The meraki mini is a compact, low power, and above all low cost 802.11b/g compatible solution with a twist.
Traditional wireless networks work by having each client associate itself with a wireless access point. The wireless access point is then usually hard wired to some type of internet connection. All traffic to the internet passes directly from the client to the access point, thus creating a series of point to point connections, and a single point of failure. The meraki nodes operate under a different network architecture called a mesh network.
Each client no longer needs to be able to communicate directly with the wireless access point, but instead needs to be able to reach at least one other client. So instead of ending up with a point to multipoint setup with a single path to the internet you end up with a multipoint to multipoint setup with multiple paths to the internet where each node you add extends your network range to anywhere within range of that new node. See graphic.
The nodes run mesh networking software developed by the well known roofnet project, and management software developed by meraki to ease the administration of small and large scale deployments. Administrators can log into the meraki management site, make global changes such as what channel to run on, weather or not to force a splash page, and those changes are pushed to all nodes within minutes. This works well. I have experienced one problem with an upgrade gone wrong that knocked all of my (4) nodes offline semi-permanently. Meraki has shipped me new ones and I wasn’t exactly running a production network so its not that too big of a deal. The nodes work as you would expect them to. I plugged one into my router that is connected my cable modem, and placed the others in different corners of the house. The node connected to the router quickly started working as a gateway for the others and I was able to access the internet while connected to any of the other nodes. They are cheap, quiet, and stable.
Cons
- There is currently no support for WPA. This is absolutely necessary for any network of more than a few users.
- There is currently no per user support for bandwidth limits. This is needed by any service provider that wants to create more than one tier of service, for instance 1.5 down 256 up for $15 per month / 3mb down 256 up for $25 per month, etc… I guess I can use m0n0wall, or pfsense here but that means more hardware and more than one point of management.