Hi all,

So I was thinking about mesh networking and I have a question which I am struggling to find the answer to.

• How do you connect to a device on the other side of the mesh? Is there a ledger of all devices connected to the mesh? How would device - device communication work?

So for example, imagine a mesh network where one device at one side of the mesh wants to send some data to a device on the other side. How will that device know what path to take through the mesh if there is no global list of connected devices and the devices they are connected to?

All the best,
Robin

 

Hi,

Ham radio operators have started building a mesh network. Data is sent between nodes wirelessly over the 2.4Ghz band (if I remember correctly) using directional antennas and re-flashed routers. There are some restrictions though in terms of who can communicate with whom and how it is done. You can find more info here: http://forums.qrz.com/index.php?threads/mesh-networking-over-ham-radio-our-own-emergency-backbone-network.593869/

Now, if you're thinking about a wired mesh network I am guessing you'd need each node to agree to be a member of that. The critical mass you'd need to reach something usable would have to be substantial. Feasible on paper but in reality... I am guessing if anybody ever managed to create such a network the government and regulators would find a way to shut it down quickly or make it prohibitive to run. I can already imagine the "national security" grounds being brought forward versus such a network that cannot be controlled by the usual suspects.

Good luck!

 

Hi all,

So I was thinking about mesh networking and I have a question which I am struggling to find the answer to.

• How do you connect to a device on the other side of the mesh? Is there a ledger of all devices connected to the mesh? How would device - device communication work?

So for example, imagine a mesh network where one device at one side of the mesh wants to send some data to a device on the other side. How will that device know what path to take through the mesh if there is no global list of connected devices and the devices they are connected to?

All the best,
Robin

There are MANY routing protocols that can be used in a mesh network. Here's a partial list:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wireless_mesh_network#Protocols
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ad_hoc_routing_protocols

The HWMP is the protocol used by 802.11s

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrid_Wireless_Mesh_Protocol

The reason that there are so many different protocols is because the basic nature of a mesh network is highly variable with regard to the assumptions that can be made about a number of factors such as how dense and how dynamic it is. Different protocols leverage those assumptions as they apply to that network.