Mesh Wifi system or Mesh Wifi Router?

[ahmednawaz2009]

Assalam o Alaikum everyone. I hope that everyone is well and had a good Eid. Eid Mubarak to everyone.

So I have been researching about mesh wifi systems or whole wifi system. As far I have read this is latest wifi technology for most coverage with most prominent feature of seamless shifting between routers on same SSID.

My main question is that is it more effective and efficient to setup the whole wifi system ( that includes nodes) or should I install two Mesh wifi rotuers on two floors connected through LAN. Also will connecting two mesh wifi routers result into one SSID?

Your replies are highly appreciated.

Regards,

Ahmed.

 

[NaNoW]

As far as I understand, if one router is setup to be network administrator and the other is slave to it then - "
install two Mesh wifi rotuers on two floors connected through LAN. Also will connecting two mesh wifi routers result into one SSID" this should hold true

 

[Lord Ammar]

You question isn't really clear. You can setup a mesh WiFi system with nodes connected via LAN or via WiFi. However you can't just connect any 2 routers and expect them to work as mesh.

 

[ahmednawaz2009]

Thanks for replying. I think it is very clear I have stated "Mesh wifi routers".

You question isn't really clear. You can setup a mesh WiFi system with nodes connected via LAN or via WiFi. However you can't just connect any 2 routers and expect them to work as mesh.

 

[Simonsayz]

Assalam o Alaikum everyone. I hope that everyone is well and had a good Eid. Eid Mubarak to everyone.

Walaikum as-Salam and Eid Mubarak to you as well.

My main question is that is it more effective and efficient to setup the whole wifi system ( that includes nodes) or should I install two Mesh wifi rotuers on two floors connected through LAN. Also will connecting two mesh wifi routers result into one SSID?

I have two ASUS routers setup in a double storey house to have a mesh network with a single SSID.

Details can be found here: https://www.asus.com/microsite/AiMesh/en/how_to.html

Not all ASUS routers are Mesh capable. ALL routers in the mesh need to be Mesh capable. You need to feed internet line to one of the ASUS WiFi router, i.e., connect one ASUS WiFi router to your ONT/DSL via LAN cable to the WAN port of the WiFi router. Once one Wifi is all setup with SSID and all the rest of settings, then go to your WiFi router's page and click on "Add AiMesh Node" follow instructions to setup your node. The second WiFi should be very close to the first router for setup. Later on you can place the Second WiFi router, which has been setup as a Node, at the desired location but in the WiFi coverage of first WiFi router.

IF there is NO WiFi coverage of First Router at the desired location of the second router (Node) then you have to connect both routers via LAN. You can also connect both via LAN even if they are in coverage but you want better connectivity. I have them wirelessly operating, works perfectly, I have an AC88U as Main and an AC68U as Node. Also, I use ASUS-WRT Merlin firmwares on my ASUS routers which are better than factory ones, more stable and feature-rich.

 

[ahmednawaz2009]

@Simonsayz Thank you so much for your response. How's the coverage? Have you connected the routers with LAN or Wifi? Where did you buy these routers from and how much did it cost you? I was thinking of purchasing TP-Link M4 (4 pieces). What do you think go for multiple nodes not so powerful or two powerful Mesh routers?

 

[Lord Ammar]

The ASUS mesh WiFi system is a hacky way to get mesh to work. If you want proper mesh that's designed to work that way from the get go, go for the TP Link option. You'll get better range out of 4 nodes than having 2 full blown routers.

 

[Lord Ammar]

As for your question regarding connecting nodes with LAN or WiFi, it depends on the model and variant. Some mesh systems have dedicated wireless backhaul, so using WiFi to connect them has no impact on speeds. Many systems don't have a dedicated backhaul so there will be a small penalty in speed when connected via WiFi.

 

[Simonsayz]

@Simonsayz Thank you so much for your response. How's the coverage?

Coverage will be the same as per the individual routers performance & coverage. Remember, Mesh is just the same router acting as a seamless Range Extender. Their individual performance stays the same. Their original range stays the same, they are just transmitting the same SSID now.

