Wireless Mesh Topology
This article will guide you and will give you an idea before creating a100% coverage Wi-Fi network at home. I will not be highlighting on any specific productor how-to guide today. But will open your eyes to many possibilities. I promise you that Iwill put up a how-to article soon.
What is wireless networking?
Networking allows two or more computers to communicate with each other, whether in an office or at home. There are various mediums of networking. The mostcommon transmission mediums used in networking is conducting cable, optical fiberand wireless. Conducting cables or usually copper that transmits electrical signals,where optical fiber transmits light signals. Wireless networks use radio waves totransmit data.
There many things to consider when creating a wireless network.For instance a good question that you might want to ask yourself would be, whether wireless networking is the best solution for you?
It is very important that you do a small survey of the environment that you want to have network access. Sometimes due to the design of your home or office setup it is best to have a wired network. Getting the answers for the following questions would help you a lot in your network planning.
- How many desktop computers?
- How many Mobile Computers?
- What other DLNA certified devices will be added to your network?
- Finally how many floors do you plan to have network access?
If the number of devices that needs to be connected does not exceed 3,and all these are stationary in different floors, the best choice would be to have a wired network. However, if you think that in future you are going to add more computers and devices then you might want to consider going for a wired and wireless solution.
It is very costly to create a wireless network with 100% coverage. By combining both mediums you can reduce the costs. I believe that there will be at least one desktop computer in every house and definitely more in small offices. To connect desktop computers to a wireless network, it requires a wireless USB dongle or an internal PCI card. These accessories are not that expensive, but if it is more than 3, are you willing to buy for all?
What is Wireless Mesh Topology?
A wireless mesh topology is made up of three or more Access Points (AP), working in harmony with each other, sharing each others routing protocols. These APs are in a collection of cross connection links creating an interconnection pathway for the transmission of data between two or more computers.
A wireless mesh has a single name for the network identifier (SSID) to access and the signals between wireless access points are used with each other to clearly distinguish from another network. This sharing access points in a network working in harmony is known as the mesh topology.
Let us take a look at a small Diagram that might give us a good picture of what I am trying to explain.
In the above diagram we can see that the architecture is based on creating a small home group network for 3 floors of a house / office.
The internet is shared with the network devices through a router which acts as the Gateway and has DHCP running on it. The devices that needs a wired connection can be connected straight to the router (if it has enough ports to connect) or you can just add a switch in between. The wireless devices are connected to the APs. The APs are connected to the Base Station that has a direct link to the router. The APs can be connected to the network via wired or wireless. There are Base stations that can work as the DHCP server and Router. This way you can reduce the number of devices required. Apple Airport Extreme Base Station is a “5 Start” device that I would recommend for any home group network. I have highlighted some of the best features of Apple airport extreme below.
As I have explained earlier, due to the interference that we face in some areas, the wireless signal strength might be too low for devices that need a steady bandwidth to operate. Such devices include network hard drives that acts as a Network Attached Storage (NAS) and desktop computers that need multiple connections to other devices. However, sometimes the problem occurs due to the location of the Wireless AP or router.
Selecting a suitable location for the Wireless AP or Router
- Place the AP in an open area where there are few obstructions, such as large pieces of furniture or walls. Try to place it away from metallic surfaces.
- If you place the AP behind furniture, keep at least 6 inches between the AP and the edge of the furniture.
- Avoid placing the AP in areas surrounded by metal surfaces on three or more sides.
- If you place the AP in an entertainment center with stereo equipment, avoid completely surrounding the AP with audio, video, or power cables. Place the AP so that the cables are to one side. Maintain as much space as possible between the AP and the cables.
- Try to place the AP at least 25 feet (7.6 meters) from a microwave oven, 2.4 or 5 gigahertz (GHz) cordless phones, or other sources of interference.
- Try to place the AP at the center of the Floor.
Apple Airport Extreme Base Station
- Based on the IEEE 802.11n specification, AirPort Extreme uses a technology called multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) to transmit multiple data streams simultaneously.
- It’s easy to allow guests to use your Internet connection without sharing your password or giving them access to the rest of your network. Simply enable the guest networking feature using the AirPort Utility application and create a separate Wi-Fi network just for your friends. You can set up this guest network with a different password or with none at all. Your primary network — including your printer, attached drives, or other devices — remains secure.
- All currently shipping Mac systems support the next-generation 802.11n technology in the AirPort Extreme Base Station. And AirPort Extreme is compatible with Mac computers, PCs, and wireless devices such as iPhone and iPod touch that use 802.11a, b, or g technologies. You can also rest assured that AirPort Extreme works with other certified 802.11n products.
- Some Wi-Fi devices use the 2.4GHz wireless band, including iPhone, iPod touch, and devices using 802.11b/g. Other devices can use either 2.4GHz or the higher-speed 5GHz band, such as the latest 802.11n-based Mac computers and Apple TV. Instead of choosing one of the bands, AirPort Extreme operates simultaneously on both bands, and your multiband devices automatically use the best available band. This means all your Wi-Fi devices get the fastest possible wireless performance and the best possible range. In addition, AirPort Extreme reduces the possibility of interference from appliances and cordless phones that use the 2.4GHz band.
- AirPort Extreme can turn your external USB hard drive into a drive you can share with all the users on your network and access securely over the Internet. This feature — AirPort Disk — is a simple and convenient way to share files among everyone in your family, office, or class. Just connect the external hard drive to the USB port on the back of your AirPort Extreme and — voilà — all the documents, videos, photos, and other files on the drive instantly become available to anyone on the secure network, Mac and PC users alike. It’s perfect for file sharing, collaborative projects, and more.
[Source: www.apple.com]
Note: These are not all the feature that Airport Extreme supports. I have only highlighted just a few of its feature. For more details please visit Apple site.
No comments:
Post a Comment