From: gtaylor@tnetconsulting.net   
      
   On 3/4/21 5:13 AM, freejazz wrote:   
   > Hi, I'd like to know what are the differences between a Mesh wifi   
   > network and a non-Mesh one.   
      
   My understanding is that mesh (WiFi) networks use the WiFi back haul to   
   the rest of the network (usually the gateway to the Internet.   
   Conversely, non-mesh networks used wired connections back to the rest of   
   the network.   
      
   Mesh also tends to imply that each AP has connections to multiple other   
   APs.  Thus if one AP goes down, it does not break / split communications   
   of the overall network.  Consider the following:   
      
   [AP]---[AP]---[AP]---[AP]---[AP]   
      
   If any one of the middle APs stop working, then end to end connectivity   
   is broken.   
      
   [AP]---[AP]---[AP]---[AP]---[AP]   
        \ /    \ /    \ /    \ /   
         X      X      X      X   
        / \    / \    / \    / \   
   [AP]---[AP]---[AP]---[AP]---[AP]   
      
   If any one of the middle APs stop working, there are multiple alternate   
   pats protecting the end to end connectivity.   
      
   To support this, mesh networks have some additional complexity to manage   
   the redundancy that non-mesh networks don't have.   
      
   > I"m going to set a non-Mesh WiFi network one but I'm going to assign   
   > the same SSID, passwords, etc. at my powerline and access points..   
      
   This has more to do with the mode that the APs are in, Basic (as in   
   BSSID) or Extended (as in ESSID).  Basic is just a bunch of independent   
   APs.  Extended is the APs working in concert with each other to   
   streamline hand off between APs.   
      
   I believe you can brute force things and have a bunch of APs in BSSID   
   mode with the same SSID (but on different, non-conflicting channels, 1,   
   6, and 11) to cause client devices to choose between the best   
   (strongest) signal.  However, this type of hand off is probably visible   
   to end devices.   
      
   Conversely APs in ESSID mode work to streamline the hand off between APs   
   and as such make it much less likely that clients will notice anything.   
      
   Not that the BSSID vs ESSID has nothing in and of itself to do with mesh   
   vs non-mesh.  --  Again, my understanding is....  --  Mesh vs non-mesh   
   has to do with the connectivity from each individual AP back to the rest   
   of the network, not what client's see and how they interact with the APs.   
      
   > The switching to the different wifi points when I walk in the   
   > different my house's areas 1) is not the same management of Mesh WiFi   
   > system? What are the differences?   
      
   I hope I answered this above.   
      
   > In a Mesh network if you connect to the different points 2) will you   
   > have short drop of connections as you are in a non-Mesh one?   
      
   As described above, this has more to do with BSSID vs ESSID mode and   
   very little to do with mesh vs non-mesh.   
      
   > Thanks for your help!!!!   
      
   You're welcome.   
      
      
      
   --   
   Grant. . . .   
   unix || die   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
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