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Power supply in a mesh network. Wi-Fi Mesh: Everything you need to know about mesh networks. What is Mesh system

Hi all! An article about equipment and the use of mesh networks is long overdue, but I decided to sit down to write it only now. The thing is that some time ago completely different companies began sending me sets of WiFi Mesh system devices with similar functionality for review. I liked this technology so much that I even decided to keep one of the sets for home use. And of course, after these publications there were many requests to tell in more detail what a mesh grid is.

How does a Mesh WiFi mesh differ from a regular router?

The main essence of a mesh network is to cover a large area with a stable wireless signal without loss of speed and with seamless roaming.

How have we tried to achieve this in the past? We bought the most expensive and powerful router that could relay the wifi signal over the maximum distance. If it was not enough, then we installed an additional wifi repeater, which extended it a little more to a remote area. In general, I described everything in detail earlier.

However, they all had quite significant drawbacks:

  • First of all, any new link in the chain, that is, each new repeater, significantly reduced the speed. Somewhere twice, and somewhere even more, depending on the initial transmitter power and the cost of all equipment.
  • The second point is the price. Not everyone can afford to buy an expensive router costing from 3,000 – 5,000 or more rubles. If you add a repeater and antenna to it, then add several thousand more to this amount.
  • Third is setup. Any repeater must first be manually connected to the main wifi network and, using a phone or computer, configure its parameters to relay the signal. If you have several of them, then you will need to do this with each one in turn.
  • Finally, when moving around the house, a smartphone or laptop had to be reconnected from the main source - the router, to additional ones, as a result of which there was a loss of connection and all current tasks associated with working on the Internet - playing online games, downloading files, watching videos, etc. . – also stopped. Agree, it’s inconvenient.

What is a Mesh system?

A mesh network is a peer-to-peer system, the load of which is distributed among several equal cells (access points), each of which distributes a wireless signal in a common network.

The essence of the “mesh” technology is that by connecting one access point to the Internet or an existing network (cable or wireless), created using some existing router, the others automatically pick up its signal and work with the same settings, same as the first one.


Equipment for mesh network

Typically, a set of equipment for a mesh includes several devices at once - two or more. If you don’t go into details, each of them is an analogue of a regular wifi router.


All modules in the mesh system are equal and connecting it to a router or directly through the provider’s cable to the Internet can be done from any of them. As a result, we get several equivalent wifi signal sources, which do not need to be configured individually, as is the case with the use of wifi repeaters. But this is especially true for home use, and not only.

Moreover, if when connecting to a repeater the wifi speed drops compared to the main source, even if you are in close proximity to it, then here it remains at the same level.


If necessary, you can easily connect one or more points without performing any configurations on it.


Another characteristic property of a mesh wifi network is seamless roaming - this is when your device - a smartphone, laptop, etc. - moves around the house. – it automatically selects which access point is currently the closest and reconnects to it without losing the connection to the wireless network. That is, reconnection occurs unnoticed by the end user. This means that neither downloads, nor live online broadcasts, nor anything else related to working on the Internet is interrupted.

Application of mesh wifi network systems

That is, imagine that you live in a one-room apartment. You buy one mesh element and use it just like a regular router. Then you move to a private house with 4-5 rooms - and all you have to do is buy 2-3 more components of the same system and simply plug them into the outlet, and they will automatically configure themselves with each other.


In general, the advantages are obvious and, in my opinion, mesh systems are the future of wireless networks. How much does it cost, you ask? Colleagues, this question also worried me the most. Considering all the advantages, I would buy such a thing regardless of its high cost (within reasonable limits, of course).


But for an ordinary user, and not a fan like me, the issue of money will be, if not in first place, then definitely in second place. So, the most interesting thing is that the price of one set of several cells is quite comparable to the amounts that are asked for just one router from the middle segment, which in my tests provided a more or less similar wireless signal reception range.

