Speed is not the only one that teaches you how to select 802.11ac Access Points

If you have a wireless LAN (WLAN), you must upgrade it to an 802.11ac (Gigabit Wi-Fi) Access Point (AP) and Related WLAN products based on the recently approved 802.11ac standard. Although the main driving force here is the speed of up to Gbps, when enterprises try to use these new technologies to enhance and develop their wireless networks, they should not only focus on this, but also pay attention to other aspects.

It can be said that few individual users really need a gigabit speed, but this level of throughput can actually increase the overall network capacity. This means that network professionals can better meet the needs of increasing user groups, and now users are using various mobile devices loaded with a large number of applications.

If the access point is in your purchase list, 802.11ac-based products provide better performance than earlier 802.11n standard products (up to 540 Mbps. We have seen an increase of 15% to 20% (the client has not changed), so we can easily build commercial use cases for 802.11ac. In addition, the price of 802.11ac AP is similar to or slightly higher than that of 802.11n AP. At the same time, the range, throughput, reliability, price, and performance of 802.11ac have been improved due to innovations such as built-in and standardized beam formation.

Functions required by 802.11ac

This means that when you prepare to purchase, it is worth noting that not all 802.11ac APs are the same, and not all products provide the same functions and performance. The following are required features and functions that enterprises are particularly interested in:

• Non-disruptive scalability. In most settings, the installation of 802.11ac will overwrite 802.11n or older infrastructure. It is important that the 802.11ac AP requires transparent support, maybe initially in backward compatible 802.11n mode, or even used as a sensor to detect unauthorized 802.11n activities. These new APS can be converted to configuration access requests later.

• Dual-Gigabit Ethernet port: Dual-radio frequency is common in current APs. Two 802.11ac radio frequencies may overwhelm a single port. Two GbE ports should be deployed in any dual-Wireless AP. Of course, 1.3 Gbps Throughput is unlikely to overwhelm the Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) switch port, because the actual throughput may not exceed half of the peak. Please note: suppliers often mention the maximum possible speed. This is not big but can be caused by problems such as Radio Frequency Propagation and other wireless transmission.

• Supports intensive deployment. Some WLAN administrators believe that higher throughput means less APs, but this is not the case. 802.11ac Access Point wider channels (2.4 and 5 GHz frequency segments) and better radio modulation, coupled with increasing capacity requirements, all mean that we may need more aps. Given the inherent complexity, the control function should be able to configure the AP itself, make critical decisions on wireless channels and transmit power distribution, and automatically meet other operational parameters.

• Enhanced management functions. The overall management function may be the main difference between performance and value. Therefore, you need to carefully consider how to make these innovations not only increase throughput and reliability, but also improve IT management efficiency and total cost of ownership.

Functions worthy of 802.11ac

These 802.11ac AP functions are not necessarily essential. They include 802.3af Ethernet power supply (PoE) instead of 802.3at or proprietary PoE operations. They support security features, such as intrusion detection or defense, fraud detection and spectrum analysis, and additional functions, such as client locating and tracing, unified communication, analysis, and application-aware performance optimization, and enhance secure identity management.

For 802.11ac AP, do not wait. You should start to evaluate it now. The advantages of 802.11ac are true. Now many enterprises have begun to make profits.