WiFi

[DonJuane]

Dang, I never make the short list but maybe it was because I told off the last wise guy who asked me about routers and then told me to go find a technician when I didn't give him the answer he wanted (for basically not agreeing with and praising the mesh router idea) LOL.

Sarcastically I say anyone can have all the mesh networks they want. The commercial mesh packages they are selling today are just plug and play and youtube can indeed get you started. To set your Telmex radios (SSID access points) off it depends on your model but basically they are often at 192.168.1.254 (use command line "ipconfig /all" on a Windows command prompt to see your gateway address and thus your router address to log into with your browser). Then log in with ID TELMEX and your SSID password, go to Wireless LAN options and uncheck the two radios for your 2.4GHz and 5GHz radios. Save changes of course. Now plug your mesh WAN port in any one of the unused LAN ports of the Telmex and configure your Mesh system like it was direct connected to the Internet. If you've opened ports into your system before (e.g. security camera access, FTP, web server, etc.), you will likely want to use the DMZ option of the Telmex router, setting up a static IP address for the mesh router and then forwarding the DMZ to the static IP of the mesh router.

Still mesh networks are basically "for the birds" as far as I'm concerned and especially in Mexico because you're normally dealing with extremely thick concrete walls and signals just can't penetrate them. The mesh network is nothing more than a daisy chain of bucket-brigade-ing the signal through your house and on the end router it will be only as good of throughput as the furthest router from the previous one is able to produce. That's why I always do my professional work using a multi-router wired system that means every signal is the best it can be (and not a copy of the best one before that and before that and before that was able to pick up). Still I guess they are better than nothing.

I am sorry but I don't help people any longer is because one can often work all day for someone and then they make some snide remark toward you because you were not able to dissolve the laws of physics just to accommodate them. They hire a local guru who sells them a "bill of goods" and some are happy with it even if it cost more and is not the best solution. So that's good and it makes me very happy I didn't get involved. I'd really hate to work retail or for the public any more, there's just no future in it. Thank's God for this retirement LOL.

Otherwise back to the subject of mesh, if you are talking about an African village and supplying them with Internet, then using high quality equipment from tower to tower with quality radios and hardware configured as a mesh network is a good idea. If you are talking about being Super Man and being able to alter physical radio wave properties and penetrate Mexican 2 foot thick walls with a mesh network, then I'd be all over that mesh if it were true. In the interim while awaiting Super Man I'm sticking to wired and multiple routers. I currently have a fully wired multi-router network with US VPN client dedicated router, a local VPN server and a separate Telmex PPoE node bridged into an OpenWRT OpenVPN server to log in remotely and securely to monitor cameras, VOIP units and other equipment including NAS server and I don't use any kind of mesh network and wouldn't have one. You can pick up routers for $20 these days and with enough RAM to host Linux based open source router software to make them as powerful as $600 units and yes that even includes configuring them for mesh. So with a little wiring and a $20 router in every major family gathering area, you've got a perfect signal everywhere. But that's not "magic" like mesh and the reason the last fellow I tried to help put me into my current "never again" frame of mind after his disparaging remarks.

In close it is without exception I always hard wire a multiple router network when dealing with the kind of walls we encounter here in Mexico or where we are talking about penetrating metal buildings, etc. Otherwise with mesh, the end router in the chain sporting an illusionary 5-bars is only fooling the naive while producing the same limited signal the weakest mesh to mesh router in the chain is able to accomplish and masking that bad signal with a large meter reading.

Anyway - Sorry to cop an attitude but the last guy who asked for help here left a sour taste in my mouth. Best of luck to you.