Still don't know how to set up a router?

2022.02.18

 As consumers' living standards improve, more and more people are choosing larger homes to live in, but when it comes to the biggest headache after moving into a large house, it's definitely the Wi-Fi coverage problem. As we all know, because of the upper limit of the power of a single router (national standard), the whole coverage of the router is fixed in a certain sense, and the further away from the router the worse the signal is and the lower the rate is. Not to mention that there are walls or other things blocking the signal attenuation is even greater, so a router is certainly no solution to the problem of network coverage. In the past, the main solution to the coverage problem is to pull the cable, that is, to prepare multiple wireless routers, one for the main route, the other routers connected to the main route, and then cover their respective areas. But this way for some of the aesthetic requirements, and not in advance of the deployment of the network line of consumers, is undoubtedly unacceptable. In this context, router networking has become an increasingly popular choice for consumers, and today the author will introduce you to the current mainstream networking methods, so you can understand the differences between these networking methods. Wireless Bridging Wireless bridging is to connect two different physical locations, inconvenient wiring users to the same local area network, while playing the role of signal amplification. Wireless bridging mainly uses the router's WDS (Wireless Distribution System) function, although the coverage of a single wireless router is limited, resulting in wireless blind spots or weak signal areas in the local area network may exist. However, the WDS bridging function can connect the wireless router to the existing signal wirelessly to achieve the purpose of eliminating blind spots, extending the range and moving roaming. Therefore, two wireless devices can be used to establish a WDS trust and communication relationship between them to achieve an increase in signal coverage and expand the wireless network coverage to more than double the original. Generally speaking, in a normal home environment, only two router devices are needed to realize wireless bridging, where the bridged one is called the master router and the one performing the bridging is called the slave router for convenience. It should be noted that, in general, the master and slave routers should not be connected to the network cable, and dual-band routers can not be bridged between the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands at the same time; WDS bridge only needs to be set up on the slave router. Now the wireless router WDS wireless bridge function has been very perfect, the operation steps are also very simple, we just need to click "wireless relay" in the network settings to enter the menu. The operation of wireless trunking is as easy as connecting to Wi-Fi using a computer, cell phone, tablet, etc. Simply scan the network name (SSID) of Master Route A in Bridge Route B, then select the network name of Master Route A and enter the correct password, click Connect to complete the bridging process. Mesh Networking Mesh networking is the most popular technology to solve home Wi-Fi coverage. It allows multiple routers to form a network and unify into a single network, so that wireless devices can switch seamlessly between multiple routers. Mesh networking is very suitable for homes with too many blocking walls, and is a great tool for Wi-Fi signal coverage in large homes, large flat floors, duplexes, and villas. Mesh networking is easy to set up, easy to configure and easy to use. It also supports wired+wireless hybrid networking and network roaming. The same Wi-Fi name (i.e. the same SSID) can be used to cover the whole house, and the Internet access devices can switch seamlessly between different devices automatically, without any additional worries. Mesh networking generally supports wired mesh, wireless mesh, and hybrid networking, and obviously wired mesh is the best. What needs to be noted here is that there should be no wall between routers as far as possible, at most one wall; at the same time, the router should be placed in a position that allows every part of the home to be connected to a mesh router with no more than one wall. Of course, as the wireless relay technology "upgrade", as long as the purchase is not dozens of dollars entry-level routers, basically have this function. And through the cell phone APP can be grouped, some manufacturers even have wireless mesh networking package, after the purchase of this router, you can automatically grouped. You only need to connect a router to the fiber optic cat or network outlet, and other devices will automatically get the network, very convenient. AC Controller + AP Panel Networking For multi-floor users, AC controller + AP panel is the most suitable solution, each AP panel is installed on the wall like a socket, which is very simple and beautiful, and the router is not visible. The main router is placed inside the power distribution box, and then the AP panel is used to replace the original network port, so the signal can be seamlessly switched. The APs are then powered through the network cable (PoE), so there is no need to plug in extra power, and the layout is very easy to install. However, it should be noted that all devices must be connected directly through the network cable, so before the renovation must do a good job of pre-buried network cable. In the early years, AC+AP solution is mainly used in stations, large shopping malls, enterprises, hotels and other wireless terminals access many places. In recent years, Ubnt, Cisco, Ruckus and Aruba have mature solutions for enterprise level, but the high price and complicated configuration is not very practical for home users. With the high-speed development of Wi-Fi technology, Wi-Fi 6 in the 5G band rate has reached 1000Mbps, but the 5G band transmission distance is short, the ability to penetrate the wall is weak, so the major manufacturers have also launched a home oriented AC + AP Wi-Fi coverage solutions. AC + AP networking is simple, most commercial houses now have pre-buried network cables from the weakness box to each room, in this case the AC controller in the weakness box, AP if the wall switch installation method, directly replace the original network cable jack into the AP can be.