I'd suggest to go with dual-radio device (i.e. 2.4GHz + 5GHz bands).
The reason is requirement for using WiFi as upstream. The problem is that when device uses same radio both in station mode (required to connect to upstream AP) and AP mode (required for wireless devices to connect to it), master interface has to be used in station mode so that it can connect to upstream AP (and follow frequency selection, channel width etc.). However, while device does searching for AP to connect to, it's unable to serve as AP (because radio is changing frequency and other physical parameters all the time in order to find a suitable AP to connect to). If a roadwarrior needs to adjust configuration of device (and it's likely SSID and PSK needs to be set), then it's only possible to do it using wired connection to device.
Further more, if venue offers wired upstream connection, radio has to be reconfigured not to be used in station mode but only in AP mode. Again need for administrative connection which is not possible if radio is searching for AP to connect to.
With dual-radio device this is not a problem because one of radios can then be dedicated to upstream connection (e.g. 2.4GHz radio) and the other one can be exclusively be used in AP mode (which then runs also when upstream connection is not available) and administration is then always possible.
The above is a non-issue if roadwarrior always carries a wired device (laptop) on him and that device is then used to adjust config according to venue requirements.
The reason is requirement for using WiFi as upstream. The problem is that when device uses same radio both in station mode (required to connect to upstream AP) and AP mode (required for wireless devices to connect to it), master interface has to be used in station mode so that it can connect to upstream AP (and follow frequency selection, channel width etc.). However, while device does searching for AP to connect to, it's unable to serve as AP (because radio is changing frequency and other physical parameters all the time in order to find a suitable AP to connect to). If a roadwarrior needs to adjust configuration of device (and it's likely SSID and PSK needs to be set), then it's only possible to do it using wired connection to device.
Further more, if venue offers wired upstream connection, radio has to be reconfigured not to be used in station mode but only in AP mode. Again need for administrative connection which is not possible if radio is searching for AP to connect to.
With dual-radio device this is not a problem because one of radios can then be dedicated to upstream connection (e.g. 2.4GHz radio) and the other one can be exclusively be used in AP mode (which then runs also when upstream connection is not available) and administration is then always possible.
The above is a non-issue if roadwarrior always carries a wired device (laptop) on him and that device is then used to adjust config according to venue requirements.
Statistics: Posted by mkx — Thu Feb 29, 2024 8:38 am