Universal Access
You can configure the backhaul on mesh access points to accept client traffic over its 802.11a radio. This
feature is identified as Backhaul Client Access in the controller GUI (Monitor > Wireless). When this feature
is disabled, backhaul traffic is transmitted only over the 802.11a or 802.11a/n radio and client association is
allowed only over the 802.11b/g or 802.11b/g/n radio. For more information about the configuration, see the
Configuring Advanced Features
.
Point-to-Multipoint Wireless Bridging
In the point-to-multipoint bridging scenario, a RAP acting as a root bridge connects multiple MAPs as nonroot
bridges with their associated wired LANs. By default, this feature is disabled for all MAPs. If Ethernet bridging
is used, you must enable it on the controller for the respective MAP and for the RAP.
This figure shows a simple deployment with one RAP and two MAPs, but this configuration is fundamentally
a wireless mesh with no WLAN clients. Client access can still be provided with Ethernet bridging enabled,
although if bridging between buildings, MAP coverage from a high rooftop might not be suitable for client
access.
Figure 22: Point-to-Multipoint Bridging Example
Point-to-Point Wireless Bridging
In a point-to-point bridging scenario, a 1500 Series Mesh AP can be used to extend a remote network by using
the backhaul radio to bridge two segments of a switched network. This is fundamentally a wireless mesh
network with one MAP and no WLAN clients. Just as in point-to-multipoint networks, client access can still
be provided with Ethernet bridging enabled, although if bridging between buildings, MAP coverage from a
high rooftop might not be suitable for client access.
If you intend to use an Ethernet bridged application, we recommend that you enable the bridging feature on
the RAP and on all MAPs in that segment. You must verify that any attached switches to the Ethernet ports
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Mesh Deployment Modes
Universal Access