Aruba rolls out affordable high-speed access point

The AP-105 is priced at £667

Aruba Networks has added an entry-level wireless access point based on the recently ratified 802.11n standard to its product line, offering what it claims to be enterprise-class performance at a competitive price point.

The new AP-105, which is used in conjunction with the vendor’s 600 Series of controllers, costs £667 – a price tag that the company claimed is half that of rival offerings.

At the same time, Aruba also cut the prices of its high-end 3x3 MIMO AP-124 and AP-125 access points, which are likewise based on the new standard, to £995.

“With the recent ratification of the 802.11n standard and growing interest in replacing Ethernet networks with wireless solutions, the time for 802.11n has come at last," said Paul DeBeasi, senior analyst at the Burton Group.

"Given the mobility and performance benefits to be gained by moving to 802.11n, the last remaining barrier to widespread adoption is price."

The AP-105 measures a compact 132mm x 135mm x 45mm and weighs only 0.3kg. It has dual radios, a 2 x 2 MIMO design that provides performance of up to 300Mbit/s per radio and integrated antennas that can be mounted on either walls or ceilings.

It supports the 802.3 Power over Ethernet standard for data transfer to simplify deployment and includes software to enable the reconfiguration of connectivity, mesh, intrusion sensor and remote access applications.

The product’s Trusted Platform Module also stores network credentials and cipher keys to ensure network integrity if the access point is hacked or stolen, while Adaptive Radio Management functionality enables users to manage client behaviour to optimise performance.