I'm guessing its because its a small company? I often hear that about them being good products, just not much in the upgrade department for new stuff. I actually got one of the antenna for them still in box i forgot about. lol
The management and scalability alone make them incredibly cost effective solutions. They are insanely reliable and stable. Security seems good if not very good.
The problems with them are mostly customization (which is good but complex options are often command line driven - and the community is excellent at helping with this) and of course availability. Micro Center seems to have taken them seriously at retail, offering most if not all of their mainstream products in every store.
The real complaints I have with them as a company seem to be them drifting from various norms and standards. Many of their older products didn't conform to the 802.3af PoE standards and instead had some hackjob implementation that only worked with their own proprietary PoE injectors. Engenious is notorious for doing this as well.
Most models were revised around 2016-2017 to support 802.3af and standard 48v PoE switches and injectors, but astonishingly, the model numbers weren't changed and no solid manufacturing date was provided to indicate when the batch of 802.3af models became available. So it was a crapshoot and I think this whole debacle really held them back in the corporate space as a serious contender for enterprise-grade network equipment.
That said, they have so many good products that could easily sell for more. The Edgerouter Lite, a $50 router, handles more packet traffic than most $500 enterprise routers. The AP-AC Lite is the best access point you can buy for $100 and includes a PoE injector - although this model STILL isn't 802.3af to this day afaik. But the real magic is when you get a number of their products under the same software umbrella. Management becomes just beautiful, even if you just have a router switch and 2-3 AP's in mesh or "wired mesh" aka multi AP mode where they are simply configured to all have the same WLAN name and internally determine the client handoff to the best AP.
So they solved the problem of getting gigabit to my phone where I don't really need it? All for $200? People here's a tip. Where you need high speed run a $10 copper Ethernet cable.
$200 routers have been almost normal for a while now. I picked up a Linksys EA7500 a while back (when AC1900 was still all the rage) for that, and it it came with a free cable modem.
$200 being normal is one thing, it being considered "affordable" is an entirely different thing. I've held out on upgrading my router for nearly a decade (got a 2nd-tier Dlink back in the N days, and everything that matters in my household is wired so it does fine), but I paid something like $100 for that. Even factoring in inflation, the difference between that and today's 2nd tier routers is easily 2-3x.
I'd be happy to pay $200 for a feature-packed high end model, but for what amounts to an entry-level version with current specs? Nope. As for the high end ones: you can get a pretty good laptop, or a very good phone for $600. Spending that kind of money on pipes to feed them? Unless you have a huge family and no wired connections, that's insane.
If you want a feature-packed and affordable router, get a TP-Link and flash it with DD-WRT. Check their device support list for firmware and router hardware info.
Yeah, I've considered that option, but there's always been something making me think "I'll hold out for another generation" (most recently it was MU-MIMO support). As my ISP forces me to use their shitty modem as a DHCP server I'm considering going with a Ubiquiti access point instead (it doesn't support any sort of passthrough mode, so unless I get a router capable of dealing with that without causing conflicts I'm stuck using routers as access points anyhow). Sleek, always wall-mountable (SO few routers are these days!), very configurable, and pretty reasonably priced.
I have one old version nighthawk that I bought for $150 a few years back. It’s in storage box now and I’ve been using a $50 TP-Link with DD-WRT since. I don’t need some expensive crap with mediocre SoC loaded with unnecessary buggy features that cause problems for basic functionality. Yea I’m talking to you, Linksys, Dlink and Netgear.
Moore Rapids? What a name. But I think I'll wait for the platform's successor-- Amdahl Widths. Glad that the pressure from Intel is on, though, and happy for .ax prices slowly approaching a sensible level. Is this Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ WPA3™? The Wi-Fi org product finder only shows the RAX120 as having a cert.
IMO I consider "affordable" sub $80 when it comes to most computer things, especially things such as routers etc.... I consider anything above $200 (especially when on CAD shelves) is anything but "affordable" when there are many alternatives well below that price point....maybe not wifi 6 specifically, but you know "what I mean"
I suppose "good" that at least some are there to take current best spec and try to get to better price alas as with anything tech related what they make and can plop on shelf for $ or $$ automatic becomes $$$ / $$$$$ ... granted some things such as high spec display port cable, USB 3.1 etc are $ cables to begin with, most phones/routers/motherboard on the other hand are famous for taking a $2 part and upcharging to 10s or 100s in some cases.
Affordable is going to always be off what a person makes. $600 one still has someone going they wish they had a $800 one with more features. Even the $80 walmart price range you seek is someone wanting $40.
In the end its the features you look to what you want, and with all things electronics if its going to be useful 1-2 years down the line.
