Wired backhaul mesh
To me, this is the main source of confusion in current consumer market. In fact, I myself have fallen into this. Technically speaking, there is wired mesh networking (ref) but most consumers here are simply looking for network solution that extends area of WiFi coverage and not really the resilience of mesh network. However, if you search google with a key term like “wired mesh” pretty much all the result you get are consumer mesh network products with “wired backhaul” capability. This means nodes can be connected via wired ethernet cable. However, at this point these units are acting like access points. One thing I did not realize is I have actually missed another half of world i.e. access point products.
If you know/have option of wired connection between router and node, you should look into access point system. Just like consumer mesh system have wired back-haul option, access point system offers wireless uplink/backhaul. Basically, depending on which term you use to search, you get a whole different world of products.
Consumer mesh product may be simple to setup as a whole system, but AP setup can also be very simple. Dedicated AP units may have more functionality, cheaper for its spec and higher performance. For my own case, I have recently switched my entire home network system to UniFi system but I did not encounter UniFi system until very recently because I had been focusing my search with “mesh network.”
Other Terms
Related to concept of AP and Mesh network, there are a few other terms you may come across: Wi-Fi range extender, Wi-Fi booster, and Wi-Fi repeater. These terms look to have different and inconsistent definition. For instance, some states repeater and extender are the same entity (ref); whereas, others tried to definition each have distinct difference (ref). After following multiple online sites, I would go with synonym definition. First is simpler definition. Second if you search one or another, you essentially get the same online result so unlike access point vs. mesh network, you won’t really miss whole another world if you do not use one term or the other.
Wi-Fi booster
Wi-Fi booster is a catch-all phrase for all devices that extend Wi-Fi signal coverage (ref). With such definition, access point and mesh network node are Wi-Fi booster.
Wi-Fi repeater/range extender
These are the units connecting to router wirelessly . The easiest way to think this is limited version of mesh system node. Extender requires creation of separate network (SSID), greater loss of bandwidth and throughput from router to the repeater and introduces interference source in the network (ref).
The main benefit of extender/repeater is they can be added to your existing network system whereas consumer mesh network requires whole system upgrade.
The main inconvenience for most home user with range extender/repeater is use of separate SSID. With separate SSID user need to manually switch from one network to another.
With separate SSID, user need to manually switch from one network to another.
Take Home Message
If you need to extend physical area of Wi-Fi coverage, the best option is access point. If you have an ability to have wired connection between router and access point, search access point option.
If there is no wired connection option, consumer mesh network or access point with wireless uplink should be considered. Consumer mesh network system often comes as a whole system i.e. router plus node(s). This whole system approach allows extremely easy setup with optimized performance (not necessary the best).
Reference:
- Wireless Access Point – Wikipedia
- Wireless Mesh Network – Wikipedia
- Mesh Networking – Wikipedia
- What is an Access Point and How is it Different from a Range Extender? – Linksys
- Wi-Fi Range Extender vs. Mesh Network: What’s the Difference: – PC Magazine
- WiFi extenders beat WiFi repeaters every time
- Wireless repeater – Wikipedia