Looking at purchasing a new WiFi7 AP. Deciding on brand to go with.

[Maverick009]

I am beginning to look at expanding my Home Network with WiFi7 APs being added. I am trying to decide between TP-Link's Omada WiFi7 APs, which look decent and offer 10G POE++ ports for bandwith connectivity or the Unifi WiFi7 AP Pro/Max devices with a 2.5G POE+ port. It seems like both hit around same pricing with the Omada giving maybe a little additional feature such as the 10G port at roughly same price point.

My Network rack currently has the following

Pfsense/Opnsense Firewall Server with Dual 10G X540-T2 NIC, Quad 1G X350-T4 NIC, and 1 2.5G Realtek 8125 onboard NIC
UnRaid Server with both a 10G Aquantia NIC and 1G NIC
TP-Link T1600G-28TS 28 Port 1G (24 Port + 4 shared SFP ports) Managed Switch
IenRon 6 Port POE Switch with 4 2.5G Ports and 2 10G SFP+ (Currently has just my personal gaming and multimedia PC connected to a 2.5G Port and the 10G SFP ports going to my Unraid Server and Pfsense firewall at 10G)
Asus ROG Rapture GT-AX11000 WiFi6 Router in AP mode for wireless devices
Asus RT-AC3100 running as a sudo 4 port switch and AP in Living room currently
Old HP Laptop converted into Fedora mini Server. Looking at repurpose for possible VOIP server such as freepbx
Various other devices connected wired and wirelessly to network.

Just trying to get opinions as I look to expand and if you have experience with these newer APs, that would be great.

 

[Tech9]

All your pfSense hardware, switches, servers, etc. details are somewhat unrelated to your question. I'm highly in doubt many people around here have Wi-Fi 7 business class AP experience. You'll be buying hardware based on specs and perhaps none of your wireless clients will ever reach wireless throughput above 2.3Gbps - what 2.5GbE port can provide. Slim chance for an APs serving clients on different radios, may eventually reach it with clients very close. Your 6GHz range will be shorter, you need more APs for even coverage, you perhaps need Omada controller or Cloud Key for better roaming, for better planning look for APs radiation patterns, if available. Optimal placing will be ceiling mount and this may be an additional complication.

 

[coxhaus]

Why Wi-Fi 7? Is it because you don't have any APs and you want to improve your network. They will allow you to use VLANs and multiple different channels at the same time. It will be a network improvement.
Wi-Fi 7 is still kind of early and may require you to replace them in the short term. Not many devices using Wi-Fi 7 right now. You can still get the network improvements using Wi-Fi 6. If you want to play, have at Wi-Fi 7.

PS
You are going to be better off running 1 LAN NIC so I would pick 10 gig since you have it. Don't run all those NICs in your Pfsense as layer 3 bridging sucks. Just use Pfsense with 1 LAN network or with VLANs. If you want the fastest internal routing speed use a layer 3 switch. EtherChannel is OK but with 10gig not needed.

 

[Tech Junky]

ECW526 / ECW536 are both decent options going for $250/500 for 2*2 or 4*4 both have 10ge. Single client theoretically hit 3-5gbps.

 

[Maverick009]

All your pfSense hardware, switches, servers, etc. details are somewhat unrelated to your question. I'm highly in doubt many people around here have Wi-Fi 7 business class AP experience. You'll be buying hardware based on specs and perhaps none of your wireless clients will ever reach wireless throughput above 2.3Gbps - what 2.5GbE port can provide. Slim chance for an APs serving clients on different radios, may eventually reach it with clients very close. Your 6GHz range will be shorter, you need more APs for even coverage, you perhaps need Omada controller or Cloud Key for better roaming, for better planning look for APs radiation patterns, if available. Optimal placing will be ceiling mount and this may be an additional complication.

I listed the hardware for various reasons. I really don't want to buy new switches and hardware but want to make sure the APs play nice with my Pfsense firewall and current switches. I also did a copy and paste and did not feel like removing the laptop server and unraid from it exactly lol

 

[Maverick009]

Why Wi-Fi 7? Is it because you don't have any APs and you want to improve your network. They will allow you to use VLANs and multiple different channels at the same time. It will be a network improvement.
Wi-Fi 7 is still kind of early and may require you to replace them in the short term. Not many devices using Wi-Fi 7 right now. You can still get the network improvements using Wi-Fi 6. If you want to play, have at Wi-Fi 7.

PS
You are going to be better off running 1 LAN NIC so I would pick 10 gig since you have it. Don't run all those NICs in your Pfsense as layer 3 bridging sucks. Just use Pfsense with 1 LAN network or with VLANs. If you want the fastest internal routing speed use a layer 3 switch. EtherChannel is OK but with 10gig not needed.

