Extreme Networks Altitude 3500 Series, Руководство по продукции

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Configuring Mesh Networking
Altitude 3500 Series Access Point Product Reference Guide
522
The access point can manipulate the path cost assigned to a bridge connection based on that
connection’s RSSI. This results in the spanning tree selecting the optimal path for forwarding data when
redundant paths exist. However, this can be overridden using the preferred list. When using the
preferred list, the user enters a priority for each bridge, resulting in the selection of the forwarding link.
Limit the wireless client’s connections to reduce the number of hops required to get to the wired
network. Use each radio’s “preferred” base bridge list to define which access points the client bridge
connects to. For more information, see
“Configuring Mesh Networking Support” on page 523 .
Mesh Networking and the Altitude 35xx’s Two Subnets
The access point now has a second subnet on the LAN side of the system. This means wireless clients
communicating through the same radio can reside on different subnets. The addition of this feature
adds another layer of complexity to the access point’s mesh networking functionality.
With a second LAN introduced, the LAN’s Ethernet port (and any of the 16 WLANs) could be assigned
to one of two different subnets. From a layer 2 perspective, the system has two different bridge
functionalities, each with its own STP. The WLAN assignment controls the subnet (LAN1 or 2) upon
which a given connection resides. If WLAN2 is assigned to LAN1, and WLAN2 is used to establish a
client bridge connection, then the mesh network connection resides on LAN1.
Therefore, (depending upon the WLAN-to-LAN mapping), the access point could have multiple mesh
connections on either LAN1 or LAN2.
Normal Operation
Once the mesh network is defined, all normal access point operations are still allowed. MUs are still
allowed to associate with the access point as usual. The user can create WLANs, security polices and
VLANs as with any other access point. DHCP services function normally and all layer 3
communications are allowed.
WNMP is used to send information about each mesh network so information can be displayed to the
user from any access point on the system. WNMP messages are AP-AP info messages used to send
system status.
Impact of Importing/Exporting Configurations to a Mesh Network
When using the access point’s Configuration Import/Export screen to migrate an access point’s
configuration to other access points, mesh network configuration parameters will get sent or saved to
other access points. However, if using the Known AP Statistics screen’s Send Cfg to APs functionality,
“auto-select” and preferred list” settings do not get imported.
CAUTION
When using the Import/Export screen to import a mesh supported configuration, do not import a base
bridge configuration into an existing client bridge, as this could cause the mesh configuration to break.