Patent ID: 7496078

Claim:
A method of operating a controller comprising: receiving at a controller radio measurement reports from at least one mesh access point about neighbors of the at least one mesh access points, the mesh access points being mesh points of a wireless mesh network, wherein the access point functionality of each mesh access point is controlled by the controller using messages between each mesh access point and the controller using a first protocol, the controller connected to a root mesh access point that forms the root of the mesh network; determining a tree topology for the wireless mesh network, including determining a potential parent access point and a selected parent access point to the parent of the potential parent access point; and sending a JOIN OFFER message to the potential parent access point and via the selected parent access point to offer the potential parent access point to join the mesh with the selected parent mesh access point as its parent, such that the selected parent mesh access point forms a secure link to the potential parent mesh access point, and relay the JOIN OFFER message to the potential parent mesh access point, such that the potential parent mesh access point can join the controller via the selected parent mesh access point.