What is a Mesh Network?

Mesh network is a method of transmitting data and control instructions through dynamic routing between network nodes. This kind of network can keep the connection between each node intact. When a node in the network topology fails or cannot be served, this architecture allows a "hop" method to form a new route and send the message to the transmission destination.

Mesh network is a method of transmitting data and control instructions through dynamic routing between network nodes. This kind of network can keep the connection between each node intact. When a node in the network topology fails or cannot be served, this architecture allows a "hop" method to form a new route and send the message to the transmission destination.

The mesh topology can be of any shape. It is mainly suitable for wide area networks. It is the most complex and costly network structure in network protocols. ^[1]

Chinese name

Mesh network

Foreign name

Mesh Network

Nature

The internet

Attributes

Reticulate

Introduction to mesh networks

If a network connects only a few devices, the easiest way is to connect them all directly. This connection is called a point-to-point connection. The network formed in this way is called a fully interconnected network, which is also a mesh network, as shown in the figure above. There are 6 devices in the picture, in the case of full interconnection, 15 transmission lines are required. If there are n devices to be connected, the required lines will reach n (n-1) / 2! Obviously, this method is only possible when the geographical scope is small and the number of devices is small. Even in this environment, it is not often used in LAN technology. This topology is given here because when multiple LANs need to be interconnected through interconnecting devices (such as routers), this wide area network (WAN) interconnect technology may be encountered.

Mesh network role

In a mesh network, all nodes can be connected to all nodes in the topology to form a "local area network". The difference between a mesh network and a general network architecture is that all nodes can communicate through multiple hops, but they are usually not mobile devices. Mesh networks can be viewed as a point-to-point architecture. The mobile peer-to-peer network is very similar in architecture to the mesh network, but the mobile peer-to-peer network must also update the configuration at any time to respond to the movement of each node ^[2] .

Mesh network self-tuning mechanism: Even if there are nodes in the topology that cannot be served or are too busy, the network can still operate normally. The result is a highly reliable network architecture. This architecture is suitable for wireless networks, wired networks and even software architectures.

The figure on the right is a schematic diagram of a wireless mesh network wireless. We can see that when a node starts (the green LED lights up), all nodes will periodically collect broadcast messages to determine the formation of the topology. In addition, we can see that when a node fails, the path that originally communicated through this node will find a replacement path again, so the network can maintain connectivity without being interrupted. Wireless networks are the most typical applications of mesh networks. Wireless mesh networks were originally used for military purposes, but have undergone major improvements in the past decade.

Wireless mesh networks have undergone three generations of evolution so far, and each iteration provides better reliability and diversity. With the rapid decline of radio costs, single-band wireless mesh network node products have gradually evolved to support multiple frequency bands, using additional radio waves to provide additional functions-for example: client access, rear network (last mile) Or scan channels in mobile apps to provide fast signal switching. The design of mesh network nodes is also gradually modularized-a box that can support multiple composite frequency band network cards-each network card can operate at different frequencies. Therefore, the third generation of mesh network technology has given a whole new set of applications, including real-time image surveillance, border security or voice communication.

In a BGP network, in order to ensure the connectivity between IBGP peers, it is necessary to establish a fully-connected relationship between IBGP peers, that is, a mesh network. Assuming there are n routers in an AS, the number of IBGP connections that should be established is n (n-1) / 2.

The advantages of a mesh network are:

1. The information transmission line has more redundancy, and its fault tolerance is good.

2, fault diagnosis is more convenient. Since each transmission medium of the mesh topology is independent of each other, it is relatively easy to determine the failure point. ^[1]

The disadvantages of mesh networks are:

1. The topology is complex, and its installation and configuration are difficult. ^[1]

2. The network control mechanism is complex, and routing algorithms and flow control mechanisms must be used.