A mesh network, in simple terms, is a multitude of devices that primarily function as a sole Wi-Fi network. It implies that there is inevitably more than one source involved with Wi-Fi in your surroundings, not just one single router that belongs to you. Now, these Wi-Fi sources that don’t belong to you are known as points. For instance, Google Nest Wi-Fi and Google Wi-Fi are the predominant Wi-Fi systems of the mesh network.
Because Google Nest Wi-Fi, along with Google Wi-Fi, is successfully broadcasted from each distinct point surrounding your residence (and certainly not just the involvement of a sole router), they are undoubtedly capable of delivering significantly rich coverage across a broader space. In case you own a bigger property or residence, you can easily incorporate more points to experience substantial coverage of Wi-Fi.
Every single point will be associated with each other through a wireless medium. The basic requirement is that they should lie within a range. Wireless communication is enabled that doesn’t warrant the need for a router or any sort of switch. This provides a much-coveted platform of swift and expeditious data routing.
However, if you are inclined towards a wired connection, then it is feasible also. All you need to do is just be mindful that your points are carefully wired into the main switch. This switch has to be properly wired to a functional LAN port of the router or to the primary point (the one that is tethered to the modem). Now, all these wired points will eventually acknowledge the wired connections present and also the route traffic across Ethernet.
Mechanism of Mesh Networking
It is exclusively mechanized to enshroud your entire home with seamless wireless coverage. Generally, Wi-Fi systems are actually hybrid of sorts which are made up of a number of networking components. With the help of the main router, which directly connects to your modem, along with a cluster of satellite modules that you put in place across your residing place. Now, they are all constituted into one entity to form a strong single wireless network.
They share the same SSID as well as the password. This concept works entirely differently and is dissimilar to the range extenders that require an uninterrupted flow of communication with the router via radio bands of 2.4GHz or 5GHz. Today, Wi-Fi system satellites incorporate mesh technology to initiate a form of communication with the router.
Each node functions in the form of a hop point for all other nodes present in the system. This provides support for the nodes that are farthest from the router to successfully deliver a promising Wi-Fi signal. This process involves communication with other nodes and not depending upon the traditional one-to-one form of communications with the router.
This is to be noted that not all Wi-Fi systems incorporate mesh networking. Some actually make use of a dedicated radio band for the purpose of communication with the main router and also with each other. In this case of Mesh, the dedicated band relieves the standard-use 2.4GHz as well as 5GHz bands for client usage.
Mesh Network vs. Traditional Wi-Fi network
If we talk about a traditional Wi-Fi network, let’s say your laptop or mobile phone is tethered to only one router, and therefore, all subsequent communication flows through that specific router. This analogy is prevalent and stands intact that the farther you go from your router, the signal declines relatively.
However, with the availability of Google Nest Wi-Fi along with Google Wi-Fi mesh systems, your connection will entail more than one Wi-Fi point in your residence, which implies that you’re always technically connected regardless of the magnitude of the distance.
Advantages of Mesh Networking
Below mentioned are some of the exclusive advantages that users successfully avail themselves:
- Ubiquitous Connection: As a part of the existing network, subsequent points can be merged to magnify the improved and extensive coverage in challenging areas such as hallways as well as juxtaposed walls concerning the outdoor coverage.
- Automatic Connection: In the concept of the mesh network, if in case any specific point stops working so, communication is subsequently rerouted through another point that will be active nearby. However, in an instance that your router or primary point becomes inactive or goes offline (the one which is tethered to your modem), then your entire network will become inactive.
- Chooses The Best Route: All of the points are inextricably connected to each other under mesh networking. Therefore, data can choose multiple paths in order to reach its destination , and it will always choose the most appropriate route from Point A to Point B.
Important Applications of Mesh Networks
Mesh Networks are predominantly incorporated in umpteen areas of telecom such as:
- In areas like rural or village communities, systems of communication function with the help of wireless nodes which are installed in every village tethered to each other. They deliver communication services without relying on the essential operator infrastructure.
- Optical Mesh Networks pave the way for the transport networks to deliver a dynamic and unprecedented quality of service along with bandwidth on demand. It further manages the bandwidth through peer nodes and incorporating policies.
- Technically, Ad-hoc wireless networks are predominantly decentralized networks that have no predefined layout or structure.
- A wireless mesh network is undoubtedly a telecom network that is constituted of radio nodes expeditiously put together in a mesh topology. Now this network is being used profusely in Metro-Wi-Fi networks and LTE radio. These are also being widely accepted in applications of military communication in battlefield surveillance or tunnels as well as oil rigs.
- MANET is the abbreviated version of Mobile Ad-hoc Networks. These are all the mobile devices that are exclusively connected to one another without any imperative requirement of a central infrastructure. Now, vehicular ad-hoc networks are a kind of network where different vehicles successfully communicate with the preinstalled internet points that are on the road or could be between the vehicles themselves is also an intriguing application.
