Tp Link has the eap series and they can be configured stand alone or controller. Ubiquiti requires the controller. I really like zyxel managed switches, don't know about their APs but that's another one to look at. Also engenius.
I'm still using some left over routers running lede in access point mode, so I haven't tried the various APs myself. I can say that an x86 router is all I would consider at 500mbps and is what I use on my ATT gig fiber link.
Take a look at shuttle Celeron based mini PC's with dual Intel nics, or Protectli, a reseller of Chinese multi lan fanless boxes. Also XCY
Not easy choice...I found some 4xLAN with J1900. At least they are available in Germany. Will it be sufficient ?
And TP-Link seems interesting indeed.
I also have ESXi ....
The 4x lan j1900 is sufficient for 500mbps-1gbps with shaping, but has no Aes-ni if you want fast VPN encryption. It's a decent choice if a little older tech. My own box is j1900 and works fine with shaping for a gig, a little tight doing additional stuff. Good power consumption.
Yes R7800 with hnyman's OpenWrt 18.06 build is a top choice right now. That or the WRT3200ACM with davidc502's OpenWrt 18.06 build. People say they are almost flawless.
Speaking of your WRT1200ACS Wifi, what build are you running? LEDE 17.x is very outdated for wifi drivers now. There hasn't been an official release in forever. Try davidc502's latest: https://davidc502sis.dynamic-dns.net/
I just got the Archer C7 v4, and I'm very impressed. I'm certain I would have been equally impressed with the R7800, except with power usage. I typically get disappointed when I get a new router, that's its not that much better than my old. The Archer C7 runs circles around my ancient Netgear WNDR3700v2, in WiFi coverage around the house and outside. Even with two Netgear WNDR3700 I didn't have good coverage in my 180m2 house, this has complete coverage and great coverage 10m around the house. Coverage seems identical to original TP Link firmware.
Power consumption
I suspect the Netgear R7800 use 11w based on other devices. The Archer C7 uses 4.2w idle with both radios on (5.2w during load), according to my measurements, see other measurements here.
Max LAN speeds
I tested LAN max speeds with Android WiFi Speed Test + OnePlus 6 + Python server on wired pc. I use the current LEDE snapshot. My WiFi speeds at 2.4 GHz radio was: 65 Down / 99 Up Mbps in same room, and 5GHz the speeds were 425 Down /362 Up Mbps. I use WiFi Region DK, which lowers 2.4 GHz TXPower to 17db, but does not seem to affect 5 GHz. I don't think it affects close proximity tests.
I havn't tested original firmware LAN max speeds, but Ookla speed tests in edge zones were similar.
@Bogey yes absolutely. The top "enthusiast" choices right now are the R7800 or WRT3200ACM (or WRT32X same hardware). They are roughly the same price and both very active on the forums and solid support on OpenWrt 18.06 or Master branches.
@Bogey there is even a 15% student discount, if you're subscribed to Amazon Student (or someone you know). Got mine for roughly around 125€ a few weeks ago.
That beeing said, at the same price, I'd prefer the Zyxel NBG6817 over the R7800. There is a magnitude of difference between the Zyxel's and Netgear's WLAN coverage and stability; atleast in my environment. R7800 has its advantages though, like the community support. While it takes a good amount of manual work for the Zyxel to run LEDE properly, people like @hnyman make using the R7800 a breeze.
I'm looking for a new router and am considering the R7800 based on the comments here. Does anyone happen to run openVPN on an R7800 and know the speeds it is capable of with it?
My current router is pretty old and very slow when running openVPN (I am aware that routers in general run openVPN much slower than a computer for many reasons) but I am hoping there will be some improvement if I upgrade.
Here you'll find some openssl benchmarks, including the nbg6817, which uses the same SOC (ipq8065) as the r7800. While that won't directly translate into OpenVPN (which will be slower, due to the context switches needed) performance, it helps to put it into perspective.
Also keep in mind that there is no such thing as "the OpenVPN throughput", what you'll actually get depends on many configuration specific factors - the chosen crypto algorithms in particular, but also about the crypto backend you picked (OpenSSL vs mbedtls), the way you set up the networking (tun vs tap) and many other quite custom choices.
There are many variables to consider here, but for what it's worth: I've used my R7800 with OpenVPN @AES-128-CBC and Private Internet Access as a VPN provider. The maximum wired speed I reached with my particular configuration was about 45 Mbit/s (72 Mbit/s without OpenVPN).
Linksys WRT1200AC! I'm not really savvy about the specs of other routers, but a dual-core 1.2GHz ARM + 802.11 AC/5GHz router that you can readily get on the internet for about $50 is quite incredible to me. You can cross-compile ARM-based linux programs and run them on your router. Firmware installation very easy. I'm not an expert, but I like this one.