I have WiFi5 and WiFi6 devices but ultimately looking to move to dedicated WiFi7 AP devices as I skipped over Wifi6E and as new as WiFi7 is, it is in its 2nd Gen refresh with devices now having a final specification ratified. That is why I think it is a good time to make the transition plus I live close enough on cutting edge and good at resolving early quirks.

The other part is cutting some power draws out of the equation, as I can keep the my Asus GT-AX11000 router as a backup for testing as needed, and switch out my RT-AC3100 for a low powered switch. The new dedicated APs can draw power from the Poe switch vs the Asus routers taking additional power from a wall socket, adding to power draw and heat.

Ultimately looking to clean up the network and was planning to transition to dedicated APs but never used them on my personal network and without any other matching switches or routers in those brand series and why I was looking for feedback of what to expect even from personal usage.

 

[Tech9]

I really don't want to buy new switches and hardware

You just need matching switch ports with whatever PoE requirements the APs have. The rest - you tell us how it works. Brand new products, no one has long term use experience. What I know is if you go with multiple Omada APs you better run Omada SND software. It controls the roaming technologies and does it an a smart way by tracking the clients and adjusting dynamically the Tx power to encourage roaming on top of 802.11k/v/r support. With no controller it will be entirely clients decision where to connect and you may end up with sticky clients. The difference may be as little as barely noticeable to completely different experience, depending on multiple factors. Does it work the same way with Wi-Fi 7 products - I don't know.

 

[Maverick009]

Why Wi-Fi 7? Is it because you don't have any APs and you want to improve your network. They will allow you to use VLANs and multiple different channels at the same time. It will be a network improvement.
Wi-Fi 7 is still kind of early and may require you to replace them in the short term. Not many devices using Wi-Fi 7 right now. You can still get the network improvements using Wi-Fi 6. If you want to play, have at Wi-Fi 7.

PS
You are going to be better off running 1 LAN NIC so I would pick 10 gig since you have it. Don't run all those NICs in your Pfsense as layer 3 bridging sucks. Just use Pfsense with 1 LAN network or with VLANs. If you want the fastest internal routing speed use a layer 3 switch. EtherChannel is OK but with 10gig not needed.

Also I currently have different subnet being used but even bridging is easy enough with my hardware as it is a custom server with an 8C/16T Ryzen 5700G and 16GB DDR4 3200Mhz memory. Maybe overkill but price was right.

 

[Maverick009]

ECW526 / ECW536 are both decent options going for $250/500 for 2*2 or 4*4 both have 10ge. Single client theoretically hit 3-5gbps.

Haven't heard of them but will take a look. Thanks

 

[Maverick009]

You just need matching switch ports with whatever PoE requirements the APs have. The rest - you tell us how it works. Brand new products, no one has long term use experience. What I know is if you go with multiple Omada APs you better run Omada SND software. It controls the roaming technologies and does it an a smart way by tracking the clients and adjusting dynamically the Tx power to encourage roaming on top of 802.11k/v/r support. With no controller it will be entirely clients decision where to connect and you may end up with sticky clients. The difference may be as little as barely noticeable to completely different experience, depending on multiple factors. Does it work the same way with Wi-Fi 7 products - I don't know.

From reading up, I suspect settings are similar on WiFi7 aside from WiFi7 specific settings. I have a POE++ switch that should have enough power, but I may add a full 24-48 port POE++ switch to the rack. Thank you

 

[Tech9]

Full PoE switch will be nice, bit expect price in thousands. I have a few 10GbE PoE switches for business use, the second more expensive thing after the servers. Not sure if you need this at home. I run Gigabit network with Wi-Fi 6 APs at home, more than enough for my family needs.

 

[coxhaus]

I have WiFi5 and WiFi6 devices but ultimately looking to move to dedicated WiFi7 AP devices as I skipped over Wifi6E and as new as WiFi7 is, it is in its 2nd Gen refresh with devices now having a final specification ratified. That is why I think it is a good time to make the transition plus I live close enough on cutting edge and good at resolving early quirks.

The other part is cutting some power draws out of the equation, as I can keep the my Asus GT-AX11000 router as a backup for testing as needed, and switch out my RT-AC3100 for a low powered switch. The new dedicated APs can draw power from the Poe switch vs the Asus routers taking additional power from a wall socket, adding to power draw and heat.

Ultimately looking to clean up the network and was planning to transition to dedicated APs but never used them on my personal network and without any other matching switches or routers in those brand series and why I was looking for feedback of what to expect even from personal usage.

