What Is WiFi Mesh?

A Wi-Fi mesh is a wireless network based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 family of technologies, colloquially known as Wi-Fi. The mesh consists of a series of mesh nodes that form the backbone of the network. Communication between the nodes is based on Wi-Fi radios attached to directional or omnidirectional antennae, and the network is capable of supporting voice, video, text and data services.

1. Mesh Nodes

   • A Wi-Fi mesh is composed of two different types of nodes, mesh clients and mesh access points. The nodes within the mesh act as repeaters, intelligently routing, or forwarding, packets of data through intermediate nodes until they reach their destination. This means that data can be routed from source to destination over large distances, in a series of multiple hops, even though the source and destination may not be within wireless range of each other.

   Access Points

   • Wi-Fi access points, whether outdoor or indoor, consist of a Wi-Fi router with an omnidirectional, or non-directional, antenna. Each access point creates a Wi-Fi "hotspot" that allows any Wi-Fi enabled device within range to connect to the mesh. A typical Wi-Fi access point has a range of several hundred feet. The general principles of Wi-Fi mesh networking dictate that each node in the mesh should be able to "see" at least two other nodes at all times; this means that the connectivity of the mesh can be maintained if any single node goes out of commission through hardware or power failure.

   Internet Connectivity

   • A Wi-Fi mesh can also be connected to the Internet through gateway routers. However, if the Wi-Fi mesh becomes large, some nodes may require many hops to reach the gateway, which adversely affects their connection speed. One possible, albeit costly, solution to this problem is distribute gateway routers uniformly throughout the mesh, so that each node is, at worst, only a few hops away from a gateway.

   Benefits

   • One of the main benefits of a Wi-Fi mesh is its ability to self-form and to self-heal if the network changes in any way. If one node falls out of the network, adjacent nodes are able to automatically reconfigure their routing tables to reroute information via the next available route. A Wi-Fi mesh is effectively self-sufficient, once activated, and requires no centralized management. Furthermore, Wi-Fi mesh nodes can be built from inexpensive, off-the-shelf components and deployed with a minimum of training.