Mesh & wired connection

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poyntzj
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Joined: 26 Dec 2012
Posts: 37

PostPosted: Thu Nov 17, 2022 13:08    Post subject: Mesh & wired connection Reply with quote
I have a mesh which is working and is so far OK. There is an outbuilding which cannot be covered well by the existing mesh (well, not at all really), so I have a devolo adaptor ready to use down there when I get to sort the building out next year.

If I get another R7800, can that be part of the mesh if it is connected via the powerline adaptor ? - I cannot test at the moment as there is no power down there as we disconnected it as it was a huge risk and my adpators are deep in a storage room

I know if I get things like the eero they can work in this way as a colleague does it, but just wondered if we can do the same with dd-wrt

thanks in advance
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ian5142
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PostPosted: Thu Nov 17, 2022 22:06    Post subject: Mesh vs wired AP Reply with quote
If you do want a router in the outbuilding, there are 2 ways of doing it.
Mesh is a wireless connection (no wires connecting the various routers). Similar but different to WDS, which is what I use. WDS allows the same radio (2.4GHz or 5GHz) to broadcast or extend the existing network using Virtual Access Points (VAPs).
https://wiki.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/WDS_Linked_router_network

The other option is to use a pair of powerline adapters like you suggest and then have a "wired" (via powerline adapters) access point in the outbuilding.
https://wiki.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Wireless_access_point

As for mesh it self, it is supposed to be enable and it works. It has only recently been implemented in DD-WRT and there is no tutorial written as of yet. I can't use it in my case because it does not allow VAPs to be created.

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poyntzj
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Joined: 26 Dec 2012
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PostPosted: Fri Nov 18, 2022 21:10    Post subject: Reply with quote
I have it running, 5G is the backbone and all the VAP's are on 2G, including my old 5G SSID so all devices still run without having to reconfigure - albeit with that limitation.

Powerline / Ethernet over mains should work down to the outbuilding. I work with a colleague who has a 3 eero 6 pro mesh in his house and an older eero 5 in his outbuilding that is connected via a powerline and he said it all works as a mesh - so I guess it can happen and not sure what they have done to give both a 2G and 5G mesh's and work over a network cable.
Thing is, Amazon black Friday have this kit as a pretty good discount and I am considering it.

the other option is on the powerline's, the one that is in the outbuilding is configured to use its Wifi using the same SSID's as I use internally and hopefully the devices will just hop between AP and Mesh.

Part of me thinks to wait and see, but the other part is thinking I should make the most of a decent deal from Amazon.......
dale_gribble39
DD-WRT Guru


Joined: 11 Jun 2022
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PostPosted: Fri Nov 18, 2022 21:17    Post subject: Reply with quote
A powerline adaptor passes wired ethernet over house wiring, not wifi. Sounds like you're confusing wifi range extenders and powerline adaptors.
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poyntzj
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 26 Dec 2012
Posts: 37

PostPosted: Sat Nov 19, 2022 19:43    Post subject: Reply with quote
thanks for the reply, but I am aware of the differences.

The outbuilding does not really get the wirless signal and a seating area just outside gets a very weak signal, so the only real way to get the network out there is a powerline - which I have used for years and years (I first used them about 18-20 years ago, over 2 x CU, couple of extenson leads, including a partially coiled 50m one, all to provide a feed to a squeezebox in the stables while the same 0m extension lead was running cross mitre saws and other power tools - also why I trust devolo)

I want to get a unit out there that is on the mesh network so the devices can switch quite happily. I am aware this can be done via eero devices as a colleague does this, I hope it can be done with the R7800's and dd-wrt - but I currently cannot test as we still have a lot of our old house in boxes, in storage - and yes, all my networking bits and pieces are in the most inaccessible location

My other option is to make use of the wireless capabilities of the devolo kit I have and use the same SSID's - but that is not a mesh and I am a little worried incase a device decides to stay on the mesh instead of switching to the SSID of the powerline and hearing complaints of how bad the network is.

It is quite important for us as the 4/5g signals in this area are bizarrely pretty bad so wifi calling is used heavily.
mwbuss8
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Joined: 23 Feb 2015
Posts: 751

PostPosted: Mon Nov 21, 2022 2:05    Post subject: Reply with quote
Mesh/802.11s is a standard for connecting the routers without physical wires. It doesn't directly impact device roaming.
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