Akshay Garkel, senior consultant - professional service, Datacraft, talks to Sudhakaran of CyberMedia News about the potential of the technology and its application

Could you give a brief outline about Wireless Mesh and its functions?

Wireless Mesh Networks are made up of any number of radio-frequency (RF) nodes that communicate with each other, creating an 802.15.4 standard network (Wi-Fi operates on the 802.11 frequency). Though it has a wide range of application, most users so far have been municipal (a public safety network for police and fire to communicate in an emergency), military (instant communications on a battlefield) or industrial (monitoring supply inside a warehouse).

Wireless Mesh Networks (WMNs) have been receiving a great deal of attention as a broadband access alternative for a wide range of markets, including those in the metro, public-safety, energy, education, enterprise, carrier-access and residential sectors.

What is its function in the education sector?

In the prevailing educational scenario, the ability of a university to provide pervasive wireless connectivity over the breadth of their campus is an increasingly important factor. The younger generation, which is more tech-savvy, consider such factors while selecting an institution to continue their advanced education.

Also the kind of connectivity that a Wireless Mesh offers helps the administration staff and the faculty members to accomplish their tasks with more responsiveness and increased productivity.

And then on the security front also it helps. For example, applications such as video surveillance by campus security staff, as well as alarms or alerts during emergency situations on campus. The value derived from “always on” Internet access is exponentially increasing as is cost efficient links to remote buildings and temporary classrooms.

And what is its role in the residential sector?

A mesh network in the home can monitor electrical use with more precision than the electric meters mounted outside the home. A mesh network can report how much electricity is being used by the refrigerator, the big-screen TV, the washing machine and any other appliances.

It can report not just how many kilowatt/hour of electricity is being used, but what the electric bill would be. If a 15-year-old refrigerator is replaced with a new energy-efficient model, the resultant savings can be seen on the monitoring panel.

How does Wireless Mesh enhance network performance and what are its key characteristics?

One of the key aspects of Wireless Mesh is its ability to significantly enhance network performance via fault tolerance, load balancing, increased throughput, protocol efficiency. Network performance can be significantly increased with tasks such as operating without a wired infrastructure, creating a self-forming fixed or mobile network without any pre-design or pre-installation, automatically route around network failures and adapt to radio frequency (RF) interference.

A portal running on a PC can monitor mesh network activity. These capabilities allow for the deployment of a dynamic, flexible and adaptive solution across a range of vertical industries and applications.

How is it that Wireless Mesh deployment lowers operational costs?

Usually backhaul networks can handle wire line connectivity such as leased lines / optical fiber connectivity. However this comes with a high degree of operational recurring costs to be paid to the service provider. On the other hand, wireless mesh technology demonstrates its capability to be successful in backhaul capability as this cost can be completely omitted and would cost an organization nothing.