How Mesh Networks Work
Google WiFi mesh networks work by a series of small devices working together to connect devices to the network. Imagine a gymnasium of people, and we really want to talk to the person on the other side of the gym. We have a few options:
- We can shout louder at them. Doing so takes up more energy, and will likely tire us out as well as really hurt our voice. Also, if we want our friend to shout back at us, we have to hope there aren’t people also trying to have a conversation along the way to block their voice and that we can hear them from across the entire gym.
- Get a direct connection between us and our friend, like running a telephone line between us and talking that way. It’s great for quality and speed — but now we have to have this wire between us to worry about everywhere we go.
- Create group of other friends to pass the messages between us. We can write down our message and hand it to one friend, who will pass it on to the next friend, and the next, until it reaches our intended target. When our friend wants to return the message, they just reverse the process.
Google WiFi mesh networks
The last option is how a mesh network works. We have to set up our “network of friends” beforehand, but now even when there are more and more people in the gym, our messages have a good chance of getting through.
The more friends we have, the more we can get our message to the other areas of the gym. But more important than just the number of friends is where they’re positioned. If we can’t hand our note off to someone because they’re out of reach, then our messages still won’t go anywhere.