It is a distributed, peer-to-peer, self-organizing network with a mesh topology. In English, mesh means "cell".

Mesh networks differ from the usual centralized networks in that all nodes in them have equal rights, each node is a provider, a router, and a bridge (network switch).

To become a full-fledged node on the network, all you need to do is install the Mesh Network software on your router/phone/laptop. To connect a client to the Mesh network, no additional software is required, except for a dhcp client and system support for ipv6.

In a mesh network, you are “your own provider”; you cannot be disconnected from this network, you cannot be eavesdropped on by special equipment.

Mesh networks are the path by which humanity will build a free, censorship-resistant, decentralized Internet with End-to-End traffic encryption by default. And cryptocurrencies are the missing piece of the equation.

What is the value of a global mesh network?

In a Mesh network, it is impossible to control the traffic and nodes serving the network because there is no single center for obtaining IP addresses (DHCP), all routes are distributed and dynamic, and DNS can also be decentralized;

The mesh network is optionally anonymous and always private. All traffic is encrypted by default. There are no centralized logs of user sessions and node activity. Goodbye Big Brother.

Traffic cannot be prioritized. Network Neutrality is a law that is written into the code. Goodbye traffic prioritization and lobbying for corporations and governments.

The network cannot be blocked or closed because it connects according to the principle of “everyone to everyone”, which creates a large number of connections. The loss of one or more connections will not disrupt the functioning of the network as a whole. Goodbye government firewalls.

If a natural disaster occurs, then with the help of a mesh network you can quickly build a network at the scene of the incident for communication, and with external support, connect it to the global network.

Moreover, such a network can be cheap and self-organizing, that is, connect a cable/Wi-Fi/cellular connection to the device, press a button, and you automatically become a member of the network. Also, such a network can operate in “overlay” mode, that is, on top of existing infrastructure, for example, the Internet.

Is mesh difficult?

When launching a Mesh Network, you need to solve many routing problems, while simultaneously combining this with encryption and the possibility of an overlay mode of operation.

However, the open source cjdns protocol and the Hyperboria project based on it solve all these problems quite effectively.

There are many other protocols for building mesh networks. Below is a comparison table:

Auto address assignment- the client chooses his own address and does not have to change it when moving from one subnet to another, since there is no single center for issuing addresses;

Auto-conf. Routing- there is no need to manually configure network routing;

Distributed Routing- nodes exchange routing information;

Network interconnection- the ability to connect networks via regular Internet;

IPv4/v6- what protocol the network uses;

Auto-tuning- allows you to use the network without installing any other software;

Development- network development status;

Support- which operating systems can be full participants in the network.

Challenges and Obstacles for the Global Mesh Network

Compared to the usual Internet, mesh networks are often ineffective because they do not guarantee channel width and communication quality. There is little content inside and there is no huge number of familiar sites and services. It is very difficult to launch a Mesh Network at the very beginning, and efficiency is achieved only with a large number of users (nodes).

However, cjdns and other protocols have been developed and operational for about 15 years. And on our planet there are many different mesh networks organized: from New York to Afghanistan. People are building "their" Internet to escape the control of governments and Internet providers, to protect their freedom of speech and freedom of access to information around the world.

The largest mesh network in the world is called Guifi, located in Spain and has 34,593 active nodes at the time of writing.

This project started in 2004 with one Wi-Fi cell. Ramon Roca, one of the Oracle engineers, was tired of waiting for the Internet to be installed in his town of Gurb. Initially, he wanted to solve the problem for himself. But then he helped his neighbors too. By configuring the Linksys routers in a certain way, he was able to combine them into a Mesh Network, which others could join if they had an Internet connection.

