Tropos Debuts Spectrum and Application Based Routing Engine for Wireless Mesh Networks

Tropos Networks introduced its Spectrum and Application Based Routing Engine (SABRE), a mesh software system that enables intelligent integration of parallel network operation across multiple frequency bands and radio types. The new capability could be used by wireless network operators to reserve spectrum and radio interfaces for specific applications or users.



For example, a municipality could carry video surveillance traffic in the 5 GHz band while using the 2.4 GHz band for consumer access. The municipality could switch the video surveillance traffic to the 2.4 GHz band when there is congestion or a failure in the 5 GHz band while disallowing consumer access to shift to the 5 GHz band under similar circumstances.



Tropos' SABRE software, which will an optional capability in the company's MetroMesh routers, provides rule-based traffic segmentation, carrying traffic for different applications on different spectrum and radios while supporting dynamic fault tolerance in the event of link congestion or failure. Parallel networks using different frequency bands and radios can be configured at the client, mesh and/or capacity injection layers. SABRE dynamically routes traffic based on application, service, priority or other configurable rules. Different frequency bands can carry traffic for different applications or users. SABRE automatically detects faulty, congested or otherwise sub-optimal links at each layer in the network and seamlessly routes traffic to the optimal band for dynamic capacity expansion and fault tolerance.



Tropos said that with its future MetroMesh routers supporting licensed band operation and new radio types such as mobile WiMAX, a similar scenario will be enabled for carriers who wish to provide premium service with a licensed band and standard service with an unlicensed band. Again, SABRE could be configure to switch licensed band traffic to the unlicensed band but not vice versa, providing fault tolerance for the premium service traffic while reserving the licensed spectrum for premium users. Also, carriers could program SABRE to use unlicensed spectrum when its use enhances overall system capacity.



Tropos said the capabilities will be available in mid-2007. http://www.tropos.com