I need to move on a project very soon and can’t wait for the hAP AC to come out (frankly this project has been put off expecting it to be ready by now). I still want to keep the project in Mikrotik, if possible, but I am at the point of considering other options. Therefore, I’ve come up with some ideas and I hope I can get some input on them.
Requirements:
3 APs, each with:
- at least one gigabit port, but 5 gigabit ports preferred (this is why the hAP AC Lite is not sufficient)
- dual chain 2.4GHz N
- dual or triple chain 5GHz AC
- all will be indoors, and do not require POE In. aesthetics are a minor concern.
Option 1: RB922UAGS-5HPacD with R11e-2HPnD and CA411-711
Ethernet: 1xgigabit plus SFP
2.4GHz: dual chain 1000mW
5GHz: dual chain 1300mW (frankly a bit too powerful, but I can turn that down)
approx. cost, excluding antennas: $99 + $39 + $15 = $153
Option 2: RB922UAGS-5HPacT-NM with R11e-2HPnD (this is only an option because the RB922UAGS-5HPacT does not appear to be available outside of the NetMetal case)
Ethernet: 1xgigabit plus SFP
2.4GHz: dual chain 1000mW
5GHz: triple chain “high power” (power not specified, assuming 1000mW or 1300mW)
approx. cost, excluding antennas: $159 + $39 = $198
Option 3: RB912UAG-2HPnD-OUT with R11e-5HacT
Ethernet: 1xgigabit
2.4GHz: dual chain 1000mW
5GHz: triple chain 630mW
approx. cost, excluding antennas: $89 + $59 = $148 (substitute RB912UAG-2HPnD and CA411-711 for $5 more - looks better for indoors IMO)
the RB912UAG-5HPnD / BaseBox 5 is basically the same option here, but would limit be to dual chain 5GHz.
for antennas, I was just going to use ACOMNIRPSMA with ACMMCXRPSMA (for BaseBox of NetMetal), or ACSWIM (for CA411-711).
so option 1 and option 3 end up coming out to the same cost if using the CA411-711 enclosure, and the tradeoff is an SFP cage versus triple chain wireless. the 922 has twice the RAM, but I’m just using these as dumb APs, the most they’ll do is per SSID VLAN tagging. I can’t quite tell the difference between the CPUs, but I know there is one. It probably won’t affect my use case either. Is there anything else I’m missing?
Option 2 seems silly in the light of Option 3 cost wise, but it does give a no-compromises solution.
I’m open to all other thoughts and suggestions. I did glance at some of the routerboards with more than one miniPCIe slot, but I didn’t look too closely. Both feature and price wise, these options are competitive with the Unifi UAP-AC-PRO, and I know people have been installing UBNT due to the hAP AC not being available, so I’d like to hear thoughts on that versus one of my options above.
Aside: I have an Intel 4965AGN (2x3 2.4/5 a/b/g/Draft-N) and an 7260HMW (dual chain 2.4/5 a/b/g/n/ac) that are both in working order. can I use either of these in a RouterBoard with a miniPCIe slot? I don’t see any Intel products on http://wiki.mikrotik.com/wiki/Supported_Hardware#802.11a.2Fb.2Fg_wireless_cards but that just means noone has tested them and recorded the result, right?