That's a weirdly individualized view. In general when something is labeled as "affordable" it is so by two metrics: compared to regular prices of products in that category, and what average people can/are willing to pay for a product. Anything is affordable to a billionaire, but that doesn't mean that anything can be labeled affordable because of that.
Have to agree with you here, pricing routers in these price ranges is quite absurd. Who cares enough about their wifi to pay $600 for a router? And calling $200 "affordable" is rather absurd.
Fascinating, from what I read, it appears the "Intel" SoC (GRX350) uses a MIPS CPU. From what I see it was from the purchase of Lantiq, which was a spinoff of Infineon (all this according to WikiDevi).
What scares me is it's listed as related to the Puma 7. If it is, I would be very hesitant to buy this without seeing some reviews by detailed reviewers (Smallnetbuilder/etc.. someone who actually checks detailed multi-client throughput, latency, jitter, etc...), given how bad the latency problem of the Puma 6/7 was.
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Xajel - Tuesday, April 9, 2019 - link
No thanks, I'll wait for Ubiquiti; UAP-AC-Pro or nanoHD successors to be precise.And yes, I know it will be a sad long wait.
imaheadcase - Tuesday, April 9, 2019 - link
I'm guessing its because its a small company? I often hear that about them being good products, just not much in the upgrade department for new stuff. I actually got one of the antenna for them still in box i forgot about. lolSamus - Wednesday, April 10, 2019 - link
Ubiquiti is an IT depts wet dream.The management and scalability alone make them incredibly cost effective solutions. They are insanely reliable and stable. Security seems good if not very good.
The problems with them are mostly customization (which is good but complex options are often command line driven - and the community is excellent at helping with this) and of course availability. Micro Center seems to have taken them seriously at retail, offering most if not all of their mainstream products in every store.
The real complaints I have with them as a company seem to be them drifting from various norms and standards. Many of their older products didn't conform to the 802.3af PoE standards and instead had some hackjob implementation that only worked with their own proprietary PoE injectors. Engenious is notorious for doing this as well.
Most models were revised around 2016-2017 to support 802.3af and standard 48v PoE switches and injectors, but astonishingly, the model numbers weren't changed and no solid manufacturing date was provided to indicate when the batch of 802.3af models became available. So it was a crapshoot and I think this whole debacle really held them back in the corporate space as a serious contender for enterprise-grade network equipment.
That said, they have so many good products that could easily sell for more. The Edgerouter Lite, a $50 router, handles more packet traffic than most $500 enterprise routers. The AP-AC Lite is the best access point you can buy for $100 and includes a PoE injector - although this model STILL isn't 802.3af to this day afaik. But the real magic is when you get a number of their products under the same software umbrella. Management becomes just beautiful, even if you just have a router switch and 2-3 AP's in mesh or "wired mesh" aka multi AP mode where they are simply configured to all have the same WLAN name and internally determine the client handoff to the best AP.
Moody66 - Thursday, May 30, 2019 - link
They are no better than anyone else. https://www.securityweek.com/worm-infects-many-ubi...Gunbuster - Tuesday, April 9, 2019 - link
So they solved the problem of getting gigabit to my phone where I don't really need it? All for $200? People here's a tip. Where you need high speed run a $10 copper Ethernet cable.Kamus - Tuesday, April 9, 2019 - link
ppft, cables, what are you, poor?I bet you also use wired headphones you pleb!
Valantar - Tuesday, April 9, 2019 - link
"Affordable router". "$200". What in all possible hells is happening to the wireless router market?FSWKU - Tuesday, April 9, 2019 - link
$200 routers have been almost normal for a while now. I picked up a Linksys EA7500 a while back (when AC1900 was still all the rage) for that, and it it came with a free cable modem.Valantar - Tuesday, April 9, 2019 - link
$200 being normal is one thing, it being considered "affordable" is an entirely different thing. I've held out on upgrading my router for nearly a decade (got a 2nd-tier Dlink back in the N days, and everything that matters in my household is wired so it does fine), but I paid something like $100 for that. Even factoring in inflation, the difference between that and today's 2nd tier routers is easily 2-3x.I'd be happy to pay $200 for a feature-packed high end model, but for what amounts to an entry-level version with current specs? Nope. As for the high end ones: you can get a pretty good laptop, or a very good phone for $600. Spending that kind of money on pipes to feed them? Unless you have a huge family and no wired connections, that's insane.
