Thanks for this: so sick of seeing “mesh” WiFi everywhere, what a load of trash. Just set up access points with roaming capability, actually use the correct broadcast power (instead of trying to blast it off to space), etc. I’ll never understand why people want their backhaul going over WiFi; yikes.
No, mesh networks’ APs use WiFi to connect to each other so that eventually client traffic reaches one that can finally route to the wired network. Client traffic doesn’t go through one AP to immediately reach the wired network.
I’m talking about a traditional network where everything is wired together using Ethernet (probably to a switch) so that client traffic on the AP immediately reaches the wired network from that AP without that AP then relying on another one to reach the wired network.
This arrangement is still common today on business networks and was so before the term “mesh” became popular in consumer routers.
I don’t “want” my backhaul going over WiFi but I’m in a house where it is quite challenging to run Ethernet cable. It’s on the list to get to but it’s a big project. In the meantime I have a functioning network. People have different situations that call for different tools.
Thanks for this: so sick of seeing “mesh” WiFi everywhere, what a load of trash. Just set up access points with roaming capability, actually use the correct broadcast power (instead of trying to blast it off to space), etc. I’ll never understand why people want their backhaul going over WiFi; yikes.
😅
That… What you describe is a mesh wifi. APs plus roaming. That’s a meshed network.
No, mesh networks’ APs use WiFi to connect to each other so that eventually client traffic reaches one that can finally route to the wired network. Client traffic doesn’t go through one AP to immediately reach the wired network.
I’m talking about a traditional network where everything is wired together using Ethernet (probably to a switch) so that client traffic on the AP immediately reaches the wired network from that AP without that AP then relying on another one to reach the wired network.
This arrangement is still common today on business networks and was so before the term “mesh” became popular in consumer routers.
I don’t “want” my backhaul going over WiFi but I’m in a house where it is quite challenging to run Ethernet cable. It’s on the list to get to but it’s a big project. In the meantime I have a functioning network. People have different situations that call for different tools.