The first network node started working when Roca installed a router with a directional antenna on the tallest building in the town. It was the only building in the region with a network connection. Using a directional antenna, the router connected the engineer’s house, located 6 kilometers from the building, to the Internet. Soon neighbors began asking for an Internet connection. And then neighbors of neighbors, acquaintances, colleagues. Everyone was able to connect - access was free, you just had to purchase a router. The network gradually increased in size year after year. Roca and his team of volunteers are still working, even at night. It costs them a lot of work to develop their network. All donations go towards purchasing equipment. In fact, the network is supported only by the voluntary efforts of its creators.

But how to interest all other people in joining the network if for them the problems of Internet control are not yet so relevant or simply not important? How to interest users who do not understand what a mesh is and what its advantages are, to start filling the network with content and services, if inside it is empty and there is no one except early adopters? How to interest nodes, better serve the network and provide a better communication channel?

On the one hand, states, Internet providers and corporations themselves create incentives for the development of a free alternative Internet. Just remember the last one, when RKN blocked more than 18 million IP addresses, including Google and Amazon server addresses. Many sites and services were affected, including Microsoft Office 365, Windows updates, Xbox, Viber, Odnoklassniki and many others. There were problems with making payments through 3DSecure MasterCard.

But negative incentives alone are not enough to create a network effect for the transition from the traditional Internet to the free global Mesh Network.

Before the advent of cryptocurrencies, the implementation of “positive” economic incentives in Mesh networks in all their flexibility and power was impossible. Simply because you would have to write code for each device to process bank-fiat payments, which is very difficult and unsafe, as well as go through bureaucratic barriers and passport identification. In fact, now we already have all the technologies to implement a global Mesh network. But let's be realistic - most likely, its alpha version.

What are mesh + cryptocurrencies? Global Mesh Network

Let's say the system of economic incentives might look something like this:

I pay the peers ( peers are neighboring nodes in a mesh network) for the traffic they route for me;

Peers pay me for the traffic I route for them;

I make a crypto deposit to my node account when the balance is zero;

There is no doubt that such a network will bring enormous benefits to absolutely everyone. Let's see if there is someone who has enough fire to make this happen.

Examples of cryptocurrency projects that make mesh networks: Skycoin, RighMesh, Ammbr, Altheamesh.

For example, the Skycoin project is developing its Skywire Mesh Network, and the plans are very ambitious. The team wants to build a global Mesh Network, and the Skycoin blockchain will be used as a payment system.

Points can work in a MESH network either independently (for example, smart points - Motorola) or as a thin client under the control of a controller (Blusocket).

Smart access points can dynamically redistribute the load. If one point is overloaded, it reduces power and transfers some of its subscribers to neighboring points, which increase power.

Modern points can use additional radio interfaces (2nd or 3rd) as a sensor of the surrounding radio air, which allows you to automatically select the optimal radio channels and radiating signal power to reduce the influence of interference. The sensor can also register the connection of unregistered points, inform the network administrator about this, and also use active suppression of radio signals from illegally installed points (radio perimeter protection).

This greatly simplifies commissioning work. Often this technology eliminates the time-consuming and expensive procedure of radio planning.

Using a VLAN with multiple SSIDs allows QoS to prioritize latency-critical traffic for business users by cutting the bandwidth for guest access.

The main advantage of MESH networks is their mobility and high deployment speed. When moving to a new office, a company can take the access points with them and deploy a Wi-Fi network in a few hours.

MESH technology is actively used not only in office buildings. MESH is convenient to use for organizing public Internet access in open areas, squares, parks and stadiums.

A separate area of ​​MESH networks is the organization of uniform coverage in large warehouse areas.

Thus, Wi-Fi has ceased to be a toy for home use. Nowadays, professional Wi-Fi solutions are used by businesses as the main working IT tool.

There are network analyzers that are easy to use, such as the NETSCOUT AirCheck G2. This is a smartphone-like device that supports Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac standards. With this portable device, you can walk around all the rooms, measure the signal level and plot the boundaries of the coverage area on a map, including those linked to GPS coordinates.

