<NinjaTrappeur>
I'm considering upgrading to a 802.11ac compatible mini PCIE wifi module for my router. Are there any obviosu gotchas/chipsets to avoid?
<hexa->
don't go broadcom
<hexa->
ath10k and mt76 based chips are fine
<hexa->
if 11ac wave1 is fine, I'm using a compex wle600vx
<hexa->
I assume you're running an APU2,3,4 setup?
<NinjaTrappeur>
a qotom
<hexa->
so you might have a limited amount of outlets for sma connectors
veleiro has joined #nixos-on-your-router
<hexa->
that kinda limits the number of streams you should aim for
<hexa->
but 2x2 is usually fine unless you have lots of parallel usage
<hexa->
2x2 as in 2 send and 2 receive streams, meaning 2 antennas
<NinjaTrappeur>
right
<NinjaTrappeur>
duely noted regarding the chips
<NinjaTrappeur>
indeed, only 2 sma connectors
<hexa->
also
<hexa->
one radio means you can only have wifi on one frequency band
<hexa->
even if the radio is dualband
<NinjaTrappeur>
hmm
<NinjaTrappeur>
meaning 5ghz only right?
<hexa->
or 2,4ghz only, if you have legacy devices or iot
<NinjaTrappeur>
My phone do not support 5ghz :(
<NinjaTrappeur>
THanks for the heads up.
<hexa->
it's always an option to go with a proper AP and use OpenWrt
<NinjaTrappeur>
yeah, I currently use a nanobeam.
<NinjaTrappeur>
I was looking at optimizing a bit my power usage.
<hexa->
an ac wave2 ap usually consumes ~4.5W
<hexa->
there is not much room for optimization there
<hexa->
and if you can, ceiling mounted wifi rocks
<NinjaTrappeur>
5w 24/7 = ~ 4kw/h per month
<hexa->
sure, but your power is alot cheaper than ours :p
<andi->
did the openwrt netboot story improve in any way? I would probably go that route if it wouldn't be painful to orchestrate more than one device (both config and software)
<hexa->
idk
<andi->
to put it in another way: Are the SBC with decent wifi chipsets that could run NixOS without pain ? :D
<NinjaTrappeur>
haha, true :)
<andi->
RPi with decent wifi chipset would be something
<hexa->
the rpi wifi story is pure sadness
<NinjaTrappeur>
andi-: I heard some good things about the rock64
<NinjaTrappeur>
yeah
<NinjaTrappeur>
usb bus ftw ><
<hexa->
uh yeah, but they usually ship … idk … realtek wifi?
<NinjaTrappeur>
no idea how it behaves with NixOS though :/
<hexa->
rpi wifi is part of the soc
<andi->
I mean, I don't want/need much/anything from an OpenWRT if I can use Nix instead and configure hostapd
<NinjaTrappeur>
I started using one as router 2 years ago, never looked back.
<NinjaTrappeur>
Not the clever thing to do energy-wise.
<NinjaTrappeur>
But you can host a lot of services on it. It's something.
<andi->
a NUC sounds pricy and very inefficient power wise..
<andi->
not sure if they go <5W in idle
<NinjaTrappeur>
it is
<NinjaTrappeur>
mine clearly don't
<andi->
but you could argue if you can build a "proper" AP <100€ compared to what else you might pay for Ubnt or whomever that you still have 200€+ of budget for power...
<NinjaTrappeur>
My NUC allowed me to decomission a 10€/m VPS.
<NinjaTrappeur>
But yeah, power-wise it's not a smart choice.
<andi->
getting an intel CPU that doesn't come with Displayport, HDMI and audio jacks is kinda hard and in the >150€+ region if you don't want 5y old hardware