Kitz Forum
Computers & Hardware => Networking => Topic started by: broadstairs on January 04, 2017, 09:59:24 AM
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I had an email this morning telling me about this Linksys VELOP™ Wi-Fi mesh system which says it is much better than any other method for getting wireless access round a property. See this link (http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/linksys-484-commercial.html) on the Currys/PC World web site.
Is this more hype than fact? What do others here make of this?
Stuart
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It would have to be good at those prices :(
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I have to admit that this has peaked my interest.
I found some review results, which suggest it is a good option, albeit expensive. Not sure how the 3 unit option can be $400 in the States and £499 over here though.
Hopefully these mesh solutions will reduce in price over the next few months.
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Personally, I would ignore the Linksys system and look more at the Ubiquiti Amplifi systems, as their mesh technology is much better evolved and their APs are much more powerful in general.
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The Google wifi system (https://madeby.google.com/wifi/) is mesh based and is due in UK soonTM. Its much cheaper, a "3-pack" is currently $299 on Amazon.
I am not sure how much better a mesh system is in a normal house vs a competently installed couple of WAP's - the whole wireless market is full of so much marketing cobblers i.e. the latest AC9999 turbo blah blah standard its hard to tell the truth from the bullshit.
:thumbs:
C
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Mesh will be ideal for lots of people. It all depends on your circumstances. If you have only a few stations then the lack of backhaul will not be a problem. But if you can manage to run the ethernet cable to conventional WAPs, which is always a nuisance, then the traditional wired distribution system will always be better as every WAP has its share of gigabit backhaul onto the wired LAN. And since many home users use their wireless networks mainly for internet access anyway the internet connection will almost always be a bottleneck providing reception is good.
I can manage to run ethernet backhaul now so I am doing so, but until about a year ago, I used to have to have a wireless distribution system that could reach a remote LAN.
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One difference with the Linksys system is the two 5GHz radios as well as one 2.4. They're not very forthcoming, but that could improve meshing performance either by using one 5G for meshing and one for client associations, or by using different channels for multi-hop meshing. I can't imagine many home installs are going to need more than one hop though. What I don't like is the stupid hype, for example they assume that all conventional multi-AP installs are put in by people who haven't thought of using the same SSID everywhere. I don't like the fact that you can only manage with an app rather than a web browser or ssh.
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prices are crazy which makes me glad as wifi meshing further congests the limited wifi frequency range.
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Very similar to the NETGEAR Orbi which also has dedicated backhaul. BT make one too but without the aforementioned backhaul.
The difference with these systems is they are completely wireless and so don't need wires run between them, which for the average user is a complete pain.
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I was looking for better Wi-Fi for my house, all sorts of issues with Wi-Fi and powerline - hardly any mesh systems on the market at the time. Eventually ended up buying four OM2P-HS 300 Mbps access points (http://www.open-mesh.com/products/access-points/grp-om2p-hs.html) at £40 each from eBay and four TP-Link TL-PA8010P AV1200 passthrough powerline adapters.
The TP-Links are giving me 100% reliable connectivity(tested over days with ping tester) and the Open Mesh adaptors(attached to the TP-Links) are giving me house wide Wi-Fi(average Wi-Fi APs speed wise, not bad, not great). They are managed via a free account at CloudTrax giving you this sort of info -
(https://s29.postimg.org/hngqr9okn/blap2017_01_07_11_59_38.png)
You can run the Open Mesh stuff as an actual mesh(surprise!) but performance drops quite a bit(only tested superficially).
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Great deal you got on those Open Mesh APs, around 1/2 normal price. We use them for low end business customers, typically where they're moving from commodity APs and need to expand coverage or to add guest network or similar. The dual band models are better for meshing, but if they can be hard wired then that's better (that's what we normally do).
Another option if you're OK with power line adapters, is to go for the TP-Link adapters with wireless built in. That's a neat install with just the one device sitting in a power point.
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Fair point, I'm using the Open Mesh/adaptor combo because I already had the OM stuff, was in testing mode - and WiFI+passthrough costs extra.
If anyone's interested you can pick up cheap Open Mesh stuff on US eBay(use Global shipping, it's cheap and easy). They use standard 12v power supplies you can pick up anywhere or POE. CloudTrax was free, firmware upgrades free as well.