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524WiFi™ Pulse B5018-2×2: Outdoor Mesh Field Test over Three Hops

524WiFi™ Pulse B5018-2x2: Outdoor Mesh Field Test over Three Hops

The 524WiFi™ Pulse B5018-2×2 platform brings tri-band connectivity to outdoor mesh designs. This field-test report follows three hops over approximately 730 meters.

The setup

  • Hardware: 524WiFi™ Pulse B5018-2×2 board
  • Topology: three-hop mesh, outdoors
  • Distance: about 730 meters end to end
  • Traffic: iperf3, multiple concurrent streams

The result

Aggregate throughput: 621-631 Mbps.

524WiFi™ · Pulse B5018-2×2 · field-test capturePulse B5018-2x2 · field-test capture
Parallel-stream measurements from the original field-test report. The recorded aggregate samples shown are 621, 628 and 631 Mbps. Open full-size image
524WiFi™ · Pulse B5018-2×2 · animated three-hop topologyPulse B5018-2x2 · animated three-hop topology
Four nodes and three hops over approximately 730 meters. The 621–631 Mbps figure describes aggregate traffic across the complete path; the moving links illustrate the topology. Open full-size image

Understanding the aggregate result

It is the combined throughput of multiple parallel streams across the whole mesh path.

Use the aggregate result to assess the capacity of the complete mesh path under concurrent traffic.

The reported 621–631 Mbps combines multiple parallel streams across the three-hop path. Plan individual client throughput around its radio capabilities, placement and the traffic sharing that path.

Why we care about multi-hop

Anyone can make one hop look good. The trouble starts at hop two and hop three, where throughput often falls off and the far end of the network becomes the slow end.

This test was about that far end. Three hops and ~730 meters later, the path still carried over 600 Mbps in aggregate. Mesh doesn’t have to mean “slow at the edge.”

Where this matters

  • Campuses and industrial sites where running fiber to every pole isn’t realistic
  • Temporary or fast-deploy outdoor coverage
  • Warehouses, yards and ports where coverage has to follow the operation
  • Anywhere a wired backhaul is too slow or too expensive to build

What’s next

This is the first data point, not the last. We’ll keep testing other topologies and share results here under 524WiFi™ News, including the numbers that aren’t flattering.

Building an outdoor mesh, or stuck with a multi-hop design that falls apart past hop two? Send us your topology and your target throughput. We’ll bring the test results.

524WiFi™ · Pulse B5018-2×2 · deployment illustrationPulse B5018-2x2 · deployment illustration
Concept illustration of an industrial outdoor mesh network. Hardware appearance in this supplementary scene is illustrative; model-specific photographs and specifications are shown above. Open full-size image