Patent ID: 7660318

Claim:
A system comprising: a first portal, communicatively coupled to a wireless mesh network and to an adjacent local area network (LAN), for providing a path of communication between said wireless mesh network and said LAN; a second portal, communicatively coupled to said wireless mesh network and to said adjacent LAN, for providing a further path of communication between said wireless mesh network and said adjacent LAN; a third portal, communicatively coupled to said wireless mesh network and to a disconnected LAN, for providing a path of communication between said wireless mesh network and said disconnected LAN; and a plurality of mesh points, communicatively coupled to said wireless mesh network, for providing an intermesh path between said first portal, said second portal, and said third portal, wherein said second portal is configured to forward a data frame with an unknown destination to said first portal, and wherein said first portal is configured to forward said data frame to said third portal when said unknown destination is not within said wireless mesh network.