So if you have good WiFi routers, you will have good coverage. Asus only certified their high-end routers for AiMesh. The AC88U that I have was already giving me coverage till the 3rd house in my street. I only added the second router downstairs coz I had few legacy devices downstairs which only operated at 2.4Ghz WiFi, no 5Ghz. The 2.4Ghz band was already over-populated in my neighborhood and the legacy devices had a slow-down sometimes coz of the noise in 2.4Ghz. So I got the second one downstairs for that.

@Simonsayz Have you connected the routers with LAN or Wifi?

I have them wireless connected, coz the AC88U has a tremendous range and the second router was getting full signals downstairs. I speed tested with wireless and with LAN, there was no difference, so went wireless.

@SimonsayzWhere did you buy these routers from and how much did it cost you?

Imported the AC88U from U.S. for $350 when it launched, bought the AC68U used from OLX for 12K.

@SimonsayzI was thinking of purchasing TP-Link M4 (4 pieces).

I'm not brand loyal, If you want to buy TP-Link, check with the users for their experience or online reviews and go ahead, just sharing my experience with Asus routers, which has been excellent and stress-free. Asus has regular firmware updates for their routers. The AC68U is 8 years old now and still gets updates, although there are several revisions of AC68U, in terms of CPU & RAM, I bought the last revision. AC88U has a Dual Core 1.4Ghz CPU with 512MB RAM, plenty powerful for a crowded network.

I have 100Mbps GPON connection and over 27 devices in the house, with multiple 4K streams running and few gaming devices running. I wanted the perfect QoS for every user, so had to go with these routers.

I have had a TP-Link router and range extender long time ago, wasn't a good experience, but those weren't their high-end products and this was when TP-Link wasn't well known, maybe things have changed, TP-Link users can guide you better.

@Simonsayz What do you think go for multiple nodes not so powerful or two powerful Mesh routers?

Remember, even before there was Mesh Networking, we used to extend WiFi coverage via dedicated Range Extenders or setting up a Router as Access Point within the same Network. So, AiMesh and these "packs" are two different kinds of solutions. In AiMesh, you select compatible routers according to your needs and create a Mesh, you can add any number of routers, upgrade/sell/change the routers but in the pre-packaged "packs" the devices are fixed, the "packs" are one unit, no upgrades, no customisation, no re-use by parts and you sell them as a pack if you wish to upgrade. Those are different solutions all together.

So, it all depends on what you need out of the Network you design, if you have a lot of devices, a very fast Internet connection and need best QoS & Firewall features then go for a high-end router that has the power to perform those functions. If you don't have such a demanding network then go for cheap & efficient setup. Buy according to your needs, chasing the latest technology gets expensive, trust me. Best of luck in your purchases bro.

 

[Simonsayz]

The ASUS mesh WiFi system is a hacky way to get mesh to work. If you want proper mesh that's designed to work that way from the get go, go for the TP Link option. You'll get better range out of 4 nodes than having 2 full blown routers.

Those are all incorrect.

 

[Lord Ammar]

Those are all incorrect.

I've read enough hands-on to know it's not proper mesh. If it was, Asus wouldn't have a separate line of mesh systems available. And no, your 2 Asus routers won't have better range than 4 separate mesh points, no matter how many antennas Asus decided should stick out of the router.

 

[Simonsayz]

I've read enough hands-on to know it's not proper mesh. If it was, Asus wouldn't have a separate line of mesh systems available. And no, your 2 Asus routers won't have better range than 4 separate mesh points, no matter how many antennas Asus decided should stick out of the router.

Still wrong, and it's that level of wrong that I know no amount of facts, science or logic will convince you, that's why I kept my first answer very short only to keep info correct for other readers. e.g., Antennae are not just for show; Each Antenna on a Router is One Stream (Tx/Rx), 2 Antenna is usually for One stream of 2.4Ghz band and One stream of 5Ghz band. Asus/NetGear/TP-Link/Cisco or any other brand don't just put antennae for show, they represent the number of streams or MIMO the router has Tx/Rx. The Asus AX6000 with 8 antennae has 12 streams (2.4 GHz 4 x 4 and 5 GHz 8 x 8). The type of antenna and its dbi corresponds to each directional bias & range.