution. It's called the wireless mesh network, and it's designed as a multihop system that uses a relay process to disseminate data packets across multiple nodes.

Much like the grid-computing philosophy in wired networks, wireless mesh networks use the multi-node topology to spread the workload across a network, providing performance and redundancy. The technology is beginning to enable applications that until now could only be carried on broadband wired networks or on high-speed point-to-point configurations.

Mesh networks owe a lot to research from MIT's Media Lab, which, along with a handful of commercial vendors, has pioneered the concept. One such vendor is Avaya, which has begun to roll out the mesh networks to a limited number of clients.

The biggest catalyst for the new topologies? Price.

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"The concept is really nothing new, but cost has kept it from taking off before now," says Kevin Nelson, a technology manager for Avaya's CTO organization. "Now that we can put all the transceivers on a single chip, it makes the configurations more attractive."

Applications include distributed control systems, diagnostic monitoring of devices, home and vehicle automation and, as Nelson says, "any place you want to do low-bandwidth monitoring."

Other vendors spearheading the trend toward wireless meshes are BelAir Networks, Firetide, RoamAD, Tropos Networks and longtime wired network pioneer Nortel.

Tropos has found traction for the technology by selling it to municipalities that use it to offer Internet service to consumers and businesses. The company is also using it to provide public-safety officials with real-time wireless access to various databases, which lets them, for example, do instant background checks during traffic stops.

Tropos channel manager Patrick Sloter says the difficult part about the technology is finding the right VARs to install it. "We're looking for partners who can sell, design, deploy and service wireless networks for customers," he says.

One channel partner that does have the right stuff is WFI, a San Diego-based provider of systems integration, network services and technical outsourcing for wireless carriers, government agencies and various enterprises. Al Brown, WFI's vice president of business development for enterprise-network systems, says mesh topologies have enabled wireless networks to expand beyond the single-location, hotspot configurations into something more robust and scalable.

"In a traditional 'hotspot' design, some type of backhaul is required at each wireless access point. Although you can get connectivity in the coffee shop, you can't keep connectivity if you leave and go down the street," he says. "With a mesh network design, you don't have to go to the phone booth to make a call."

Public-safety applications are big right now, he says, as are work-order management systems for remote workers. Brown notes that the networks are often constructed under public-private partnerships. Independent companies contract with local governments to install the network nodes on government-owned property in exchange for services. "The nodes are typically installed on traffic lights and street lights, which are often owned by the cities," Brown says, "so in the case of a public/private relationship, in return for rents that could be associated with the lights, a company may offer free network access to a portion of city employees."

With agreements like these, wireless mesh developers may be starting some beautiful network friendships.

Wireless Mesh Offerings
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MeshDynamics

RoamAD

Control Element Management System