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Any alternative to Apple´s Airport Express?

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ociordia

Occasional Visitor
Hi,

I am sorry to say :))) that I am a fan of Apple´s Airport Express. From time to time I dig inside the charts and comparisons to find alternatives and, so far, could´t find a reasonable alternative.
What I like from Apple´s device and I would like to see elsewhere is:

  • Small form factor
  • Just 1/2 RJ45 (as I want to use it as a wireless AP and not routing between copper and WiFI ports)
  • Reasonable performance for a device without external antennas
  • Dual band 2.4/5 Ghz -n
What I would like to find is an alternative which includes the above plus:
  • Cheaper (<100$, let´s say <80$)
  • -ac
Any help? Thanks!!!
 
there are better alternatives that are
-smaller
-good performance for internal antennas but you can use your own antennas if you want
-integrated dual channel AC
- has mini-PCIE,usb and SFP slot (some have SIM slot too)
- costs <$80
- has POE in
- flexible in configurations
- multiple wifi handles to choose from
- RADIUS and hotspot server part of firmware
- doesnt drop clients when there are so many (has lots of ram)

unfortunately this isnt a consumer device and requires skill and knowledge to set up. I am talking about the mikrotik RB9xx series that is a dedicated access point and since it is an enterprise class device that runs routerOS (which all routerboards do) you get the same features all their routers have. If you want an access point and you know how to configure an openwrt access point than you will have the necessary skill to configure this.

I'd like to see an apple AP try to beat this in price and features.
 
Thanks!!! These look really nice. I did not know about these guys from Latvia. I found a distributor in Spain and I will request some boards to test.
I liked most, as are the ones closest to Apple´s:

-ac, Gigabit port, POE, list price 79$:

http://routerboard.com/product/241

-ac, Gigabit port, SFP, POE, list price 99$

http://routerboard.com/RB922UAGS-5HPacD

From the reported testing looks they will clearly beat Apple´s... I hope they report better figures than automotive OEMs do on fuel consumption...:)
 
good luck, it can be difficult to configure properly but as an AP you dont need to worry much about the configurable firewall and QoS unless you want to do advance things. It can be used as a router as well if you have internet that uses a compatible SFP module.

I think some of them may only be 5Ghz though (check the wireless standards) but it also depends on the wifi chips they use.

The performance test result was bridging (layer 2) and routing (layer 3) using SFP and gigabit.
 
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What I would like to find is an alternative which includes the above plus:
  • Cheaper (<100$, let´s say <80$)
  • -ac
Any help? Thanks!!!

Odd question, as you've seemed to answer yourself - if one needs a small Router/AP, the APExpress is just fine - and buying them in the Apple Refurb store, they hit your price targets.

The current APExpress (as of 07/2015) is a bit long in tooth - it's 11n only, but I'm expecting an 11ac variant later this year - the entire Airport product line is due for a refresh to be honest - they're pretty good, but specs are getting stale.
 
the asus ac56U is about $120 i think and performs well too if you cant wait and want a 3 channel AC AP. the dual core ARM is better than MIPS based ones if you have to use it as a fast router.
 
the asus ac56U is about $120 i think and performs well too if you cant wait and want a 3 channel AC AP. the dual core ARM is better than MIPS based ones if you have to use it as a fast router.

The RT-AC56U is only a two antennae / two stream router. But I agree it is a great router when on sale at the $100 range or less.
 
AC56U form factor is much bigger than Apple´s Express. Also, as an AP, the 4 RJ45´s are redundant. Price is no cheaper than Apple´s...
I just hope Apple will upgrade their product line soon to add -ac as sf-2000 was forecasting.... and hopefully they keep the form factor of the express and, of course, the price...
 
All you state may be true, but the apple express has nowhere near the potential of the RT-AC56U.

Hoping for apple to upgrade their product line is like asking to be handcuffed and locked further down in a window-less basement, imo.

And then, wondering what choices there will be for dinner. :)


AC56U form factor is much bigger than Apple´s Express. Also, as an AP, the 4 RJ45´s are redundant. Price is no cheaper than Apple´s...
I just hope Apple will upgrade their product line soon to add -ac as sf-2000 was forecasting.... and hopefully they keep the form factor of the express and, of course, the price...
 
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