I donated to the project for the Omnia router only (no WiFi). I’ve always preferred acquiring hardware with as little integration as possible. So, rather than buy the ubiquitous “wireless router”, in the past I’ve purchased a router and a WiFi access point as separate devices. Several years ago, I bought a Cisco/Linksys router (RVS4000) and access point (WAP4410N). I find that maintaining functionality separately enables nice modularity.
So now, I’m looking for advice on what WiFi access point to purchase. I’m looking for a device which, if available, is designed and marketed in a spirit similar to that of Turris Omnia. An access point which is open-source, very configurable, and actively supported with frequent firmware and software updates would be ideal but I’m not aware of anything like this. Any recommendations or advice is appreciated.
If you want another device: get a Turris Omnia with wifi.
Your access point is one of these “wireless routers”. According to https://wiki.openwrt.org/toh/linksys/wap4410n it is able to run OpenWRT so it is a “wireless router”. It has no switch included but this does not make it something different.
For me wifi in a “wireless router” is nothing more than another network switch with vlan (virtual ap) capability. The ethernet switch is integrated. As i see wifi as another switch integrating wifi in the router makes sense to me.
With the Turris you can keep WiFi perfectly modular in that you use a PCIe card of your choice (or a USB-based solution, if necessary). The only benefit I see in additional separation is if you either need to place the AP(s) at different locations or if the AP offers features that PCIe cards don’t.
In any other case it just costs more, requires more configuration effort and will also use more power.