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Aggregation
is the combining of multiple remote WAN network (i.e. ADSL, Cable, T1 etc)
connections. The benefit of
aggregation is the user gets all of the bandwidth combined from the multiple
remote WAN network. The advanced of aggregation using traffic management
functions can precisely manage traffic flows, which are distributed to
subscribers and to meet QoS requirement for premium services.
On the
service provider side, the challenge of reducing operating costs and maintaining
revenue growth are issues. Since current Mesh Nodes equipment does not have an
aggregation capability, it complicates the service provider’s operational
networks. Because existing Mesh Nodes equipment is not able to provide per
subscriber based quality service control, it limits service providers options to
provide mission critical services for future revenue growth.
Currently
bandwidth management is supported at the client level.
Upon failure of the Uplink node the bandwidth is reallocated or is
“self healed” sharing the remainder Mesh Uplink nodes. As a result the
remaining multiple Uplink nodes do not load balance traffic nor is the traffic
load balance when there is not a failure.
Example Mesh “Last
Mile” deployment
Assumptions
 | 4 Uplink
node distributed |
| WAN
connections ADSL 1.5 MBPS and are distributed. |
| Circles
indicate which paradigm each mesh Uplink node services |
| Overlapping
circles mesh node determines |
| No
Aggregation |
| Focus is on
the connection between the ISP and Mesh ISP |
The
current Mesh networks cannot meet both the customer’s requirements and service
provider’s revenue growth rates. Most ISP can use their unused bandwidth;
however, in the Uplink Node above due to the “No Single Point of Failure”
Aggregation of the WAN is not possible at the router level.
This will need to be built in the Mesh Node level.
The
following Bridge Node solution has been designed to resolve the current Mesh
networking issue of aggregation. It offers service providers a very competitive
edge and provides tremendous opportunity for Mesh network growth; however, it
does add a single point of failure.
In this Model the number of routers are reduce to one and a
bridge with four antennas is added. In addition Pooling Bandwidth software is
added to the router. The major
difference is the WAN connection is no longer distributed by centralized. The
distribution of the WAN is connected to the uplink nodes wireless.
A second radio card will need to be installed on the Uplink Nodes.
As the Mesh grows additional WAN connection to Internet can
simply be added with out adding additional cost of routers.
Bandwidth from the Internet can be pooled and distributed to mesh using
various channels.
The
Bridge Node network model above can offer the following advantages:
| Expanded Mesh services –
The Bridge Node can expand, but not change, existing Mesh networks to
provide very high-speed IP services. |
| QoS on-demand services –
With customized network design, provides per flow based policing, congestion
control, shaping and prioritization to enable QoS on-demand services. |
| Mesh infrastructure evolution –
The Bridge Node and Router with Bandwidth pooling enables service providers
to grow from a distributed based technology to a centralized technology. |
| New service revenue –
The Bridge Node opportunities can create new services resulting in
significant revenue growth. |
| Multi-service Aggregation –
Service providers can integrate other services such as back-haul or
wholesale bandwidth to maximize benefits of different services. |
| Network Optimization and flexibility –
With the additional features set of the Bridge Node, service providers can
further optimize the network by routing traffic directly from the bridge to
client and offers the choice to turn on additional functionalities. The
advanced aggregation technology enables next-generation Mesh network
evolution by establishing Bridge Path to forward network traffic. |
Summary
As
the Mesh market becomes more and more competitive, Wireless Mesh service
providers are seeking more combined and advanced services to strength their
wireless position. The Bridge Node is an alternative method for enabling the
growth of Mesh networks by using aggregation.
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