User's Manual

SPEEDLAN 9000 Series Installation and Operation User Guide
1-12 Introduction
Routing
Routing is simply the act of guiding a packet from one destination to another, whether on the same
network or across multiple networks. A router keeps a table or a "route map" of its neighbors and the
best path to other known networks. Many routers use a "hop" count to determine the number of hops
that a packet travels. A "hop" can be defined as the trip that a data packet takes from one router (or
intermediate point) to another on the network.
The SPEEDLAN 9000 outperforms other units/routers because the SPEEDLAN 9000 routing table
broadcasts only the information that changed, such as when new routes are added or old routes are
removed from the network. This information is sent to the units/router's immediate neighbors along
the most efficient path to the end destination. This process helps conserve bandwidth. If an existing
path is modified in some way, by the addition or deletion of a router, a SPEEDLAN 9000 using the
Mesh protocol can monitor its routing table to decide if a secondary path should be taken. One
could call this a "self-healing" network, which means it finds a secondary route through the network
without manually reprogramming the units/routers.
Network Expansion: Connecting Buildings in a SPEEDLAN 9000 Network
Use SPEEDLAN 9102 units/routers to connect clients within LOS via the K
2
protocol. Connect
buildings obstructed by LOS issues with SPEEDLAN 9101 units/routers, or with SPEEDLAN 9102
units/routers in a NLOS pico cell. It is important to understand how different SPEEDLAN 9000 units/
routers can be used together, such as follows:
Designing a Broadband Wireless MAN
Using a mix of wireless technologies, SPEEDLAN makes it possible to design a wireless MAN
capable of delivering high-speed Internet services to a variety of buildings. In the installation
diagram above, the ISP has installed three polling base stations, two high-speed microwave links,