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XA Networks manufactures wireless mesh networking products and provides networking services. Our products use publicly available protocols to allow for maximum performance and compatibility. Currently, the SrcRR routing protocol is implemented but shortly other protocols will be supported in the interest of compatibility and flexibility.

More on Wireless Mesh networking:

• From O'Reilly Network a bit dated but still a good article on the fundamentals.
• The Boston Globe speaks on Mesh Networks of sensor devices. Not a very technical article, but it does show there is great interest in the topic.
• Intel is onboard with Mesh (pdf)
• Microsoft has been doing some research on Mesh Networking, but of course their software only works with Microsoft products
• Some years back, MITRE created a practical and open-source Mesh platform with their MobileMesh

How does XA Networks fit into all of this?
We believe that mesh networking should be inexpensive to install and maintain, with the fundamental protocols available for all to use without a fee. We feel that having a large number of overlapping networks which do not interoperate is to be avoided. The strength of a mesh network depends largely on the number of nodes within it. To attain a large number of nodes without violating human rights by means of a monopoly, no one organization may hold control of the fundamental technology involved. Industry experience with other network technologies bears this out: organizations and individuals are wary of network designs that artificially limit the number of potential vendors. The Internet became a success greatly due to its neutrality and open-ness: No single company owned the network or the technology used to build it. We firmly believe that the building blocks of Mesh Networking need to be just as accessible and neutral in order for this technology to live up to its full potential, which is to become as large of a cultural and economic phenomenon in the decade 2005 - 2015 as the Internet has become in the years 1995 - 2005.

Based upon this belief, we have examined a number of Open Source mesh technologies. Earlier generations of our software had used RoofNet, which we still support, but we are now recommending OLSR-ng.

As we've said above we believe that the fundamentals need to be free for all to use, but this is not meant to discourage proprietary extensions upon the Open Source base.

Innovate, but first, do no harm.

As long as compatibility is maintained, there is great commercial potential in increasing the performance and flexibility of mesh networks. We have products in development in this arena, and encourage others to work with us in implementing this standard mesh and extending it.