Hello,

I've been reading about HWMP+ on the wiki and have been playing with it using a couple of RouterBOARD 750s on a bench with ethernet cables and switches. It works pretty well in-lab, and I'm planning on using it for a deployment where these nodes will connect to other layer-2 bridges which control their own wireless setup. I don't doubt there will be numerous challenges to overcome, so I am reading up as much on it as I can to try to plan for any hitches.

On the wiki (http://wiki.mikrotik.com/wiki/Manual:Interface/HWMPplus), there are a few "problem" setups mentioned which I am trying to avoid. In the first one (where not all routers are in the mesh), there is mentioned an idea of a "designated ethernet router" for the network. What is this? Is this another way of saying the portal node for the proactive-mode HWMP+? Or is this referring to another configuration either in the switch or the mesh?

Second, is there any other documentation on how HWMP+ works? The wiki mentions a little about how it sends packets (tunneling?), but I would like to know as much as possible about the protocol, from how the routing algorithms work to how it actually sends data from one end of the mesh to the other. Is this information available anywhere?

Thanks in advance!

I'm not sure: in the example above

from Wiki - Also note that there will be no problem, if either:
- router A supports and is configured to use HWMP+;
- or Ethernet switch is replaced with and router that supports HWMP+ and has Ethernet interfaces added as mesh ports.

Does this mean it will works correctly:
- if I use Router A (such as RB450) where I have ethernet ports added as ports in "mesh1" and I use a simple ethernet switch
or
- if I use a simple router and I use a RB450 as switch (instead a simple switch) with ethernet ports added to mesh

Which one correct?





I mean, if I have to connect Routers A, B and "a client" through cable, what have I to place, a router with ethernet ports as mesh ports or anything else?

Thanks