Aruba AP passes 802.11ac compatibility test

Howard Solomon

11 years ago

Aruba Networks Inc. says its 220 Series Access Points have met the Wi-Fi Alliance’s 802.11ac standard for interoperability.

“Completing Wi-Fi Alliance certification for our 802.11ac solution gives our customers the assurance they need to transition to 802.11ac or expand existing 802.11ac implementations,” Robert Fenstermacher, Aruba’s director, product and solutions marketing, said in a statement. “As customers begin to embrace 802.11ac for their next-generation networks, they’ll be looking to wireless infrastructure vendors that can deliver integrated, enterprise-class solutions that work with the latest crop of mobile device.”

Aruba’s 7200 Series Mobility Controllers have also passed the Wi-Fi Alliance 802.11ac test.

802.11ac is a wireless LAN technology operating in the 5 GHz band that promises Wi-Fi speeds of around 1 Gigabit per second, or more than double the speeds of an 802.11n network.

The 802.11ac standard, set by the IEEE, is still in draft mode. However it is close enough to the final version—expected to be approved in February, 2014 – that network equipment makers are already releasing products using the technology. They include 802.11ac chipsets, adapters or access points from Broadcom Corp., Cisco Systems Inc., Qualcomm and Intel Corp., which have also passed the Wi-Fi Alliance 802.11ac compatibility test.

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There are few 802.11ac laptops on the market, but some smart phones have the chips including models from Samsung Electronics (the Galaxy S4) and Fujitsu.

Aruba says the 220 series – which starts at US$1,295 — differs from access points from other companies in that its units are purpose-built for 802.11ac rather than use a plug-in module.

The 220-series also include what Aruba calls ClientMatch, which it says steers client devices to the best possible access point.