H3C Technologies H3C WX3000E Series Wireless Switches - Manual (Page 321)

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Advantages of WLAN mesh
The WLAN mesh technology allows operators to easily deploy wireless networks anywhere and anytime.
WLAN mesh has the following advantages:
• High performance/price ratio—In a mesh network, only the MPPs need to connect to a wired
network. In this way, the dependency on the wired network is reduced to the minimum extent, and
the investment in wired devices, cabling, and installation is greatly reduced.
• Excellent scalability—In a mesh network, the APs can automatically discover each other and initiate
wireless link setup. To add new APs to the mesh network, you just need to install these new APs and
perform the related configurations on them.
• Fast deployment—Since only the MPPs need to connect to a wired network, WLAN mesh greatly
reduces the network deployment time.
• Various application scenarios—The mesh network is applicable to enterprise, office, and campus
networks, which are common application scenarios of traditional WLANs, and also applicable to
large-sized warehouse, port, MAN, railway transportation, and crisis communication networks.
• High reliability—In a traditional WLAN, when the wired upstream link of an AP fails, all clients
associated with the AP cannot access the WLAN. Comparatively, in a mesh network, all APs are
fully meshed. There are multiple available wireless links for a mesh AP to reach a portal node in the
wired network, thus avoiding single point failure effectively.
Deployment scenarios
This section covers deployment scenarios of WLAN mesh, which are in two categories: subway
networking and normal networking.
Normal WLAN mesh deployment
1. Normal fit MP scenario
As shown in
Figure 322 , two mesh networks are controlled by the same AC. At least one MPP in
a mesh has wired connectivity with the AC. When an MP comes up, it scans the network and forms
temporary connections with all available MPs in its vicinity. Such temporary connections allow the
MP to connect to the AC for downloading its configurations. After downloading its configurations
from the AC, the MP will establish secure connections with neighbors sharing the same pre-shared
key.