NETSCOUT AirCheck G2 Portable Network Analyzer

The NETSCOUT AirCheck G2 analyzer can solve many problems at once. In particular, you can make sure that the Wi-Fi network covers the entire required space, but does not extend beyond the controlled area, for example, onto the street. You can also check network performance, seamless roaming, presence of interference sources, etc.

What is a mesh network? For a better understanding, you can imagine a design consisting of a set of interconnected routers that make up network nodes (points). These network nodes provide mutual communication in order to provide Internet signal coverage over a wider area than just within the boundaries of one private home. A mesh network is characterized by the fact that it provides access to the Internet almost anywhere within the coverage area of ​​the nodes. For example, over the entire area of ​​a multi-story building or in an area covering several city blocks.


A typical configuration that provides services for a variety of users: 1 – Internet; 2 – Base station; 3 – Wireless touch design; 4 – Search and rescue robot; 5 – Wireless “Ad-Hoc”; 6 – Wi-Fi design; 7 – Wireless home mesh

Some smart home products, like Samsung's SmartThings, are capable of interacting with other components of the entire mesh system (sensors, alarms, etc.). All this is used to perform certain tasks without the need to establish a connection with the main center.

Home Cellular Structure

Mesh network, designed for home users, provides stable communications covering the entire living area of ​​a home or small office.

To ensure complete network coverage, a network usually uses several routers. There are a number of proven professional mesh systems, such as Google Wi-Fi or Orbi from NETGEAR.

Municipal cellular structure

Communities (municipal mesh networks) are very reminiscent of the structures that are created for communication devices in ordinary living conditions (home network). There is only one exception here.

Instead of a device designed to cover an area within a single building, a municipal mesh structure covers an urban area or an entire city. The FabFi product is an illustrative example of a mesh network operating on a city scale.

How a mesh Wi-Fi network works

Conventionally, a home mesh network can be thought of as a chain of links. Each link (mesh node) opens a connection to other links. Obviously, the chain (network) created in this way is capable of covering long distances. Significantly more distant than any single link (node).

Range is ensured by binding nodes to each other, regardless of how many nodes are present. In order to transform standard Wi-Fi into a mesh network, appropriate configuration is required. Thanks to the completed setup, a configuration for several communication nodes is installed.

Based on the created configuration, they organize a main node based on a modem - a network switching device, which plays the role of a regular router. Next, the additional node is connected directly to the first node.


New developments in miniature routers promise to make mesh networks even more versatile in terms of possible applications for the benefit of society

The third, fourth, etc. are connected in the same way. a node that communicates with other neighboring nodes to provide Wi-Fi service as far as possible from the main node where the modem is located.

Mesh network systems are created specifically for the purpose of organizing router traffic. The devices work in tandem by default. Therefore, the user does not need to have any special knowledge regarding settings.

As an example, consider a home option where the Internet provider connection is connected to the basement. The ISP line is connected to the modem, as is one of the mesh system nodes. Other nodes are connected in different rooms of the house, thereby strengthening the Wi-Fi signal for reliable transmission throughout the entire area of ​​the building.

Pros and cons of a home mesh network


The rise in popularity of smart home devices and countless streaming media services such as Hulu, Netflix and Spotify will provide Wi-Fi coverage anywhere

The obvious point is that if several nodes are installed as part of a residential building, each of the operating points is capable of operating at full speed. In other words, when the Internet service provider provides traffic at a speed of 30 Mbps, and there are three operating points in the house, all three points allow operation at the same speed - 30 Mbps.

However, this operation is not supported by the mesh configuration. All three cells (in the example above), if used at maximum power, will evenly share the 30 Mbit/s allocated for home consumption. That is, in reality, each individual cell will have 10 Mbit/s.

The bandwidth set for the home version maintains a certain speed regardless of the operating characteristics of the local network. A user may have one router, a mesh network of say 4 or 15 cells covered by the supported bandwidth.


