Aruba Instant On AP22 802.11ax 2x2 WiFi Access Point | UK Model | Power Source not Included (R4W02A)

Product Information

Next, I ran the same test on the 5 GHz band with 80 MHz channels. Wider channels give you the best speeds, but also require a stronger signal for effective use. At the farthest location, the speed advantage of 5 GHz is mostly eliminated. Those results show how the AP performs when it’s 5 GHz signal is hovering around -80 dBm RSSI and around 10 SNR. From the same location 2.4 GHz connections are stronger and more stable. As IDC is forecasting that more than 316 million Wi-Fi 6E devices will enter the market in 2021 1, this latest addition to the Instant On family is certainly a good thing for SMBs. It gives small business owners the ability to not only capitalize on opportunities today, but also prepares them for the future.

When further away, you can also see the impact of beamforming from the AC-HD and U6-LR. They are able to compensate by directing transmissions towards the distant client, and the U6-LR performed the best at the furthest location. This is where the U6-LR shows it’s biggest advantage over the AP22, and where I thought the AP12 and AP15 would do better than they did. The U6-LR’s high transmit power and beamforming allow it to reach further than any of the other models I tested. A few extra dBm is enough to allow the U6-LR to effectively cover a larger area, or punch through one more wall. The AP12 and AP15 did the 2nd best at range, coming close to the U6-LR’s performance. If you’re considering a new Instant On network, I have no issues recommending the AP22. The AP12 or AP15 should be better for high-density networks, but I still think the AP22 is the best overall. When the Wi-Fi 6 replacements for the AP12 and AP15 arrive, I’ll be testing those. I’m also excited to test out the UniFi U6-Pro, which is currently in early access.

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The range difference between the AP22 and the U6-LR is big enough that it could be the difference between needing one or two APs to cover an area. In some situations one U6-LR is better, in others one or two AP22s may be better. It’s hard to make general conclusions. The AP22 clearly offers the best 2.4 GHz performance. 5 GHz performance depends on a lot of factors, but the U6-LR and the AC-HD performed the best overall. The AC-Pro, AP12, and AP15 all struggled with 80 MHz channels to a single client. I don’t have a reliable way to test multi-client performance yet, but they should offer more performance in multi-client tests and realistic use.

The Instant On cloud portal offers easy setup and remote access, but it is limited in the number of settings it offers. For Wi-Fi radio settings, all you’re able to control is channel width, transmit power range, and channel selection. This is both good and bad. The things you can’t control are handled automatically for you, and Aruba’s engineering and software do a good job of handling things behind the scene. UniFi offers more in-depth settings and statistics, but has more software instability and bugs. If you’re not familiar with Ubiquiti’s software standards, lets just say they aren’t enterprise grade. Aruba has an edge when it comes to offering a hassle-free experience, but RF nerds like me always want more knobs to tweak. The Instant On portal and mobile app do an OK job at exposing the basic settings you need, but I would like to see the software mature and expand the number of settings offered. If you want more settings from your Aruba APs, consider one of the enterprise-level Instant APs instead. You’ll also have to consider licenses and possibly an Aruba WLAN controller. To specify which AP and which band was being used, I used the settings offered in the UniFi network controller or Instant On portal, and swapped them in and out as needed. I then stepped through the different channel widths and bands, letting the connection stabilize before beginning my tests.Wiper Blade Edge with Wear Resistance - Assure a long operational life and efficient wiping action, removing even the tiniest micro-drops All Aruba Instant On access points have an installed TPM for secure storage of credentials, keys, and boot codes. Basic Service Set Coloring (BSS COLORING)

Every customer has different environment. They might want to authenticate with the ISP’s PPPoE server and provide static IP to the APs. Next-Generation 802.11AX WI-FI Features Overview UniFi software offers more features and is more flexible, but it is also buggier. Sometimes the bugs are harmless, sometimes they are funny, but they are almost always there. If you can deal with them and don’t mind doing a little research before installing an update, UniFi is a unique and flexible ecosystem. UniFi routers are generally basic and miss some important features, but UniFi switches and APs match up well against Instant On. Instant On doesn’t have anything like UniFi Protect, Access, or Talk. AP Recommendations If you’re setting up a new network, a Wi-Fi 6 network is your best option. Wi-Fi 6 delivers consistently fast speeds and strong signals when many devices are competing for bandwidth at the same time. It also allows for power conservation, so device batteries last longer. Of these nine access points, the AP22 is the only one that supports Wi-Fi 6 on it’s 2.4 GHz radio. The Wi-Fi 5 standard only applied to the 5 GHz band, and the U6-Lite and U6-LR both stayed with older 2.4 GHz radios that support Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n). The results are as you’d expect, and it’s not a very close competition.I ran all of my tests with multiple TCP streams, and occasionally reversed the direction as a point of comparison. These tests ran for 60 seconds, so a typical client command would look like: iperf3 -c 172.25.10.5 -P 8 -R -t 60

To specify which AP and which band was being used, I used the setttings offered in the UniFi network controller or Instant On portal, and swapped them in and out as needed. I then stepped through the different channel widths and bands, letting the connection stabilize before beginning my tests. First, I tested all of the APs on 2.4 GHz, trying both 20 MHz and 40 MHz channels. I don’t recommend using 40 MHz channels in the 2.4 GHz band, due to them overlapping with over 80% of the already-crowded spectrum. There’s only one non-overlapping 40 MHz channel in North America, and the rest of the world only has two. Like 160 MHz channels in 5 GHz, there’s just not enough available frequency for them to be reliably used in most situations. The first few tests cover an ideal scenario, with a nearby client on a clean channel. In typical use you’ll see less throughput. This is a test of the APs capability in an ideal scenario, and how much data they can deliver to a single client.

Aruba Instant On AP22 elected as CRN’s 2021 Product of the Year

The AP11D and AP17 are for specialty use cases. If you need an AP outside or in a wall outlet, those are fine APs with decent performance. I don’t have any UniFi In-Wall APs to test, but I’ll be looking into adding some outdoor UniFi models to future tests. UniFi offers a lot more model choices for outdoor APs, and I’m a fan of the older AC-Mesh and AC-Mesh-Pros. AP Comparisons For more information on the Instant On family of products for small businesses, please visit www.ArubaInstantOn.com. The most interesting comparison for Instant On APs is the AP22 vs the AP12 and AP15. I was disappointed in the performance of the AP12 and AP15 when using wider channels. The charts above only capture single-client tests, which is not the best way to show the AP12 and AP15’s strengths. Still, they weren’t able to match up against the (much more expensive) AC-HD. I wouldn’t generally recommend the AP12 or AP15 unless you’re deploying them in a dense area with a lot of devices.