Ubiquiti Product Comparison

The first two 802.11ac-capable devices being targeted for support by AREDN are the Nanostation 5ac and the Ubiquiti Nanobeam 5ac Gen2.  Here's a comparison to their most equivalent currently supported models:

Nanostation M5 - Two 10/100 Mbit/second interfaces, 64 MB DDR2 RAM, 560 MHz CPU (XW hardware; old XM was 390 MHz), 45 degree beamwidth (both vertical and horizontal polarization), 14-16 dBi gain, 8 watts power consumption, 24V POE.  Current price (when you can find them): $85

Nanostation 5ac - Two 10/100/1000 Mbit/second interfaces (but only one on the Loco version), 64 MB DDR2 RAM, 560 MHz CPU, 45 degree beamwidth (both vertical and horizontal polarization), 16 dBi gain, 9 watts power consumption, 24 V POE  OR  802.3af Alternative A (single pair POE).  Current price ~$145
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The closest currently-supported equivalent to the Nanobeam 5ac Gen2 is the Powerbeam M5-300.
PBM5-300: 10/100 Mbit/second interface, 64 MB DDR2, 8 MB Flash, 560 MHz CPU, ~15 degree beamwidth (both vertical and horizontal polarization), 22 dBi gain, 6 W max, 24V POE.  Current price (when you can find them) $80-$100

Nanobeam 5ac:  Two 10/100/1000 Mbit/second interfaces, 128 MB DDR2, 8 MB Flash, 720 MHz CPU, ~25 degree beamwidth (both vertical and horizontal polarization), 19 dBi gain, 8.5 W max, 24V POE.  Current price: $100-$150

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Important note - although these next-generation Ubiquiti devices are designed to run the 802.11ac protocol, they will NOT run 802.11ac when loaded with AREDN firmware, but rather the standard 802.11n.  There may some minor throughput improvement, but nothing to write home about.

AREDN is moving to provide support for them as manufacturers are discontinuing their 802.11n-only products.  In this manner we have an assured supply of AREDN-capable products going forward.

Orv W6BI