Wireless networks have two eternal problems: low speed and poor quality of coverage, and the second drags down the first. It would seem that the 802.11ac standard has put an end to speed issues: a gigabit wireless connection is enough for any needs, and all that remains is to figure out the coverage in order to get maximum speed in any corner of a large house and even on the street.

Until recently, to improve Wi-Fi coverage, conventional access points were used, connected by cable to a local network or receiving a radio signal and transmitting it further. This is a cheap solution, but has a significant drawback: each Wi-Fi network creates a separate SSID and requires a separate password, and if you use two bands, 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz, then for two access points you will have as many as 4 Wi-Fi networks . In addition, even the most modern smartphones and laptops do not always switch normally between two base stations with the same SSID, and it happens that while you are in the zone of reliable operation of one Wi-Fi station, you are still connected to another via a slower channel .

Zyxel recently released the Multy X solution to the Russian market, a set of wireless equipment that provides reliable Wi-Fi operation over an area of ​​up to 446 sq.m. Multy X is based on Mesh technology, and before we continue our acquaintance with the new product, we will briefly tell you what it is.

Mesh is the simplest computer networking concept in history

Mesh is not so much a wireless networking technology as it is a consumer-oriented concept. Until now, setting up Wi-Fi is difficult for some segments of the population, and if we talk about connecting several access points in a large cottage or large apartment, this is a dark forest even for many system administrators. The idea behind Mesh is this: you connect the first access point to your home router, pick up your smartphone and log in through your social media account, set up Wi-Fi with one click of a button, then take the second access point and, with the smartphone in your hands, install it where it tells you a smart app for you. Do the same with the third, fourth and fifth access points. You don't need any knowledge or experience in network configuration.

Unlike Wi-Fi repeaters, which connect to a local network via wire, Mesh devices connect to each other via a dedicated 5 GHz wireless channel, the so-called Backhaul, for which a separate radio module is allocated, so they must be installed within each other’s signal range . Mesh devices do not require a router to operate, which is especially important in 3G/4G networks: plug an LTE whistle into the access point and use the wireless Internet.

Wherever you are within range of the Mesh network, your smartphone or laptop will automatically connect to the nearest hotspot with the same network SSID and password. The mesh network is peer-to-peer, so the loss of one or more access points does not pose a threat to it - as long as the wireless channel between the remaining devices remains in operation.

Zyxel Multy X Kit

Mesh access points are sold in kits to make it easier for the buyer to set up and avoid unnecessary compatibility problems; the Zyxel product is no exception, and Multy X comes in an unusual double box, glued on the inside with a soft polymer material. Since over time the owner of the Mesh network may decide to expand coverage by installing additional devices, from the second half of this year Zyxel Multy X will be sold individually. In total, 3 nodes are currently supported in one Mesh network.

Technically, each Multy X device is a 3-band access point with one radio module for the 2.4 GHz frequency and two radio modules for the 5 GHz range. A dedicated connection between nodes (the aforementioned Backhaul) is carried out at speeds of up to 1733 Mbit/s over a 5 GHz radio channel in 4x4 MU-MIMO mode and does not affect the performance of the client 5 GHz band. By the way, in terms of Backhaul connection speed, Zyxel Multy X is twice as fast as Google WiFi and Linksys Velop with their poor 867 Mbps, and cheaper solutions like TP-Link Deco M5 do not have a dedicated inter-node connection at all, and share the total channel width for clients and connections with each other.

The speed of a 2.4 GHz channel is 400 Mbit/s, which is generally not much by modern standards, and many network equipment manufacturers do not try to squeeze the maximum out of this frequency, objectively believing that this range is becoming a thing of the past, inferior to 5 GHz .

Both client frequencies, 2.4 and 5 GHz, use 2x2 MU-MIMO mode, which promises high performance even with older 802.11n Wi-Fi devices. The overall network throughput should not be reduced when there are a large number of connected clients.

