Comprehensive & up to date UniFi AP comparison chart? What's best for me?

[aznphatb0i]

Hello!

I currently use an ERLite3 + EdgeSwitch Lite with a DIR-890/L as the primary WiFi AP and a TP-Link Archer as a secondary AP.

I am doing some upgrades and am considering switching to the UAP-nanoHD for my primary AP.

Is this the best choice for me? I can't seem to find a comprehensive comparison table of all the Ubiquiti AP products.

 

[MichaelCG]

Is it the best choice? No idea...you didn't provide any details to what your requirements are. I don't think Ubiquiti has published a complete guide that includes the nanoHD....I didn't think the nanoHD had been officially released yet? I do see basic comparisons on their site of the UAP-nanoHD, UAP-AC-PRO, and UAP-HD.

- what client capabilities do you need to support
- what connection speeds are you expecting to support
- how many concurrent clients do you need to support
- how big of an environment are you trying to provide coverage for
- how clean/dirty is the airspace you are trying to provide coverage for
- do you require/want PoE support
- do you have a system to run a controller on
- do you want/need guest/portal functionality
- what is your expected budget

Assuming since you have other Ubiquiti equipment, you are already aware of the management differences they bring to the table. From what I have read up on, there is great potential for the nanoHD. The price point is just above the UAP-AC-PRO while the performance should be quite a bit higher...although that will greatly depend on what your client capabilities are.

 

[netwrks]

The nano HD is currently available for pre-order. Could be a long time before you would see your order arrive. also, it would be a good idea to see where the nano HD firmware is at, operational wise.

Do you need all the features?

Compact 802.11ac Wave2 MU-MIMO Enterprise Access Point.

• 4x4 MU-MIMO on 5GHz (1733Mbps max PHY rate), 2x2 MIMO on 2.4GHz (300Mbps max PHY rate)

 

[aznphatb0i]

Hello!

I hoped that the description of my current set-up would give a reference point. The DIR-890/L + TP-Link Archer is "acceptable."

The TP-Link network is a "test network" that has devices on it and we purposely unplug the AP during some tests.

The DIR-890/L is the "primary" network with user PCs, phones, etc.

With the UAP-nanoHD, I had planned to make it the "primary" network and upgrade the DIR-890L to run the "test" network and use the Archer for a guest network.

- what client capabilities do you need to support

802.11 g+ -- latest devices on the network are new consumer devices (latest Apple products etc.) that support the latest AC standards - dual band etc.

- what connection speeds are you expecting to support

This is a standard office environment with engineers doing software development. Our WAN pipe is 100/100.

- how many concurrent clients do you need to support

We have about 25 employees with 1-2 devices and some 50+ "test devices." I had planned for the UniFi to only support the 'employees.'

- how big of an environment are you trying to provide coverage for

It's a single floor with decent line of sight, i'm not sure of the exact sq footage. Both the Archer and the DIR-890 have full coverage throughout the entire space.

- how clean/dirty is the airspace you are trying to provide coverage for

2.4GHz band is crowded. 5GHz has some free bands and some with only 1 competing network. Most users have 5Ghz available.

- do you require/want PoE support

No

- do you have a system to run a controller on

ER3LITE+Edgeswitch is the other hardware

- do you want/need guest/portal functionality

Would be nice to have but not critical, planned to use other old APs for this purpose

- what is your expected budget

Framing the price around $180 due to the APNanoHD. Availability is later this month with pre-order.

I have read some preliminary reviews of the APNanoHD and they are positive. I have had positive experiences with UBQT so far.

 

[MichaelCG]

- what connection speeds are you expecting to support

This is a standard office environment with engineers doing software development. Our WAN pipe is 100/100.

What LAN speeds are you expecting to support? WAN, especially in an office environment, is only one piece of the equation. Most office users are also doing internal file transfers and such that may exceed the WAN speeds. This is where client speed support comes in...are the clients 1x1, 2x2, 3x3, etc.

- do you have a system to run a controller on

ER3LITE+Edgeswitch is the other hardware

So this is a no, you don't have anywhere to run the controller. You don't "need" a controller especially if you are running a single AP, but it can come in handy if you want stats and/or are running a guest/portal setup.

- do you want/need guest/portal functionality

Would be nice to have but not critical, planned to use other old APs for this purpose

Again, depends on your needs, but if you are already ready to buck up for a nanoHD, why not use it for Guest as well and simplify the number of APs you have to deal with.

I have read some preliminary reviews of the APNanoHD and they are positive. I have had positive experiences with UBQT so far.

Just make sure you understand the nanoHD is new and the firmware is still being worked through. Read up on the beta forums on their site and you can find good reviews and bad since it is still a work in progress. Also make sure you realize that the UniFi line and the EdgeMax line are generally unrelated to each other in how they are managed and interoperate.

If I were in your shoes, I would consider 2-3 AC-LITE or AC-PRO for the employees and guest running much lower power across the office instead of one AP. Gives you better redundancy and possibly better multi-client performance since you will have less active clients per radio. Lots of options here...each has its own trade off.

 

[aznphatb0i]

What LAN speeds are you expecting to support? WAN, especially in an office environment, is only one piece of the equation. Most office users are also doing internal file transfers and such that may exceed the WAN speeds. This is where client speed support comes in...are the clients 1x1, 2x2, 3x3, etc.

As a frame of reference, the speeds we are getting now from all employees using the DIR-890L is sufficient.

Again, depends on your needs, but if you are already ready to buck up for a nanoHD, why not use it for Guest as well and simplify the number of APs you have to deal with.

See this thread: https://www.snbforums.com/threads/best-way-to-configure-2-public-ips-on-erlite-3.46620/ - my plan is to have the Guest AP have a separate public IP. I would move one of my existing AP routers to serve that function.

If I were in your shoes, I would consider 2-3 AC-LITE or AC-PRO for the employees and guest running much lower power across the office instead of one AP. Gives you better redundancy and possibly better multi-client performance since you will have less active clients per radio. Lots of options here...each has its own trade off.

Since the NANO is almost the same in cost, and has higher specifications -- I think i'd rather opt for a single NANO now, and later I could add additional ones if needed; if that makes sense.

 

[Trip]

If you've got the budget, I'd move up to Ruckus Unleashed. Typically performs much better in dense RF environments (granted, Wave 2 AC has improved things across the board, but BeamFlex is still no joke) and you can expand AP count easily with no external controller necessary. Granted, UniFi doesn't need a running controller just for the APs to function, but to make any changes, you'll either need a locally-installed instance or a CloudKey... just more moving parts that shouldn't be necessary in simple, flat networks, IMHO.

A good mid-tier Wave 2 unit like the R510 ought to give you exactly what you need.