The Grooves from Mikrotik (http://routerboard.com/RBGrooveA5Hn) seem to be very similar to the Bullet M2HP/M5HP from Ubiquiti but have 64 MByte Flash and 32 or 64 MByte RAM instead of 8/32 MByte. They are also cheaper!

Models:

MikroTik RouterBOARD Groove    2Hn: CPE, 802.11g/n, 32 MB RAM, 630 mw TX-Power
MikroTik RouterBOARD Groove    5Hn: CPE, 802.11a/n, 32 MB RAM, 200 mw TX-Power
Both 20,- € cheaper than Ubiquiti Bullet M-Models and power-supply included

MikroTik RouterBOARD Groove A-2Hn: AP, 802.11g/n, 64 MB RAM, 630 mw TX-Power
MikroTik RouterBOARD Groove A-5Hn: AP, 802.11a/n, 64 MB RAM, 200 mw TX-Power
Both same price as Ubiquiti Bullet M-Models but power-supply included

Did anyone have a look into the Grooves? Did anyone try if they are compatible with OpenWRT?

Thanx for any hint,

Renne

Specifications MikroTik RouterBOARD Groove A-5Hn:
    CPU: Atheros AR7241 400MHz network processor
    Memory: 64MB DDR SDRAM onboard memory
    Boot loader: RouterBOOT
    Data storage: 64MB onboard NAND memory chip
    Ethernet: One 10/100 Mbit/s Fast Ethernet port with Auto-MDI/X, L2MTU frame size up to 2030
    Wireless: Wireless Built-in 5GHz 802.11a/n 1x1 MIMO, N-male connector
    Extras: Reset switch, Beeper, Voltage monitor, Temperature monitor
    LEDs: 5 wireless signal LEDs, ethernet activity LED (configurable)
    Power options: Passive 9-30V PoE only. 16KV ESD protection on RF port
    Consumption: Up to 0,19A at 24V (4.56W)
    Dimensions: 177x44x44mm, 193g. Must be mounted with ethernet pointing down
    Operating temperature: -30C to +70C
    Operating System: MikroTik RouterOS v5, Level4 license (AP, station, or point-to-point)
    Package contains: Groove A-5Hn unit, mounting loops, PoE injector, 24V power adapter
    RX sensitivity
        802.11a: –93 dBm @ 6Mbps to -77 dBm @ 54 Mbps
        802.11n: –93 dBm @ MCS0 to –71 dBm @ MCS7
    TX power
        802.11a: 23dBm @ 6Mbps to 19dBm @ 54 Mbps
        802.11n: 22dBm @ MCS0 to 15dBm @ MCS7
    Modulations
        OFDM: BPSK, QPSK, 16 QAM, 64QAM
        DSSS: DBPSK, DQPSK, CCK

(Last edited by renne on 9 Sep 2012, 10:18)

In my work i use both.

In some routerboard "433, 411" i've succesfully installed openwrt "Compiled from source CPU: Atheros AR7241 400MHz is fully supported.

But for doing this i connect to board through the serial port for change some settings in his bios like dhcp boot protocol instead bootp and boot source to ethernet instead the nand.

And i ran dnsmasq for start the netboot process.

The mikrotik groove hasn't the serial port, for reinstall his software  there is a program called "Netinstall" and for to put the card in netboot mode you press the reset button when you power up this board until the led flash. But for default use the bootp protocol. I honestly do not know if there is a possibility to boot the kernel openwrt with that protocol.

For ubiquiti, I know that some isp dont use airos but flash the board with openwrt for add more function like ospfs butI've never tried

After a little email chit-chat with the Mikrotik-support I got the following answer which seems very promising for OpenWRT-support on the Grooves:

Metarouter seems to be a virtual machine in RouterOS. There's even a simple OpenWRT-image provided by Mikrotik.

Example application mentioned by Mikrotik:

I have an Mikrotik Groove 2Hn with L3 license and i want to use it as access point. The thing is that i don't want to buy a L4 license because it is expensive and i am wondering if there is a way to flash OpenWRT on it without console.

Maybe somebody did it before.

i tried the Metarouter without success because the need of console conection.