What is a Mesh Network?

Philly Community Wireless's goal, with assistance from PhillyWisper, is to address Philadelphia's digital divide with community-owned and -operated mesh network technologies.

In a typical home network, all 'access points' (APs) are hard-wired to your router via Ethernet cable. In a mesh network, access points can not only be hard-wired, but connect to each other wirelessly, allowing a single Internet connection to be shared with significantly less infrastructure and labor than hard-wiring every single AP.

Wall AP

This AP conveniently plugs directly into an outlet, and then meshes with nearby APs - meaning we don't have to run another cable!

Performance Considerations for Mesh Networks

Several factors must be considered while operating a mesh network:

Mesh networks should be supplemental - Although mesh networks can operate comporably to a hard-wired network, connection quality and speed can be greatly affected by radiofrequency (RF) noise and obstructions between APs such as walls, trees, or other structures.
Mesh 'hops' should be minimized - A meshed AP should only have one 'parent' - each mesh 'hop', or mesh connection between APs, results in a significant performance decrease. Ideally, there should be a maximum of two 'hops' - e.g, a mesh AP meshes with another mesh AP, which then meshes to a hard-wired AP.
Limit conncurrent connections to a 'parent' - Similarly, meshing too many APs to the same 'parent' creates additional RF noise and performance demands on the parent, resulting in decreased performance and stability.
Ensure strong signal strength between meshed APs - Ideally, a meshed AP will have clear Line-of-Sight (LoS) to its mesh parent. A signal strength of -60dbm is recommended for ideal performance. Ensure minimal obstructions between the meshed AP and the parent, such as walls, trees, furniture, etc.

Additional Resources

Please visit this page for more information on mesh networks.