Locust meshes it up

Unlike conventional WLAN setups, where every access point (AP) is tethered to a wired connection, mesh networks use the multiple radio links available in 802.11 systems to extend the range of the wireless network. Network data is routed back and forth between the APs – each with a range of a few hundred feet or so, depending on where they are installed – and such networks typically only have one or two wired connections at their termination points.

Locust World uses APs that link to users via 802.11b [11 Mbit/s over 2.4GHz] but communicate machine-to-machine over 802.11a [54 Mbit/s over 5GHz] or 802.11g [54 Mbit/s over 2.4GHz] connections to form the mesh network.

On top of that, the firm has implemented a certificate-based security and encryption system for the network and a management application that allows managers to plot the position of the mesh "nodes" (a.k.a. access points) on a map.