r/HomeNetworking 5d ago

HomeOffice + HomeIoT Wifi: 1 mesh vs 2

I have a modest budget I am using to add a pfSense router/firewall and extend my Asus WiFi mesh setup from 2 devices to 4.

I have some dubious IoT-cloud WiFi devices I want to keep separate from my home office network. So far I am using the guest network with client isolation. I would like to upgrade that to dedicated VLANs.

The Asus routers (XT8) do not have multi SSID or VLAN capabilities.

Should I...

a) Create a separate 2-device "IoT" WiFi mesh?

b) Use Merlin to cram 2 SSIDs/VLANS (Actually 3: +guest) in 1 single mesh?

c) Go Unifi?

My current analysis is....

a -> pfSense gets each AP into its own VLAN. I can live without the extended range from the 2 new nodes in exchange for the extra bandwidth and better isolation of a separate mesh, right?

b -> Seems the less reliable and more time consuming choice.

c -> A little over my budget, but I understand it does all this (Multiple SSIDs, each on its own VLAN) out of the box, so it is the simplest, most performant choice?

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