What are the Difference Between a MESH Router and an Ordinary Router?

Maybe many people still don't understand what Mesh is? What is it for? What is the difference between MESH routers and ordinary routers? Below CERES will introduce you to the features of Mesh and its advantages.

Ⅰ. What are the differences between Mesh system and regular router relays for the same extended signal coverage?

When many people buy a router, an important indicator is the quality of the signal. Can the signal of the router cover every corner of the house? In fact, one router is usually not enough for large-sized or multi-storey buildings. The 5G signal has a weak function through walls, and it is difficult to ensure a good network in every corner of the house.

Before the emergence and popularization of Mesh technology, we mainly used wireless relay to expand signal coverage. Compared with wireless relay, Mesh completely compensates for the latter's shortcomings and can be said to be the most ideal solution at present. And the wireless network manufacturer prefers to choose this kind of product.

First, the configuration of the Mesh network is simpler. Mesh network is a whole, adding Mesh nodes and modifying Mesh network settings are very simple. Modifying the information of the master node will automatically synchronize other routers in the entire Mesh network. New nodes do not need to set SSID, password, upper-level router and other information. After connection, they will automatically synchronize and automatically network. Only need to operate a button to easily complete the network configuration, adults and children can use it. The wireless relay needs to configure the SSID and password one by one, and select the network that needs to be relayed. The steps are extremely complicated and the threshold is high.

Secondly, the Mesh network can be networked intelligently and self-repair. The Mesh network will automatically construct the optimal network environment according to the number of nodes and network conditions. It can automatically form a star-shaped, chain-shaped or tree-shaped network according to the house type and placement position, so that the devices in the network can have excellent signal coverage and speed at any location. Even if one of the nodes fails, the Mesh network will automatically re-establish the optimal network environment. This is also not possible in the wireless relay mode. The network topology of the wireless relay is fixed and has been defined at the beginning of the user's setup, and the entire network cannot be guaranteed to be optimal. After a router goes offline, all nodes after this node may be paralyzed and cannot be automatically repaired.

In addition, the Mesh system can intelligently navigate and roam seamlessly. The Mesh network is a whole, it will automatically guide the equipment to the better node routing of the entire network according to the signal strength, network interference and load conditions. The whole process roams seamlessly, and you will not get stuck while walking while playing games or video calls. The routers of the wireless relay system do not know each other's status, and cannot actively guide the device to connect to a better node. It is impossible to seamlessly roam between routers. When the device is connected from the main router to the relay router, the connection will be obviously dropped, resulting in a smooth experience for online games and videos.

Ⅱ. What are the characteristics of Mesh system?

The above has finished talking about the advantages of Mesh over wireless relays, and the following are the characteristics of Mesh, which can make networking simpler, more convenient and easier to use.

1. Configure automatic synchronization

Configuring the entire network is as simple as configuring a single route. After you configure the master node information, the configuration will be automatically synchronized to other mesh network wireless routers in the entire network.

2. Support wired + wireless hybrid networking

Some family study rooms have reserved cable outlets, but not in the bedrooms. You can connect to the Mesh via wired in a room with a network cable, and continue to extend the Mesh wirelessly in a room without a network cable. In this way, the mixed use of wired and wireless is realized, so that every room has a good signal.

3. The nodes in the Mesh system will automatically select the best superior node

When a single new node is added to the Mesh network, it will automatically connect to the best upper link node in the network.

4. Network self-repair

When a node disconnects from the Mesh network, other nodes in the network will recheck the optimal node and automatically re-establish the connection, without the need for the user to reset it.

5. Seamless roaming

The Mesh network uses the 802.11k/v protocol when the mobile phone moves between 2 Mesh routers. The Mesh system will automatically guide the mobile phone to connect to the node route with better signal and lower load based on the comprehensive factors such as signal strength, network load, and terminal occupancy. This whole process will not affect the user's use. The device can roam seamlessly between multiple routers. Even if you are playing games or video calls, you will not feel the network freeze.

6. Inter-spectrum navigation

When the signal becomes poor, the Mesh network will actively navigate the device from a frequency band with a poor signal to a frequency band with a good signal according to the signal strength and frequency band interference. For example, when there are too many devices on 5G and the traffic is too large and the channel is congested, the Mesh network will navigate the device to the 2.4G frequency band to ensure that its signal and communication are normal. When the 5G signal is restored, it will automatically navigate back to the faster 5G frequency band.

We believe that users who choose WiFi6 routers must have more requirements for network quality, so we insist on adding Mesh technology to the new WiFi6 products.