Thanks Daria and Phoenix. You seem to confirm my understanding of mesh too.

Yes, so, this is where I got so far: in Mesh there apparently has to be a "backhaul" link connecting all APs (nodes), and there has to be a central controller, usually a role assigned to one of the units.

You can extend such backhaul link either via cable, or via wireless - in which case, one of the radio interfaces of any AP is dedicated to that.

So, main mesh unit (like a Wireless Controller in a corporate type of network) will constantly talk via backhaul to all APs in the mesh network, and allow for client roaming, authentication, extend SSID everywhere, etc.

That's tricky because if you have an AP with two radio interfaces, one 2.4GHz, one 5GHz, then whichever is used for the backhaul is then unavailable for your "real" wireless network. So, it seems most of the mesh APs thee days come with three radio interfaces (one 2.4, two 5 GHz, one of which end up being the backhaul link).

Since my wired network is as I want it, DHCP server is in place, etc., I too will need the main mesh node to act as a AP (so, bridged), and all other nodes also connected via ethernet for the backhaul. In every location where I want to have an AP, I also have an ethernet port. So, that's good - again, if I am understanding this correctly -.

Having one central management point for the wifi is really nice, yes. That's where the Synology units seem to stand out. Their software is quite something (compared to the others).

Also, I don't like much when the setup requires an App on a smartphone, and, worse, some sort of cloud account. So, even there, Synology seems to be pretty good.

A bit expensive though.