Dell W-7010 AOS 6.4.x User Guide - Page 626

Component Description 802.11 capacity High-throughput APs can send 802.11 information elements (IEs) in their management frames, allowing high-throughput mesh nodes to identify other mesh nodes with a highthroughput capacity. High-throughput mesh points prefer to select other 802.11-capable mesh points in their path to the mesh portal, but can use a legacy path if no highthroughput path is available. Path Cost Path cost is calculated by analyzing the other components in this table, and adding the link cost, the mesh parent's path cost, and the parent's node cost. Mesh portals typically advertise a path-cost of zero, but high-throughput portals add an offset penalty if they are connected to a 10/100mbps port that is too slow for the highthroughput link capacity. Optimizing Links You can configure and optimize operation of the link metric algorithm via the mesh radio profile. These configurable mesh link trigger thresholds can determine when the uplink or mesh path is dropped and another is chosen, provide enhanced network reliability, and contain flapping links. Although you can modify the behavior of the link metric algorithm, It is recommended to follow the default values for most deployments. For information, see Metric algorithm on page 643. Understanding Mesh Profiles Mesh profiles help define and bring-up the mesh network. The following sections describe the mesh cluster, mesh radio, and mesh recovery profiles in more detail. The complete mesh profile consists of a mesh radio profile, RF management (802.11a and 802.11g) radio profiles, a high-throughput SSID profile (if your deployment includes 802.11n-capable APs), a mesh cluster profile, and a read-only recovery profile. The recovery profile is dynamically generated by the master controller; you do not explicitly configure the recovery profile. Dell provides a "default" version of the mesh radio, RF management, high-throughput SSID and cluster profiles with default values for most parameters. You can use the "default" version of a profile or create a new instance of a profile which you can then edit as you need. You can change the values of any parameter in a profile. You have the flexibility of applying the "default" versions of profiles in addition to customizing profiles that are necessary for the AP or AP group to function. If you assign a profile to an individual AP, the values in the profile override the profile assigned to the AP group to which the AP belongs. The exception is the mesh cluster profile: you can apply multiple mesh cluster profiles to individual APs, as well as to AP groups. Mesh Cluster Profiles Mesh clusters are grouped and defined by a mesh cluster profile, which provides the framework of the mesh network. Similar to virtual AP profiles, the mesh cluster profile contains the MSSID (mesh cluster name), authentication methods, security credentials, and cluster priority required for mesh nodes to associate with their neighbors and join the cluster. Associated mesh nodes store this information in flash memory. Although most mesh deployments require only a single mesh cluster profile, you can configure and apply multiple mesh cluster profiles to an AP group or an individual AP. If you have multiple cluster profiles, the mesh portal uses the profile with the highest priority to bring up the mesh network. Mesh points, in contrast, go through the list of mesh cluster profiles in order of priority to decide which profile to use to associate themselves with the network. The mesh cluster priority determines the order by which the mesh cluster profiles are used. This Dell Networking W-Series ArubaOS 6.4.x | User Guide Secure Enterprise Mesh | 626