Hi guys!
I’ve decided to move up from the consumer products ( tp-link, asus and so on) for my home (which is also the office) and, after reading intensively forums, I’ve settled on mikrotik for the price/performance/features good ratio. I could use some help on choosing the hardware.
Location - 2 floors house, square shape, 75 square meters per floor ( ground floor, first floor)
Users: mix of Wifi and cabled equipment such as laptops,TVs, IOT, phones, NAS - roughly 20 IPs
Internet: 500 Mbps PPPoE
I already bought a CAP AC and installed it in the center of the first floor. wifi coverage and speed on that floor is ok. On the ground floor below, not so much. The Internet, and ground floor Wifi si on a poor tplink which I am looking to replace with mikrotik hardware. After reading the forums I have 2 main options:
Option 1 - the cheaper (100 bucks) - replace tplink with HAP AC2 which will provide:
- the Internet uplink - does the hardware on it allow it to go to 500Mbps?
- the WiFi for ground floor
- CAPSMAN - or does it make sense to make CAP AC the capsman so the HAP AC2 will have CPU for routing? Local forwarding on both APs?
Option 2 - the more expensive (300 bucks) but wanted by the geek in me - RB3011 and a dedicated ground floor AP
- RB3011 will do the Internet connectivity
- RB3011 will do the CAPSMAN with capsman forwarding
- need to decide on a good AP - WAP AC or stick with CAP AC to keep everything ARM?
At this point I honestly don’t know if the extra 200 bucks makes sense as the HAP AC2 has good reviews for throughput and it should only get better with each new SW release.
Forgot to mention I will need VPNs, 1-2 IPSEC and maybe some layer2 VPNs.
Any input would be appreciated.
PS: There is also the option to go with the 4011 with integrated Wifi for the ground floor but I consider that overkill and like the 3011 more 
.