hAP ax S vs hAP ax2

Hi All!

Am I understanding correctly that the hAP ax S (E62iUGS-2axD5axT) has better Wi-Fi and is a cheaper switch than the hAP ax2 (C52iG-5HaxD2HaxD-TC)?

The king is dead, long live the king?

I don’t know this AX S… all ax family is here : https://mikrotik.com/products/group/wireless-for-home-and-office?filter&s=c&search=ax

Not all models are there (yet).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0QP60QjPDE

https://box.mikrotik.com/f/8d124b048b244f94b3b9/ :wink:

The not-yet-on-sale device will have better features?

Very likely.

Looks good on paper as a cheap CPE capable of gigabit routing with fasttrack and WiFi but IDK why they went with an old ARMv5 processor for a new device :man_shrugging:

new hAPaxS is 32-bit OS, while hAPax2 is 64-bit

But the faster CPU, also runs hotter which makes it hard to make things that small. And ax2 has a rather large heat sink and airholes.

The irony is hAPaxS has a USB port, while ax2 does not. Now USB makes running containers possible (storage)... but the hAPaxS and 32-bit ARM is not going to be able use many containers, while ax2 lack external storage.

HAP AX S looks pretty nice as an AP for high density deployments. 3 Chain on 5ghz and you will only be running 20/40mhz anyway so dual core cpu wont be a problem.

Looks like it has been derived from Hex S which also would mean the same "problem" with ether1 ?
I don't see a block diagram right now so not sure ...

Please describe the problem with ether1 in more detail. I think I missed this thread, and I am very interested in this device as a WiFi access point for my home.

If you look at block diagram of Hex S (ASSUMING it uses the same setup), you will see SFP and ether1 are connected directly to CPU, not to switch chip.
For usage as normal ISP router, this should not be a problem for most cases.

If however you plan to push e.g. a lot of data across all 5 ether ports, you need to take into account ether1 will never be HW offloaded and is subject to possible impact because of CPU performance.
When Hex Refresh (same issue) and Hex S 2025 first came out, this was a very noticeable issue.
Later ROS versions have corrected this behavior.
Again, for WAN access those ports should behave normal.
As LAN ports however you need to take into account how things have been wired together.

Nice! Where did I miss this info?

One can still consider the hex refresh/hex s as 4.5 ports switches, the 0.5 port used for cameras, printers and similar that won't need the whole speed anyway.

About this newish Ax S, overall, I find more limiting (for a new device) the passive only PoE @24V.

In a "normal" household (please read as "short distances") it will be fine of course, and the device is seemingly aimed at this market, but in offices/businesses I presume that 802.3af/at or anyway 48V is now a requirement.

I am pretty sure it will become a popular device as it seems to offer all is needed in a relatively simple home setup.

Agree on the Passive PoE being a pity. However as you mentioned I do get the decision given the assumed target market.

I hope they didn't repeat the same mistake as we can clearly hear in video at about 00:45 that one of the use cases for the SFP is to hook up a NAS to it…That would suggest putting SFP into a bridge. And if SFP is connected to the CPU instead of the switch chip… Well there will be a lot of topics about bad performance… But anyway, this looks like a great device, good price, decent WiFi, USB port, will buy it. (But still there is no WiFi7 yet…)

"Something" is being prepared ...

It has already been officially released.
Unfortunately, there is no diagram.

https://mikrotik.com/product/hap_ax_s

Always nice to see new products from Mikrotik, two questions

  1. is that USB 3.0 port right? The white color makes me think of a USB 2.0 I hope I'm wrong

  2. If I have to make a comment, why does Mikrotik always seem to go for the save when it comes to indicator LEDs? There are Power, SFP and the two WIFI but why not also include the 5 Ethernet ports and the useful USR-LED?

Another WiFi 6 AP with no 160mhz support

Depending on version of MT7976 it should support 160MHz