- My Forums
- Tiger Rant
- LSU Recruiting
- SEC Rant
- Saints Talk
- Pelicans Talk
- More Sports Board
- Fantasy Sports
- Golf Board
- Soccer Board
- O-T Lounge
- Tech Board
- Home/Garden Board
- Outdoor Board
- Health/Fitness Board
- Movie/TV Board
- Book Board
- Music Board
- Political Talk
- Money Talk
- Fark Board
- Gaming Board
- Travel Board
- Food/Drink Board
- Ticket Exchange
- TD Help Board
Customize My Forums- View All Forums
- Show Left Links
- Topic Sort Options
- Trending Topics
- Recent Topics
- Active Topics
Started By
Message
Wired access points vs mesh system
Posted on 10/2/23 at 8:06 am
Posted on 10/2/23 at 8:06 am
Trying to provide wifi to a 5,000 sq ft home with large backyard. I would like to be able to seamlessly transition between all the access points as you go throughout the house and only have one wifi name. House is wired with cat 5 all over and I have fiber. Im not gaming or working from home so I don’t need a ton of speed. I would like it to be as stable as possible.
Would you recommend going with wired access points or mesh system?
Would you recommend going with wired access points or mesh system?
This post was edited on 10/2/23 at 8:08 am
5
Posted on 10/2/23 at 8:11 am to Knuckle Checker
Almost all mesh systems can do wired backhaul.
Posted on 10/2/23 at 8:36 am to Knuckle Checker
Im a big fan of mesh, use it for wfh.
Currently use google nest but want to switch to ubiquiti
Currently use google nest but want to switch to ubiquiti
Posted on 10/2/23 at 8:38 am to Knuckle Checker
The house is already wired so wired APs is a no-brainer. As mentioned above most mesh systems can do wired backhaul so your options are pretty limitless.
The only thing that "mesh" means is "oh shite we don't have a wire so we have to do this wirelessly". Wired when possible/feasible, wireless when necessary. Always.
The only thing that "mesh" means is "oh shite we don't have a wire so we have to do this wirelessly". Wired when possible/feasible, wireless when necessary. Always.
Posted on 10/2/23 at 9:08 am to Korkstand
quote:
most mesh systems can do wired backhaul so your options are pretty limitless
Agree with this. For a homeowner, a mesh system (with wired backhaul where possible) is better than APs, for the sole reason that APs can require tuning to deal with overlap. For example, you may need to set minimum signal strength requirements so that your devices aren't always jumping between APs (they have a delay when doing this, which is aggravating). Mesh systems do this automatically.
BTW, NetGear has some excellent mesh options. Even their mid-tier Orbis are very good.
Posted on 10/2/23 at 9:21 am to SlackMaster
quote:
Agree with this. For a homeowner, a mesh system (with wired backhaul where possible) is better than APs, for the sole reason that APs can require tuning to deal with overlap. For example, you may need to set minimum signal strength requirements so that your devices aren't always jumping between APs (they have a delay when doing this, which is aggravating). Mesh systems do this automatically.
BTW, NetGear has some excellent mesh options. Even their mid-tier Orbis are very good.
i thought i had to have wired backhaul but apparently (and somone else may understand the tech deets) the connection between mesh nodes is proprietary such that you get same benefit as running ethernet to the base. its not just a wifi connection; its targeted to the mesh ecosystem you choose.
just throwing that out to try it w/o backhaul first (especially if you are going to have to poke holes to run ethernet) and see if its acceptable.
Posted on 10/2/23 at 9:28 am to SlackMaster
quote:This isn't unique to "mesh" systems, Ubiquiti and other gear can do this as well. You just have to match your equipment.
For a homeowner, a mesh system (with wired backhaul where possible) is better than APs, for the sole reason that APs can require tuning to deal with overlap. For example, you may need to set minimum signal strength requirements so that your devices aren't always jumping between APs (they have a delay when doing this, which is aggravating). Mesh systems do this automatically.
In my experience, some mesh systems (particularly eero) are not very good with their auto settings. I have one client with eero and the wifi is awful - devices rarely connect to the strongest unit, the auto wifi channels are in congested bands, etc. And to top it off they make you pay a subscription just to change wifi channels! It's as if they make it bad on purpose so you'll subscribe to your own fricking router so you can tune it properly.
Posted on 10/2/23 at 9:39 am to Korkstand
quote:
This isn't unique to "mesh" systems, Ubiquiti and other gear can do this as well
Good to know. I have Cisco APs and it took a while to get them tuned correctly . The mesh products available back then were new and not very good. If I we’re doing it again today, I’d probably go with a wired mesh system.
And I’ll scratch eero from any future consideration!
