Recommended hardware for hostapd and 802.11ax?
I am looking to ditch some PoE Ubiquiti hardware in favor of a DIY approach with 802.11ax cards. What card would you recommend for long-range 802.11ax? Are there gotchas when hosting with hostapd with some cards, like binary blob drivers, incomplete support, etc. that I should know about? Is there any reason I should avoid doing this? I will likely add omnidirectional antennas to this setup; what would you recommend there?
For what it's worth, Ubiquiti stuff is expensive, and lately, they have embedded ads into their Unifi controller software that you host yourself. I really don't like this move. I like the hands-off "appliance" approach to the APs, but they are still finicky, and I would feel a lot more at ease editing a configuration file than hosting a hefty piece of software that only runs on an obsolete version of Java.
Why not just install OpenWRT on your existing hardware?
On my Ubiquiti APs? I suppose I could. I'm also looking to upgrade the network capabilities to a modern 6E setup if I can swing it.
Sadly OpenWRT doesn't support any 6e APs yet
I don't have an answer for your question, but have totally hated UI's direction for my use case and business. Do I still buy their APs and switches? Yes...do I wish there was a better alternative, ABSOLUTELY.
I've tried Omada and the interface seems clunky. I wish there was a self-hosted, open source alternative to the Unifi Controller that would allow us to remotely manage self-built or openly programmable hardware.
There's something similar for openwrt, for centralized control
Yeah, Ubiquiti has the "great at most things with a point-and-click UI" market down pat. Although, personally, I don't really care about webapp UIs and such for networking gear. Give me a man page and configuration file, and I'll get down to it.
Here's a small ad block list for your Unifi controller, if it helps: https://github.com/synthead/unifi-adfree
I like my Zyxel AP. Classic Web UI hosted directly from the AP. No cloud bullshit, just a good AP.
I have an NWA210AX, but they have a WiFi 6e AP now too.