Why Meshbone

Plug-and-play
Installing a Meshbone network is as simple as powering it up. With only minimal configuration steps needed for a first install (necessary for building a secure network), the wireless mesh will auto-detect all the participants and build a stable network. Should anything happen to the topology of the network, such as nodes disappearing unexpectedly or the addition of new devices, the Meshbone protocols will respond to this change without requiring input from the network administrator

Distributed Operation
All the Meshbone nodes work together in a peer-to-peer fashion to construct and control all aspects of the network. Many mesh solutions start from the principle of a centralized controller that drives a number of light-weight access points. The Meshbone protocols do not need any central controller, and eliminate this often expensive and hard to configure device on the network.
By its distributed design, there is no central point of failure that could bring down the network.

Multi-radio
Meshbone presents a strong multi-radio approach to building a wireless mesh. The Meshbone protocols are built from the ground up for a multi-radio system. Given any number of wireless interfaces, each node decides which neighboring nodes to talk to, and on which frequencies. Even though all the nodes make autonomous decisions in this distributed system, a coherent wireless mesh network is constructed with an optimal spread of available frequencies to maximize the available bandwidth, and lower interference levels.

Since not all links will be used with the same intensity, Meshbone’s frequency optimization takes an adaptive approach: those wireless links that are used the most, will receive precedence in the optimization routines that are run periodically.

Secure
Industry-strength security protocols ensure protection from any snooping attempts. The mesh network itself has a totally disjoint set of security descriptors from any access network in use by the clients.

Node Mobility
From a client device’s point of view, it only sees one wireless network (SSID), even though many meshed access points may be providing this network. As the client moves around, it may attach itself to the network through a number of access points. Even though the Meshbone network uses a hierarchy of IP networks internally, the client retains its IP address, ensuring no loss of connectivity. As with all Meshbone protocols, there is no need for a central mobility controller, as this functionality is also taken care of in a distributed protocol that is present in every Meshbone node.

Backbone connectivity
Even though a Meshbone network may stand on its own, disconnected from the internet, a backbone uplink is typically provided. The network is completely agnostic to the type of that connectivity. Ethernet uplinks may be used to connect to DSL or cable modems, WiFi may provide access through an already existing wireless infrastructure, or 3G could be used when there are no other alternatives available. These different types may exist in a network at the same time, providing fail-over services. For example, should the wired network fail for any reason, 3G may be used to ensure connectivity.

Scalable
Meshbone offers a powerful feature that allows the network capacity to be increased at any time while the network is operational. Multiple Meshbone devices may be connected using Ethernet (“daisy-chained”) to form one logical unit.

Based on the load imposed on the network, core devices could benefit from an extra number of radios to their disposal to increase the frequency usage. By daisy-chaining two or more devices, more capacity is added to these nodes without network downtime.

Manage Anywhere Instead of relying on a central management controller inside the network, any Meshbone node can be a management node. Either monitor the network as a whole, or make configurational changes. Any change that is made to a node locally, can be applied locally, or propagated to all the nodes in the network.

Optionally, Meshbone networks support remote management. A dial-home function allows network administrators to keep tabs on all their installed meshes, and perform monitoring and configuration operations just as if the network was accessed locally.