This post was edited on 10/2/23 at 9:52 am
Posted on 10/2/23 at 9:57 am to SlackMaster
Your point still stands, the mesh systems on the market are aimed at your typical consumer so they are more "plug and play". They simplify the setup, which is helpful, but my counter is that they sometimes go too far and the lack of options is harmful. Again, as with eero, they have "simplified" to the point that you have to subscribe to the tune of $100/year to access such basic features as wifi channel selection or DDNS settings.
Posted on 10/2/23 at 10:12 am to CAD703X
quote:
the connection between mesh nodes is proprietary such that you get same benefit as running ethernet to the base.
No. You dont get any of the benefits as running a cable to the satellites/APs.
Posted on 10/2/23 at 11:51 am to Korkstand
quote:
This isn't unique to "mesh" systems, Ubiquiti and other gear can do this as well. You just have to match your equipment.
So what type of access points should I get? I have ATT fiber with their standard modem.
What type of access points require the least amount of tuning? I don’t know how to do that.
And will the APs all be under one wifi name?
Posted on 10/2/23 at 12:00 pm to Knuckle Checker
quote:Then you should probably get a mesh system not named eero.
So what type of access points should I get? I have ATT fiber with their standard modem.
What type of access points require the least amount of tuning? I don’t know how to do that.
quote:Yes, any system can be configured this way.
And will the APs all be under one wifi name?
Side note, I've been noticing that a lot of people don't know that you can choose your own wifi name and password, they think you just have to use whatever comes as default. So they get a new router and go through the trouble of reconfiguring every device for the new wifi instead of setting the wifi back to what they had. And companies like cox/att/whatever don't give a shite, they won't even spend the 2 minutes it takes to inform the customer and/or do it for them.
Posted on 10/2/23 at 12:23 pm to Knuckle Checker
quote:
So what type of access points should I get? I have ATT fiber with their standard modem.
What type of access points require the least amount of tuning? I don’t know how to do that.
And will the APs all be under one wifi name?
if you want simple, the at&t extenders work great.
Posted on 10/2/23 at 12:53 pm to notsince98
quote:can you purchase outright or is this some $5/mo bullshite
if you want simple, the at&t extenders work great.
Posted on 10/2/23 at 1:02 pm to CAD703X
quote:
can you purchase outright or is this some $5/mo bullshite
They used to allow you to buy them but now you have to do the stupid monthly rental fee.
Posted on 10/2/23 at 10:22 pm to Korkstand
quote:
This isn't unique to "mesh" systems, Ubiquiti and other gear can do this as well. You just have to match your equipment.
This is what I originally remember being called a "mesh". A meshing of the wifi umbrella between wired access points to allow for seamless handoff when moving through the WiFi coverage. Ubiquiti's seemed like they were always very easy to set up. I have one Ubiquity AP that covers my whole house and patio but I purchased it specifically to allow for me to add another if I had coverage issues.
Posted on 10/3/23 at 8:19 am to Knuckle Checker
quote:
House is wired with cat 5 all over
I’m going to assume you don’t have in-ceiling drops anywhere. If you do, there are ceiling-mount AP where you can cut an existing cable and run both in and out through the AP, if you understand how to do this.
But more than likely, you’ve got a bunch of ports on the wall in neat little boxes. If that’s the case, you should know about the TP Link Omada wall mount AP. Unifi makes a few options here, too for a bit more money (but one has neat little covers to help it blend into the wall if white isn’t your color of choice).
It’s distinctly possible these don’t fit the aesthetic (a 2-gang box with power and coax that you’re using would make this ugly), but if they do and preventing an appliance “out in the open” like most mesh points, they’re both great systems (warning- inherited an Omada install once. Unlike ubiquiti, using controller + AP without gateway (3rd party ‘old’ router rather than their product) is a common unifi setup. I couldn’t make it work with Omada without the gateway as well)
They’re both acceptable options. I like APs more, generally. I think they look better, they tend to have somewhat more robust features, and I like to use my home as a test bench for stuff I deploy in the office.
Posted on 10/3/23 at 10:08 am to Knuckle Checker
quote:then no reason not to do APs. mesh is just wire APs. some have dedicated back haul, some dont.
House is wired with cat 5 all over
Posted on 10/3/23 at 10:09 am to SlackMaster
quote:no
For a homeowner, a mesh system (with wired backhaul where possible) is better than APs
Posted on 10/3/23 at 10:14 am to CarRamrod
Have fun with the ATT router. I was just made to upgarde to the newer bgw 320. luckily passthrough works for my ubiquity system. I was never able to get it to work onthe bgw 210.
The firmware they a have on this is horrible, but i will say the 320 is faster. every other gateway had it was like a 90s internet getting to different pages in the firmware.
The firmware they a have on this is horrible, but i will say the 320 is faster. every other gateway had it was like a 90s internet getting to different pages in the firmware.
Page 1 of 2
Popular
Back to top
Follow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News