sonny73n - Wednesday, April 10, 2019 - link
If you want a feature-packed and affordable router, get a TP-Link and flash it with DD-WRT. Check their device support list for firmware and router hardware info.Valantar - Wednesday, April 10, 2019 - link
Yeah, I've considered that option, but there's always been something making me think "I'll hold out for another generation" (most recently it was MU-MIMO support). As my ISP forces me to use their shitty modem as a DHCP server I'm considering going with a Ubiquiti access point instead (it doesn't support any sort of passthrough mode, so unless I get a router capable of dealing with that without causing conflicts I'm stuck using routers as access points anyhow). Sleek, always wall-mountable (SO few routers are these days!), very configurable, and pretty reasonably priced.sonny73n - Wednesday, April 10, 2019 - link
I have one old version nighthawk that I bought for $150 a few years back. It’s in storage box now and I’ve been using a $50 TP-Link with DD-WRT since.I don’t need some expensive crap with mediocre SoC loaded with unnecessary buggy features that cause problems for basic functionality. Yea I’m talking to you, Linksys, Dlink and Netgear.
HStewart - Tuesday, April 9, 2019 - link
If you look up Nighthawk high end routers it is twice this onehttps://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-Nighthawk-Quad-Stre...
Personally I prefer Asus routers - but $200 is almost 1/2 above router.
29a - Tuesday, April 9, 2019 - link
I agree Valantar, $200 is way too expensive. I paid less than $100 for my C7.Opencg - Tuesday, April 9, 2019 - link
tp-link ac1900 (archer c9) is the best router still.Kantera - Tuesday, April 9, 2019 - link
Moore Rapids? What a name.But I think I'll wait for the platform's successor-- Amdahl Widths.
Glad that the pressure from Intel is on, though, and happy for .ax prices slowly approaching a sensible level.
Is this Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ WPA3™? The Wi-Fi org product finder only shows the RAX120 as having a cert.
Dragonstongue - Tuesday, April 9, 2019 - link
IMO I consider "affordable" sub $80 when it comes to most computer things, especially things such as routers etc.... I consider anything above $200 (especially when on CAD shelves) is anything but "affordable" when there are many alternatives well below that price point....maybe not wifi 6 specifically, but you know "what I mean"I suppose "good" that at least some are there to take current best spec and try to get to better price alas as with anything tech related what they make and can plop on shelf for $ or $$ automatic becomes $$$ / $$$$$ ... granted some things such as high spec display port cable, USB 3.1 etc are $ cables to begin with, most phones/routers/motherboard on the other hand are famous for taking a $2 part and upcharging to 10s or 100s in some cases.
^.^
imaheadcase - Tuesday, April 9, 2019 - link
Affordable is going to always be off what a person makes. $600 one still has someone going they wish they had a $800 one with more features. Even the $80 walmart price range you seek is someone wanting $40.In the end its the features you look to what you want, and with all things electronics if its going to be useful 1-2 years down the line.
Valantar - Wednesday, April 10, 2019 - link
That's a weirdly individualized view. In general when something is labeled as "affordable" it is so by two metrics: compared to regular prices of products in that category, and what average people can/are willing to pay for a product. Anything is affordable to a billionaire, but that doesn't mean that anything can be labeled affordable because of that.Valantar - Wednesday, April 10, 2019 - link
Have to agree with you here, pricing routers in these price ranges is quite absurd. Who cares enough about their wifi to pay $600 for a router? And calling $200 "affordable" is rather absurd.alpha64 - Tuesday, April 9, 2019 - link
Fascinating, from what I read, it appears the "Intel" SoC (GRX350) uses a MIPS CPU. From what I see it was from the purchase of Lantiq, which was a spinoff of Infineon (all this according to WikiDevi).Araemo - Tuesday, April 9, 2019 - link
What scares me is it's listed as related to the Puma 7. If it is, I would be very hesitant to buy this without seeing some reviews by detailed reviewers (Smallnetbuilder/etc.. someone who actually checks detailed multi-client throughput, latency, jitter, etc...), given how bad the latency problem of the Puma 6/7 was.zepi - Tuesday, April 9, 2019 - link
For $500-600 I'd except to have more than 1x 2.5/5GbE ports.(I suppose RAX200 support 5GbE as well?)
ksec - Tuesday, April 9, 2019 - link
Nice, but right now I think I will skip this gen and wait for the 802.11be, coming in 2020/2021While there were supposed to be 802.11ax Phase 2, I think all of that will be morphed into 802.11be.
I am also hoping with a little more time we could figure out how to bring NBase-T ( 2.5/5Gbps Ethernet ) for the masses.
Eliadbu - Tuesday, April 9, 2019 - link
I'll wait for their or I or other mash technology with wifi 6.hescominsoon - Tuesday, April 9, 2019 - link
remember the puma chipset from intel in cable modems? That didn't work well. Let's see if this actually works correctly.Irata - Wednesday, April 10, 2019 - link
At least they did not fail completely like networking equipment using the Atom C2000 series