900 boards, firmware, and RSL differences

I’ve seen a few comments here and there about P9 and P10 boards… What is the difference exactly, and what differences in performance will I notice? I was also wondering why a few of my SM’s show a 8-10dB higher (better) RSL than most other SM’s with the same antennas/locations. Is this due to board type or firmware or neither?

Also wondering what is the most stable firmware version for the 900MHz canopy? I get a little lost when there appears to be so many differences in SM hardware and firmware types. Seems you have to memorize each little nuance of every small difference. :?

thanks for any help

We use 8.2.4 with all of our equipment and luckily have no problems whatsoever. Although we do not use Nat/DHCP