If you want to cut power after buying APs then dump the ASUS and all the extra NICs in the Pfsense router. That will save you a bunch of watts. You won't need it as you have a better network now.

 

[tgl]

FWIW, I have some UniFi U6-Enterprise APs, which I bought late last year for 6E support. I've been pretty happy with them. But from reading the UI community forums, I'm not sure I'd recommend buying any of their WiFi 7 models yet. The firmware for those seems a bit shaky so far. Also, the U7 Pro has a fan which some people report to be noisy; while I'm not as certain about the U7 Pro Max, it has higher power draw so it's hard to believe it lacks a fan.

Of course, if you love dealing with bleeding-edge gear, this might not bother you. But if you want wifi that "just works", I think 6E is still the upper limit for another year or so.

BTW, just as a point of order: no, the WiFi 7 spec is not final yet. September-ish was the schedule last I heard. Maybe gear that's currently available will interoperate, or maybe it won't.

 

[Tech9]

U7 Pro has a fan

Interesting. Mechanical part inside an AP doesn't sound very good for longevity.

 

[tgl]

Interesting. Mechanical part inside an AP doesn't sound very good for longevity.

Oh, I imagine it's great for longevity ... Ubiquiti have a reputation for designing gear that runs hot, so if they felt these APs have to have a fan, that probably means the devices would cook themselves without one. What it's not great for is noise level, which is a problem for APs that need to be placed in living rooms, bedrooms, etc.

 

[Tech9]

Most APs are installed once and never touched for years. This fan inside with unavoidable dust accumulation... and also imagine a white ceiling with black marks around the AP where the fan blows the air out. Sound like a deal breaker to me. They have to come up with a different cooling solution.

 

[Maverick009]

If you want to cut power after buying APs then dump the ASUS and all the extra NICs in the Pfsense router. That will save you a bunch of watts. You won't need it as you have a better network now.

The NICS in the Pfsense firewall have minimum power draw, especially for the ports not in use. The ASUS routers have higher power draw in the overall scheme as they are full fledged devices with CPUs on board and mainly all features always on...

 

[Maverick009]

Most APs are installed once and never touched for years. This fan inside with unavoidable dust accumulation... and also imagine a white ceiling with black marks around the AP where the fan blows the air out. Sound like a deal breaker to me. They have to come up with a different cooling solution.

I have seen reviews of the devices including older devices after usage and no marks or spots on the ceilings. Some of them are also heatsink only cooled. Overall, any electronic device will and can accumulate dust. Part of maintaining is dusting off electronics.

 

[Maverick009]

FWIW, I have some UniFi U6-Enterprise APs, which I bought late last year for 6E support. I've been pretty happy with them. But from reading the UI community forums, I'm not sure I'd recommend buying any of their WiFi 7 models yet. The firmware for those seems a bit shaky so far. Also, the U7 Pro has a fan which some people report to be noisy; while I'm not as certain about the U7 Pro Max, it has higher power draw so it's hard to believe it lacks a fan.

Of course, if you love dealing with bleeding-edge gear, this might not bother you. But if you want wifi that "just works", I think 6E is still the upper limit for another year or so.

BTW, just as a point of order: no, the WiFi 7 spec is not final yet. September-ish was the schedule last I heard. Maybe gear that's currently available will interoperate, or maybe it won't.

I was looking at the Unfi WiFi products, but you are correct as every review seemed to state their firmware can be quite buggy at least initially. I think I am so far steering towards the TP-Link Omada devices, as I have seen a lot of what Unifi has done, TP-Link has copied to an extent but there are some features that are better including not requiring registration to their cloud platform, where Unifi requires it for all non-major corps and prosumers. The other part is TP-Link has either 1 10G (EAP773) or Dual 10G (EAP783) to take full advantage of the WiFi7 spec. I know internet it will be plenty, but for my NAS/Gaming/Streaming Server, it will assist there more. Those are practically triple or more bandwidth in the connection vs Unifi's 2.5G port with pricing remaining competitive.

You are correct the full standard is not finalized, but as of January WiFi7 Certification began and devices that meet it, carry the requirements to meet full WiFi7 ratification. Now just like WiFi6E devices, there may be a 2nd Gen/refreshed release of devices, but the changes usually end up being minimum and I am ok. I am one that sometimes does more upgrades than not and push tech in our house to the limits.

 

[Tech9]

Part of maintaining is dusting off electronics.

Nooo, I have a warehouse with APs like 30ft high, they are touched only on replacement. This is a business AP after all, must be maintenance free.