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[] MESH NETWORKING EXPLAINEDLuma Ubiquiti AmpliFi HD PlumeIn a proper mesh network there may be multiple paths to the destination, and the
network should intelligently decide which is the best path. (Image source: eero)Putting a Linksys router into
bridged mode. This turns off its
routing functions and makes it a
pure access point and/or modem.THE MESH NETWORK ALTERNATIVE
At the baseline, a mesh network solves at least
one of those problems, and possibly all three,
depending on the solution.
The biggest things they offer are seamless
handoff and a single SSID. In a mesh network
you don’t see multiple network names when
you try to connect: you see a single network
name representing all the nodes in the mesh
network. You don’t have to worry about
figuring out which one to connect to.
As you move around the house, you’ll
automatically and transparently be moved
to the node that’s best for you. You won’t
disconnect from the network when this
happens, you’ll just be handed off from one
Wi-Fi node to the next. This is known as
seamless roaming — the ability to move
around and always get the strongest possible
signal. This solves problem number one and
possibly three as well, if the mesh solution is
smart enough to support router steering
(where it prioritises router connections over
extended nodes).
Problem number two is only solved by some
solutions. Here’s where there’s a notable
difference between solutions offered by
different vendors. Some mesh network
solutions still use the same channel for
receiving and repeating, which means you still
get the half-speed problem. Ubiquiti’s AmpliFi
falls into this category, as do D-Link’s Whole
Home Wi-Fi solutions and Linksys’ MAX-
STREAM products. Some products, like
Netgear’s Orbi and Linksys’ Velop, however,
use a separate channel for ‘backhaul’ (that’s
connecting the nodes to each other). These
cross-channel devices don’t suffer from the
bandwidth problem and will likely have
significantly better performance. We should
note that on many devices you can also use
Ethernet as backhaul by connecting the Wi-Fi
nodes to each other with Ethernet cables,
which also solves the bandwidth problem.
With all three problems solved you pretty
much have the optimum extended home
Wi-Fi solution, with good speed everywhere
and the ability to move about without trouble.SETTING UP A MESH NET WORK
Here we come to the biggest problem with
current mesh network solutions: they’re all
proprietary. There are indeed open standards
for roaming and mesh networks, but they’re
something of a mess and right now each
vendor’s solution only works with its own
products. If you’re going with a Ubiquiti
router, you’re going to need Ubiquiti nodes
as well, for instance.
Nearly all the kits come with a broadband
router and one or more satellite nodes.
The router works like any other. If you already
have a Broadband router (including a modem
router), you can put either your existing unit
or the mesh router into bridged mode,
effectively disabling the routing functions
on that device.Typically, what you’ll do is place the
primary router wherever your internet is —
the internet connection going into the WAN
port of the router. Then you’ll place the satellite
nodes around your home where needed to
provide coverage. The satellites do need to be
able to talk to the primary router or to another
satellite, so they either need to be in wireless
range of another node or connected via
Ethernet. Note that they don’t have to be
specifically in range of the primary router —
data can be relayed through more than one
node to get back to the router.
Some of the setup apps (like Linksys’ app)
actually include a signal strength meter to help
guide you where the optimum setup position
is. Otherwise you can use an app like WiFi
Analyzer (available on Google Play) on your
Android mobile to get an indication of signal
power in different parts of your home. You can
use this to make sure that the node you’re
setting up has a good signal back to the main
Wi-Fi network as well as get an idea of the
biggest black spots you need to cover.
The rest of the setup is mostly done in-app.
The app should be able to link nodes to each
other, set up the SSID for the network as well
as control routing functions. The products
we’ve seen so far have been very consumer-
friendly, so you don’t need to worry about
being a network engineer to set up your home
mesh network. And once you do, you may
wonder how you ever lived without it.