Networking

Richard wants to know how different a mesh network is from a network extender. Leo says that extenders repeat the signal and send it along the way. So the bandwidth gets cut in half because it's communicating half the time. Mesh, by contrast, has its own back channel to talk to the router and satellite units. Leo says it's a little primitive, but he could have two of the same wifi routers with the same SSID and password, and they could hand off the signal to each other. But the Netgear Orbi Mesh router is the better option. And it uses WiFi6. 

Roger just got a new Synology NAS and wants to know if he can put his old Synology hard drives into it. Leo says it may not be able to due to the age of the older NAS. There is a good app that comes with your Synology called Hyper Backup that will automatically sync two Synology's so that you have the same data on both. So instead of getting rid of it, use it as a backup to the backup, or at least migrate from one to another.

Nolan wants to know if he can use a VPN to make networks think he's somewhere else. Leo says yes, that's pretty much what the VPN does. Some people use VPNs to stream other countries' video streams for that very reason. VPNs have a client and a server. The client goes on the users' PC, while the server is somewhere else. Users then log into the VPN, and the IP address will be wherever they connect to it. But there is a catch. VPN providers use a pool of IP addresses that they own, and they identify them as VPN addresses.

Seraphine is suddenly suffering from no WiFi. She was "borrowing a cup" from a neighbor, but now she can't get it. Leo says it's possible that the modem has died and you need another. Or you have a bad cable. It's also possible that the WiFI router is bad. If it's a router/modem combo, even more so.  The lights on your modem mean something, and if you look at the manual, it'll tell you if there's something wrong. Routers can also wear out. It may be time to replace it.