Tropos Develops Adaptive Tuning Software for Metro Wi-Fi Mesh Networks

Tropos Networks introduced its new Adaptive Mesh Connectivity Engine (AMCE), mesh software which provides a quantum leap in a network operator's ability to consistently deliver reliable Wi-Fi connections to a broad range of clients in a metro-scale mesh network. Tropos developed the AMCE software, which runs on Tropos MetroMesh routers, to compensate for the wide variations in Wi-Fi devices that use metro-scale mesh networks.



Tropos said networks that do not compensate for widely variable, often low power, clients cannot provide predictable connections, compromising customer satisfaction. Even traditional, standards-compliant Wi-Fi client devices, such as laptop computers and Wi-Fi bridges used to connect homes to metro-scale Wi-Fi networks, exhibit wide variability in their technical parameters. Power output can range from 10 mW to 200 mW or more. Many clients connect to metro Wi-Fi networks at lower than optimal speeds, dramatically reducing client throughput. Mobility is another area of inconsistent performance on the part of Wi-Fi clients.



AMCE uses per-packet transmission power and timing control to
compensate for low-power client devices. This enables clients to make
better decisions about which MetroMesh router offers the best
connection to the Wi-Fi network and the data rate that should be used
for the connection.



AMCE intelligently mitigates local interference, improving packet
reception. This capability delivers high throughput to client devices
in dense metro-area deployments.



Additional AMCE features improve client connections in high
user-density settings and further improve client connection
reliability and throughput.




AMCE is the second announced element of Tropos Networks' reliable
client connection initiative. The first, the Tropos Metro Compliant
Extensions (TMCX), provides a specification for the wireless modems
used for residential and small-business access to metro Wi-Fi
networks. TMCX-compliant devices can more reliably connect to these
networks. AMCE improves the connection reliability of all Wi-Fi
clients, especially those that don't conform to the TMCX
specification.



In addition, Tropos has incorporated new client reporting
capability into Tropos Insight that provides network operators with
the visibility into client operation and performance that they need to
cost-effectively manage their networks. Tropos Insight tells network
managers how many subscribers were active on the network, what type of
client they were using, how much bandwidth they used, mobility, and
what their signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and packet error rates were on
an hourly basis. It also aggregates and analyzes data across the
network, pinpointing, for example, who are the top bandwidth users,
which clients have the poorest SNR and which clients have the highest
packet error rates, again on an hourly basis. http://www.tropos.com