Each access point has 4 Ethernet ports with a speed of 1 Gbit/s, of which 1 can be used to access the Internet (WAN), and 3 can be used to connect wired clients, such as personal computers, IP cameras or NASs. There is no wired Backhaul channel between nodes, although this function is implemented in many analogues and can be very useful when you need to forward a wireless network through a thick reinforced concrete floor.

But there is a USB 2.0 port, which is planned to be used in future firmware for connecting a modem, and a Bluetooth module for communicating with a smartphone. We connected the Yota modem to Mutly X - it was not detected, a regular flash drive also did not work, and Why this port is here remains a mystery to us.

The Zyxel Multy X case does not have a wall mount, it does not even disassemble, and judging by the photographs on the manufacturer’s website, a significant part of the internal space is allocated for a huge cooling radiator. And there is something to warm up here.

Technical characteristics of Zyxel Multy X

  • Quad-core Qualcomm IPQ 4019 processor
  • 512 MB RAM
  • 4 GB flash
  • 9 internal antennas
  • 1 WAN port 1 Gbps
  • 3 LAN ports 1 Gbps
  • One USB 2.0 port (will work in future firmware)
  • Bluetooth BLE 4.1
  • Power - 12 V, 3A, 25 W

Having dealt with the appearance of the device, let's see why it is interesting from a software point of view.

Setup and initial installation

Since the main concept of Mesh devices is maximum ease of use, even Zyxel Multy X does not have a web interface, and all settings are made only from an Android or iOS smartphone. Download the latest version of the Multy program from Google Play and proceed to initialization. The initial setup of the nodes is carried out via Bluetooth, and when everything is finished, you can control the devices via the Internet from the myZYXELcloud cloud, from the same application.

Despite the fact that the program has an English-language interface, it is not difficult to understand. Step by step we follow the instructions: turn on Bluetooth on the phone, turn on the power on the access point, wait until the LED indicator blinks and set the name and password for the new wireless network. In general, there is nothing special to write here - you can see the entire process of setting up the first Multy in the screenshots. Oh yes, I completely forgot to add that you need to connect the access point to your home network via the WAN port, because without access to the Internet the setup will not be completed.

The second Zyxel Multy X node is configured in a similar way, with the only difference being that the software itself will tell you whether you need to place the second access point closer to the first or vice versa - further away, as in our case. It takes about 5 minutes to set up each device, and most of the time is waiting for the program to do everything itself. At the last stage, the program will prompt your smartphone to connect to the created wireless network and use it to surf the Internet.

Finally, traditional automatic firmware updates for all Zyxel Multy X devices on the home network and naming of both nodes and rooms in which the devices are installed.

Please note that Zyxel Multy X creates only one subnet with IP addresses 192.168.212.x, and address parameters cannot be changed. Each connected device can be assigned to one of the groups by type - for example, smartphones, wireless cameras, laptops, etc., and then set to turn off on a schedule (this is the notorious Parental Control function).

The program on your smartphone has a built-in test for the Internet connection of your wireless network. You can test the speed of communication between Zyxel Multy X access points to choose the best location for their installation, as well as the speed at which each access point is connected to the Internet. This is very useful information, and perhaps the main reason why you can go into the setup program after everything is done.

By default, the Daisy Chain type topology is used, which can be switched to “star”, but this is not recommended, since you will lose both speed and distance between devices. For externally accessible servers (video surveillance or NAS), there is a DMZ port that works when access points are installed in NAT mode. It is also possible to install a bridge connection, but we do not recommend switching Multy X to bridge mode.

By the way, you need to keep in mind that only the initial setup of Multy X is done via Bluetooth; in the future, you will need the Internet to connect to the device. If Multy X is not connected to the Internet, there is no way to access it or do anything with it- just completely reset all settings and configure again.

