difference between "range extender" and mesh?

[dpopiz]

what's the difference between a node in a wireless "mesh network" and a "range extender" device such as the one from d-link?

 

[ITJunkie]

My guess would be that a node in a "mesh network" would be considered an Access Point (AP) where as a "range extender" is just that... it boosts the wireless device signal so you can be farther away and still gain access.

 

[ktwebb]

In simple terms a mesh network is where each node connects to every other node on the network.

A repeater, your "extender", simply associates to one AP, rebroadcasting everything that it gets from that parent AP.

 

[JackMDS]

Extender usually relates to a single unit that flip-flops between receiving and Transmitting (like the D-Link unit, or Linksys WET54G), and thus extending the range (and cuts the Bandwidth to half in the process).

A more elaborate form of extending coverage is the Wireless WDS arrangement (Buffalo Tech. and Belkin 802.11g line of Wireless Router are WDS).

This PDF does a decent job in showing WDS connections, http://www.proxim.com/support/techbulletins/TB-046.pdf

Mesh Network is a wider topology concept, which applies to Wireless as well.

http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/wireless/2004/01/22/wirelessmesh.html

Some people call WDS Simplistic Mesh, but WDS is not a replacement for wireless mesh routing. Mesh routing provides higher bandwidth, auto-discovery, and redundancy in case of communication trouble.

:sun:

 

[spidey07]

these terms are all news to me.

 

[JackMDS]

Originally posted by: spidey07
these terms are all news to me.

LOL, this is probably the first time in all of these years that I know something ahead of Spidey.:music:

:sun:

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: JackMDS

Originally posted by: spidey07
these terms are all news to me.

LOL, this is probably the first time in all of these years that I know something ahead of Spidey.:music:

:sun:

go figure. I'm supposed to know this stuff. can't know it all.

Then again it is nice to be able to separate the marketing fluff from the STANDARDS. Getting harder to do these days with all the SOHO stuff.