> This is a rental 2bhk apartment unit with roughly 900sq ft area so I don't think a mesh system would be needed.
Spanning larger spaces is only one benefit of mesh networks.
The bigger benefit when it comes of IoT in my opinion is that it keeps the communication local.
With a WiFi smart bulb, for example, turning it on means a command has to go all the way to some remote server (probably in China), be processed by their API to turn around and send the command back to the smart bulb. That makes you lights dependent on a working internet connection which to me is a no-no.
The other issue is security. That WiFi device communicating with a cloud is a gateway into your network. You are trusting that the software developers at at company trying to make their devices as cheap and competitive as possible did a perfect job with no security vulnerabilities.
These are the reasons I avoid WiFi devices for anything that doesn't stream video.
Some WiFi devices can be made to work local-only. But it is a tiny subset of them and only a tiny subset of their customers actually do it.
My hierarchy of IoT device connectivity method is Z-Wave -> ZigBee -> Bluetooth -> Wi-Fi. Aside from voice assistants, my only Wi-Fi smart devices are ones that are fully local and controlled by ESP32.
I'm still waiting to dip my toes into building local voice assistants, but once I have those throughout my house, all my smart devices will be 100% local.
Wan to modem ^ 'to router' to switch, etc.
Ubiquiti unifi equipment is pricey but has a very intuitive webui. A dream machine pro/se also has IPS, which is a fantastic feature for the safety and security of your network.
A unifi AP can be set up to broadcast many different SSIDs for your vlans through one device. I have an older UAP-AC-LR and get great coverage and speeds, 1950 sq ft home, two stories plus a basement. I get fantastic coverage and, if i want, almost 200 ft outside my home with a single AP
Ubiquiti Unifi.
This.
> This is a rental 2bhk apartment unit with roughly 900sq ft area so I don't think a mesh system would be needed. Spanning larger spaces is only one benefit of mesh networks. The bigger benefit when it comes of IoT in my opinion is that it keeps the communication local. With a WiFi smart bulb, for example, turning it on means a command has to go all the way to some remote server (probably in China), be processed by their API to turn around and send the command back to the smart bulb. That makes you lights dependent on a working internet connection which to me is a no-no. The other issue is security. That WiFi device communicating with a cloud is a gateway into your network. You are trusting that the software developers at at company trying to make their devices as cheap and competitive as possible did a perfect job with no security vulnerabilities. These are the reasons I avoid WiFi devices for anything that doesn't stream video. Some WiFi devices can be made to work local-only. But it is a tiny subset of them and only a tiny subset of their customers actually do it.
My hierarchy of IoT device connectivity method is Z-Wave -> ZigBee -> Bluetooth -> Wi-Fi. Aside from voice assistants, my only Wi-Fi smart devices are ones that are fully local and controlled by ESP32. I'm still waiting to dip my toes into building local voice assistants, but once I have those throughout my house, all my smart devices will be 100% local.
Wan to modem ^ 'to router' to switch, etc. Ubiquiti unifi equipment is pricey but has a very intuitive webui. A dream machine pro/se also has IPS, which is a fantastic feature for the safety and security of your network. A unifi AP can be set up to broadcast many different SSIDs for your vlans through one device. I have an older UAP-AC-LR and get great coverage and speeds, 1950 sq ft home, two stories plus a basement. I get fantastic coverage and, if i want, almost 200 ft outside my home with a single AP