User's Manual

-3-

1 Introduction

Welcome to the Axiometric Evaluation Kit. This kit provides a fully functional, small MeshPlus®

mesh network for demonstration and evaluation of its technical features.

This document is your guide to the kit contents, setting up the mesh network, and testing its

features. The configurations and exercises provided in this document are intended to illustrate the

mesh features, but are not an exhaustive treatment of all the possible points of interest.

Each application for MeshPlus® will have its own unique requirements and considerations.

Evaluators considering the mesh for an application may need to adapt some of the exercises for

their environment or create new ones. The MeshStamps® which are provided with the kit are

powerful, generic components which demonstrate many features of the mesh. It is anticipated

that for specific applications the feature set may need be extended or the MeshStamp® form

factor adjusted. This kit is intended to permit interested customers to evaluate the mesh and its

capabilities in their own lab and environment with real equipment. It is not necessarily expected

that this specific MeshStamp® would be deployed in production by the customer without some

adaptation.

2 MeshPlus®

Overview

The MeshPlus® is a network of MeshStamps® where a MeshStamp® is typically a network data

collection point associated with some external equipment which is monitored or controlled. In

addition to local data collection, each MeshStamp® has the capability to receive and relay

information from its neighbor MeshStamps® as well as transmit its own information.

To participate in the mesh network, a new MeshStamp® listens to find its neighbors. Once a

neighbor is discovered, the new MeshStamp® receives the current mesh communications

parameters such as timing and it can then join the mesh as a full participant. Each mesh may be

assigned a unique mesh key so that a new Mesh Stamp may only join its intended mesh.

The data collected by the MeshStamps must typically be retrieved and made available to a

Network Management System. Special network access nodes called Gateways are provided to

bridge the network data to the Network Management System. In addition to the radio based

MeshPlus® Network communications, a Gateway provides connectivity to the Network

Management System via Ethernet.

The placement of one or more gateways in the network establishes the direction for the flow of

data. The network sends data from its origination point to the gateway. When a MeshStamp® can

communicate directly with the gateway, the gateway will typically accept its traffic directly. Mesh

Stamps, which cannot communicate directly with the gateway, rely on their neighbors and the

mesh structure to relay the traffic all the way to the gateway.

Mesh Stamp

Gateway

Mesh Stamp

Mesh Master