Mine is just set up to continuously record.

2.) What I'm referring to as traditional or standard is my access points. They are wired through ethernet to the router (through various switches, but essentially this just means they are wired to the router). A mesh system doesn't require ethernet to each point. It basically acts as an extender, so all you need is power (except for at least one wired, for them to forward traffic to).

I can't speak to how well mesh works these days. I imagine it works well enough for most people. I grew up with 802.11b, so I don't trust wireless that much. This is probably outdated thinking, but I try to wire as much as humanly possible.