[FuriouslyAdrift]

I've moved to buying last gen used Ruckus Unleashed APs (usually R720 as they are cheap and very reliable). Way higher quality but steep learning curve for many functions, although if someone is willing to put in some effort it's not that bad.

[ssl-3]

Usually, I use Mikrotik wAP ACs for this kind of thing. They're cheap-enough to buy brand new, and they're designed to be able to work outdoors in the weather.

But I might pick up an R720 just to play with -- that's a different echelon of gear.

Thanks for the tip.

[FuriouslyAdrift]

For outdoor, the model numbers start with "T". I think the T710 is the equivalent of the R720 for outdoor.

[p_ing]

Not that everyone needs it, but it doesn't seem like Mikrotik has any 6E or 7 WAPs? If they do, I'd love to try one

[ssl-3]

Mikrotik is pretty lacking in aspects that relate to the newest hotness of wifi standards.

802.11ax ("wifi 6") is as good as it gets, with [eg] their wAP AX.

They get a lot of stuff right, though. They run RouterOS, which is a custom userland for Linux that is intensely flexible. Approximately any routing-esque function a person can dream up that can work with a Linux kernel can be made to work within RouterOS.

The form factor of the wAP AC/AX boxes is really very nice -- they can blend well in on a wall (inside or outside), attached to a pipe, or whatever. I've got a wAP AC on the wall of my living room, for instance. I use another one when "camping" off-grid, zip-tied to the leg of an easy-up awning.

It's ostensibly just an access point, but it doesn't have to be. I mean, like: There's two ethernet ports, but they exist without a preconceived function. Want to use it as a router, with hardware WAN and LAN ports? How about with VLANs and a managed switch instead, so it works with just one cable? Eleventy-five different SSIDs? Bridging networks with wifi? Using station mode to leech bandwidth from the cafe across the street, and perform firewalling and NAT and VPN, so you can use it in your apartment -- with only one box? Sure, no problem. Whatever it is, it works.

Power is flexible. All of the bits to use passive POE are included; or it can just plug in with the included DC connector; or it can use proper 802.3af PoE.

I don't know how it compares to something from Ruckus, but I'm much more pleased with it than the Ubiquity gear that I am presently taking a break from fighting with.

[MrDOS]

Wi-Fi is, ah, politely, not MikroTik's strong suit. They're only just completing their Wi-Fi 6 rollout (while the cAP ax was released a few years ago, the wAP ax was only released late last year, and they've only just launched the hAP ax S). And the performance of their devices is pretty poor by just about any metric. I will continue to buy it, however, because it does what it does very reliably, and history proves they will continue to support existing hardware in the field until the heat death of the universe.