For many of our readers, setting up Wi-Fi is as simple as reinstalling Windows. We can do this with our eyes closed, and it is difficult for us to appreciate all the attempts to simplify this process. From my point of view, the only thing missing in the Zyxel Multy X program is the Russian language, and as soon as it appears, even a pensioner and a desperate housewife will be able to install Wi-Fi, not to mention children who will also teach us something new. Let's see how it works.

Testing

First of all, we check the connection speed between the nodes and from the access point to the Internet. Zyxel claims Backhaul interconnect speeds of 1.7 Gbps. This speed is achieved only on line of sight when access points operate without obstacles. In testing, Backhaul speeds were as follows:

  • Line of sight, 5 meters - 520 Mbit/s
  • 5 meters, 1 concrete wall - 460 Mbit/s
  • 10 meters, line of sight - 480 Mbit/s
  • 10 meters, 2 concrete walls - 450 Mbit/s
  • 10 meters, 3 concrete walls - 60 Mbit/s
  • 10 meters, 3 concrete walls - 32 Mbit/s

The first tests show that it is possible to achieve interconnect speeds above 500 Mbit/s only in ideal conditions; Zyxel probably stated the Backhaul speed at 1.7 Gbit/s, meaning the simultaneous connection of 3 access points to each other, and not the direct connection of two nodes. Multy X does not have any magic in the propagation of a wireless signal - exactly the same power as all 802.11ac access points, built-in antennas, and as a result - rapid attenuation when passing through reinforced concrete barriers.

The next test is to move the Wi-Fi client from one access point to another in order to work with the highest quality signal. Multy has a built-in signal strength meter, so let's connect to a wireless network and walk from one hotspot to another. When the signal level moves from the green zone (-60 dB) to the yellow zone (-85 dB), the smartphone only needs about 30 seconds to switch to the nearest Multy X access point. This is a good indicator.

Ping via two Zyxel Multy: client - Multy - Multy - wired Ethernet

Our tests show that the connection difference between the first and second Multy X nodes is 6-7 milliseconds. For web surfing, video calls and instant messengers, this does not matter, and even in dynamic online games you will not feel the network slowdown, so concerns about Mesh slowdowns for online gamers are unfounded.

Price issue

The cost of the Zyxel Multy X kit, consisting of two units, is 26 thousand rubles. An additional Multy X access point can be purchased for 14 thousand rubles.

Wi-Fi Mesh kits are the most expensive home networking equipment in the history of wireless networks. Here you pay for the convenience of setup from a smartphone and for communication of nodes via a wireless channel, which has a separate radio module, as well as for working with a single SSID.

For comparison, for about 16 thousand rubles you can buy 4 Zyxel NWA1123-AC v2 access points with support for the 802.11ac standard and a 5 GHz frequency, and with the money saved, invite a system administrator with honors to set everything up for you. If you don’t want to run wires to access points, then Zyxel has an excellent kit costing about 8,400 rubles, consisting of a Pla 5206 v2 Powerline adapter and a Pla5236 Powerline repeater.

Yes, of course, you can remember that the Zyxel Multy X supports control using the Amazon Alexa voice assistant, but so far this property is difficult to evaluate.

conclusions

If you think that the more expensive a Wi-Fi device is, the more functions it should have, then the Zyxel Multy X, like all home Wi-Fi Mesh kits, is not for you. In general, if you understand computer and network equipment, you can do everything cheaper and faster.

If it is important to you that even a guinea pig can set up Wi-Fi, and you need high speed over a large area, such as in cottages, a summer cottage, or any other facility, but you are too lazy to think, much less pull wires, then Zyxel Multy X is the best mesh kit available on the market today. Firstly, 3 LAN ports with a speed of 1 Gbit/s for NAS, Internet of things, IP cameras, etc., a separate radio communication module between nodes, of which there can be up to three pieces, a declared coverage of 466 sq. m and management via the MyZyxelCloud cloud service.

Mikhail Degtyarev (aka LIKE OFF)
25/04.2018