User's Manual

Setup and Deployment Guide
IAPs can be mounted on utility poles, light poles, traffic apparatus, billboards, and buildings.
Their fixed positions allow the Subscriber Device to pinpoint its location within one second.
WRs and IAPs can also be mobile, attached to emergency vehicles, utility vehicles, or fleet
vehicles. It is important to note that the WMC technology within a Subscriber Device is identical
to the WMC technology in Wireless Routers and IAPs.
The
system was designed to minimize the cost associated with deploying a mobile Internet
with end user data access rates on the order of DSL or Cable Modem. The chosen metric of
network efficiency for a data centric network is bits per second per Hertz per square kilometer
per dollar (bps/hz/km
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/$). This metric balances the user data rates, allocated bandwidth,
coverage area, and cost. One of the most important factors in optimizing this metric is the
choice of network architecture.
1.5.1.1 Subscriber Devices (SDs)
The MeshNetworks’ Wireless Modem Card (WMC) is
provided as a PCMCIA form factor device. The WMC is
used with an off-the-shelf IP-enabled laptop, handheld
computer, PDA, or entertainment device. These two devices
together make up a Subscriber Device (SD).
The WMC provides access to the fixed infrastructure network
and other networks, such as the Internet, and it can also
function as a Wireless Router and repeater for other SDs.
SDs can therefore be a key part of the network
infrastructure. Adding subscribers can effectively increase the number of Wireless Routers in
the network, which increases the number of alternative paths that subscribers may utilize. This
can reduce both the time and cost to deploy network infrastructure, while also increasing the
spectral efficiency and therefore the capacity of the network. And because SDs can also
operate in an ad hoc peer-to-peer mode, two or more SDs can form a network without the need
for any fixed infrastructure.
1.5.1.2 Wireless Routers (WRs)
The Wireless Router (WR) is a low-cost small-sized wireless device
that is primarily deployed to seed a geographical area, extending
the range between IAPs and subscribers, and to simultaneously
increase the network’s spectral efficiency. Wireless Routers provide
a number of functions in the network, such as:
• Range extension for Subscriber Devices and IAPs
• Hopping points for subscriber peer-to-peer networking
• Automatic load balancing
• Route selection
• Network capacity optimization through small packet consolidation
• Fixed reference for geo-location services
The Wireless Router's small size and light weight allow it to be mounted almost anywhere. No
towers are required.
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