Brocade Mobility Access Point System Reference Guide (Supporting software release 5.5.0.0 and later) - Manual (Page 12)

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About the Brocade Mobility Software
The Mobility architecture is a solution designed for 802.11n networking. It leverages the best
aspects of independent and dependent architectures to create a smart network that meets the
connectivity, quality and security needs of each user and their applications, based on the
availability of network resources including wired networks. By distributing intelligence and control
amongst access points, a Mobility network can route directly via the best path, as determined by
factors including the user, location, the application and available wireless and wired resources.
Mobility extends the differentiation Brocade offer to the next level, by making available services
and security at every point in the network. Access point managed traffic flow is optimized to
prevent wired congestion and wireless congestion. Traffic flows dynamically, based on user and
application, and finds alternate routes to work around network choke points.
With this latest Mobility release, the network can use access points to adapt to the dynamic
circumstances of their deployment environment. The Mobility architecture provides a customized
site-specific deployment, supporting the best path and routes based on the user, location,
application and the best route available (both wireless and wired). A Mobility access point managed
network assures end-to-end quality, reliability and security without latency and performance
degradation. A Mobility access point managed network supports rapid application delivery,
mixed-media application optimization and quality assurance.
Deploying a new Mobility access point managed network does not require the replacement of
existing Brocade access points. Mobility enables the simultaneous use of existing architectures
from Brocade and other vendors, even if those other architectures are centralized models. A
wireless network administrator can retain and optimize legacy infrastructure while evolving to
Mobility as needed.
By distributing intelligence and control amongst access points, a Mobility network can route data
directly using the best path. As a result, the additional load placed on the wired network from
802.11n support is significantly reduced, as traffic does not require an unnecessary backhaul.
Within a Mobility network, up to 80% of the network traffic can remain on the wireless mesh, and
never touch the wired network, so the 802.11n load impact on the wired network is negligible. In
addition, latency and associated costs are reduced while reliability and scalability are increased. A
Mobility network enables the creation of dynamic wireless traffic flows, so bottlenecks can be
avoided, and the destination is reached without latency or performance degradation. This behavior
delivers a significantly better quality of experience for the end user.
The same distributed intelligence enables more resilience and survivability, since access points
keep users connected and traffic flowing with full QoS, security and mobility even if a connection is
interrupted due to a wired network or backhaul problem.
When the network is fully operational, sources of interference or unbalanced wireless network
loading can be automatically corrected by the access point’s Smart RF functionality. Smart RF
senses interference or potential client connectivity problems and makes the required changes to
the channel and access point radio power while minimizing the impact to latency sensitive
applications like VoIP. Using Smart RF, the network can continuously adjust power and channel
assignments for self-recovery if an access point radio fails or a coverage hole is detected.
Additionally, integrated access point sensors, in conjunction with AirDefense Network Assurance,
alerts administrators of interference and network coverage problems, which shortens response
times and boosts overall reliability and availability of the access point managed network.