I have a Ubiquity Unifi 2.4ghz N AP that I love, serving my home.  

I would like to upgrade to the AC version, however I have some issues.  Before I get into it, wiring isn't an option in my home for a variety of reasons.

I was hoping to get the Unifi AC, or several, and bridge one or two to the primary.  I need wired LAN segments in three distant location in my home.  Looking at Ubiquiti's forums, either the Unify AC can't bridge at all, or it can, but randomly (as in, try it, and it might work, or it might not).  The Nanostations only support N at present, and I'd like AC speeds throughout.  Plus, the Unifi AC seems to have "issues" that are being solved with firmware updates once in a while, but overall, it seems like the product isn't exactly mature.

So maybe I can still get a single Unifi AC, and then use this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833999018

at the two locations where I need wired segments.  But one of these segments will have a server on it, and the "need to reboot the bridge once in a while" is simply not an option, as I will be using rsync to back up one server to the other.  A file transfer interrupted in the middle of the night because the bridge dropped off the network isn't going to do much.  Reviews are mixed, and the unit is cheap, so I may try it.

Or I could buy three regular old consumer-grade AC routers, and configure two to bridge.  Either their firmware would have to support it natively, or I would need to be able to run DD-WRT for this functionality.

I am impressed with my Unifi, and am wholly unimpressed with every consumer-grade device I've ever used when compared to it.

So my options are:

- Wait until Ubiquity matures their product line and an AC Nanostation is available
- Buy a Unifi AC and the aforementioned Linksys bridge and roll the dice
- Buy a consumer-grade AC AP and the aforementioned Linksys and roll the dice
- Buy three consumer-grade AC APs, bridge two, and roll the dice

Looking for advice here.  Speed and stability are about equally important.  

Is anyone using AC devices in this capacity, ie, serving wireless clients and also bridging to a distant area, all at AC speeds in the 5Ghz band?  If so, what products are you using?

Thanks.

I'm not a Unifi user, but I did recently pick up an EdgeRouter Lite and have been running it for about a week (if that counts).

Everything I've read says the Unifi AC is not ready for prime time.  Plus, a quick Amazon search says it's over $300.  Probably the most-recommended device I've seen is the RT-AC68U and RT-N66U from Asus.  I almost bought one, but reviews on Asus' customer service in general are in the toilet--so I bought Engenius instead.

I think any of your ideas would work.  I'd probably shy away from Unifi's AC for now.  Some of the reviews I've read also signify slightly less overall performance and signal strength out of the Unifi units (all models), but what they provide with their controller software and low price for the basic units constantly puts them ahead.  I would check out the routers on the charts at SmallNetBuilder.  they've tested just about all of them.  For your situation, I'd probably just pick 3 consumer AC routers, and use two as the bridge to your wired network.

You're going to see a lot of features in the consumer units that just aren't there for business-grade stuff yet.  Business isn't jumping to AC yet, as there isn't much need.  Unifi might be the only ones, and I've read business articles suggesting to wait for AC to further stabilize.  I've heard good things about the Asus units, the R7000 Nighthawk, TP-Link (cheapest option), and even the Airport Extreme.  There's some new stuff coming out soon, the MU-MIMO I think it's called that might help with higher speeds as well.

ETA: If you want better than home-grade stuff in AC, I'd probably just wait until Unifi matures a little.  If you need wireless now, I'd just add a couple more of the N AP's.

Honestly, most of the recommendations I see recommend MOCA or Ethernet over Powerline over AC wireless by a large margin.  MOCA would be huge if you could do that, you will get way better performance than you could with any wifi.  You can get Motorola units for about $150 from Newegg last I looked into it.