User's Manual

CHAPTER7
BRIDGELINKSANDMESH
Revised: 09 Aug 2016 7-4 ESTeem Horizon Series
RSTPPhases
Thefollowingsectionsde scribetheprocessoftheRSTPintheESTeemHorizonashowitwouldhappenintheaboveexample.
LearningPhase‐Once properlyconfigured,eachHorizonwillbegintosearchouttheotherHorizonunitsinradiorangethatare
programmedintheAPRepeaterPeertable.AllHorizon’swillcalculatetheirroutestoeveryHorizoninthenetworkbasedupon
thelowest“pathlength”totheRootBridge.Pathlengthisthetotalnumberofwirelesslinks(repeaterpeerlinks)totransmita
packetthroughthewirelessnetworktotheRootBridge.Note:TheRootBridgeinane
tworkshouldbetheHorizonwherethe
majorityofthedataflowisprocessed.Ineverywirelessnetworkoftwoormoreradios,theRootBridgeshouldbeuserdefined.
Ifnotdefined,theHorizonwiththelowestMACaddresswillbedesignatedastheRootBr
idge.
InFigure4,thePlantnetwor k(Example1)isthemostlogicallocationfortheRootBridgebasedupontheamountofdata flow.
Settingthissi teastherootbridgeisdiscussedbelowinRoot Bridge.
BlockingandForwardingPhaseToensureyoudonothaveanetworkloopsi
tuationduetoredundantpathsinyourwireless
network,theModelHorizonwillrecognizeanddisable(block)oneormoreredundantlinksandprovidebackuplinksshouldthe
primarylinkfail.Thisestablishesawirelessmeshnetworkwithaseriesofforwardinglinks,basedupontheshortestpathlength
totheRootBridge.
Forexample, lookingatFigure4,theRemoteBuild
inghastworoutestotheRootBridge (PlantNetworkExample#1);directlyto
thesiteandthroughtherepeater.Thedirectlinkbetweenthetwositesistheshortestroute(lowestPathLength)andwillbe
selectedastheprimaryrouteunlessoverriddenbymanuallychangingthePathLengthintheconfiguration.
PathLength
Ifmorethanonecommun
icationpathtotheRootBridgeisfound,theHorizonmustdeterminewhichroutetotakebasedupon
thelowestPathLength.ThedefaultpathlengthtoalllinksintheHorizonnetworkis1.IfthePathLe
ngthsareequalthenthe
lowestMACaddresswilldeterminethepriorityroute.IntheESTeemMeshNetworkwewanttodirectlycontrolalldataflowso
donotwanttheroutestobeautomaticallydetermin e d.
Lookingagainat ourExamplein Figure4,ifwemadenochangestothede
fault pathlengthof1(notevaluesinFigure3)thelow est
pathlengthwouldbedirectfromtheRemote BuildingtotheRootBridge(PlantNetwork).
LinkDescription TotalPathLength
Directfro mRemoteBuilding 1
RemoteBuildtoRootBridgeThroughRepeater 2(Length1torepeate r +Length1toMaster=2)
ToconfiguretheHorizontoselecttherepeaterastheprimaryradiopath,setthepathlengthvalueforthedirect linkgreaterthan
2(suchasavalueof3)tomakethistheprimaryradiopath.Thelowestpathlengthwillidentifythehighes tpriority.TheModel
Horizonwillusethisrout
ing,butalsoswitchtodirectcommunicationiftherepeaterweretodisappear.
RootBridge
InanyAccessPointRepeaternetworkconsistingofmorethantwosites,oneModelHorizonshouldbedesignatedastheRoot
Bridge.OnlyoneModelHorizoncanbedesignatedastheRootBridgeinagiv
ennetworkandshouldbelocatedwherethemajority
ofthe Ethernetdataflow isprocessed.Thissitemaybethe Masterlocation inaSCADAnetworkor cou ldbe configuredat a
repeatersite.SelectionisimportantbecauseallModelHorizon’sNOTconfiguredastheRootBridgewi
llchooseroutingbased
uponthePathLengthtotheRootBridge.IfyouhaveanyquestionastowhichsiteinyourAPRepeaterapplicationshouldbethe
RootBridge,contactESTeemCustomerSupportat5097359092oremailyourapplicationtosupport@esteem.com.