User's Manual

7
i.e., it is not allowed to have two devices sharing the same IP address.
4.2 Mesh Network Architecture
This section describes the Fluidmesh mesh networking architecture and the basic functionalities of the
FM3500 series. For the sake of clarity, we will refer to a generic FM unit whenever the discussion
applies to the FM3500 series.
Fluidmesh Networks develops wireless networking solutions based on the innovative mesh networking
architecture which presents unmatched advantages in terms of reliability and flexibility compared to
any traditional wireless solution. Using Fluidmesh technology for your network allows you to take
advantage of this powerful architecture. An example of wireless mesh network is shown in Fig. 4.3.
In a wireless mesh network, every FM unit transmits the data packets coming from the devices directly
attached to it and also acts as an “intelligent router” able to forward packets coming from other FM
units through the optimal path.
In a redundant and reliable mesh network, every stream of data packets has multiple available paths
to reach the base station, and the network forwards the packets through the optimal path at any
point in time. The absence of any single point of failure increases its reliability compared to any
other transmission technology, either wireless or wired.
Fig. 4.3 - Fluidmesh Mesh Networking Architecture
4.3 Point-to-Multipoint Architecture: FluidMAX™
Developing FluidMAX
1
, Fluidmesh embraced the Point-to-Multipoint architecture (see Fig. 4.4)
improving its features and capabilities to meet the needs of system integrators in the security and
industrial automation industry. The FluidMAX technology is based on a centralized Medium Access
Control (MAC) protocol and allows Fluidmesh customers to create point-to-multipoint networks using
the FM units.
With the FluidMAX technology, an FM unit can thus be used at the center of the star topology in a
point-to-multipoint fashion using sector antennas or antenna splitters with multiple directional
antennas. The unit operating at the center of the star topology plays the role of Master and is in charge
of coordinating communications to and from the other units that thus act as Slaves. As a result, the
hidden and exposed terminal problems are eliminated by the centralized FluidMAX MAC protocol
that supports up to 150 Mb/s maximum throughput
2
. By reducing the number of slaves, the supported
rate per slave can be increased provided that the sum of the throughput requirements of the slaves is
1
Patent pending
2
Assuming the default channel width of 40 MHz.