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The UniFi products have QoS, POE, remote management, etc. Looks like Arbua is a little simpler with the clustering and integrated local management (vs local Un

The UniFi products have QoS, POE, remote management, etc. Looks like Arbua is a little simpler with the clustering and integrated local management (vs local UniFi cloud key, UniFi hosted, or self-hosted controller). For the price of a UniFi UAP AC-Lite it's hard to beat the price (~$80) for 2x2 MIMO dual band (most cell phones and laptops aren't more then 2x2 these days, so 3x3 without MU-MIMO seems like a waste IMHO). What I'm really curious about is other then management features and adding radios that follow the latest RF features (i.e. MU-MIMO) that are made available by Qualcomm/Atheros and others, what really differentiates APs? Can you speak to this about how Aruba (or others) differentiate itself in actual RF performance?

vlan3333 8y ago
Aruba access points are built for higher density and longer range deployments. One of the RF management features is called ClientMatch, which helps ensure WLAN performance is not compromised in noisy or high density environments. Most homes don't have more than 20-30 devices on the WiFi. Most Instant access points can handle about 50-60 devices at a time. In my own home, the 5 Ghz band is primarily used due to the open layout and there's a lot less interference on that band in my neighborhood. I'm just using one Instant access point (IAP-215) to cover about 2500 sq ft. From a hand wavy and extremely generalized assessment, RF performance between the major enterprise vendors (Cisco Meraki/Aerohive/Ruckus/Aruba) differs by about 10%. If you design your network to the environment and devices used, you can achieve a highly performing network with any of major vendor. The deciding factor usually comes down to training personnel have with the equipment, relationships, and budget. Most RF engineers will probably sneer at the above statement, but there's some truth to it. Other Useful Information The Aruba Instant platform does not require a hardware controller - instead it uses a virtual controller that's homed to a master Access Point with automatic fail over to slave Access Points in the cluster. You can also mix and match any Instant AP model within the same cluster. New Aps should automatically join as soon as they are powered up and plugged into the local network (on the same VLAN). There's no additional licensing needed for local management. Access points purchased through an official retailer come with a lifetime warranty. Application recognition and content filtering is not available with Ubiquity. You can't prioritize traffic or restrict traffic on the WiFi based on specific content – for example, prioritize traffic for voice over YouTube or Facebook. In enterprise environments, WiFi calling has become important due to adopting Skype. Aruba also offers 3rd party support and integration via Airwave and ClearPass. Overkill (IMO) for a home.
- 2bluesc 8y ago
  > Aruba access points are built for higher density and longer range deployments. One of the RF management features is called ClientMatch, which helps ensure WLAN performance is not compromised in noisy or high density environments. This is the kind of stuff I'm curious about. If the antenna is well designed (good radiation pattern) and the EIRP is limited to FCC limits (100mW by default?) how will it achieve longer ranger? The client device (laptop, cellphone) has a TX power as well that requires some symmetry to achieve the range. I know APs can request clients lower their TX power to reduce interference in high density environments, but I don't know they'd raise it. As for high density environments, this comes down to the management software and not the features of WiFi chipset? Things like MU-MIMO certainly make sense for high density environments (Ubiquiti sells a series of "HD" suffixed parts that add MU-MIMO), but I'm curious if there are other things other then more radios on more bands. How many of the more advanced features of Enterprise APs at the mercy of the client WiFi module, firmware, and driver for behaving optimally? I assume a company like Aruba (or really any major player) has a full interoperability test lab. Which client devices work best (Intel?)? > Most homes don't have more than 20-30 devices on the WiFi. Most Instant access points can handle about 50-60 devices at a time. In my own home, the 5 Ghz band is primarily used due to the open layout and there's a lot less interference on that band in my neighborhood. I'm just using one Instant access point (IAP-215) to cover about 2500 sq ft. 2500 sq ft on one AP is pretty impressive, for the price though you could buy several UniFi APs. I checked out the datasheet[0] for the AP 210 series and was delighted to see some radiation plots at different frequencies. [0] https://www.arubanetworks.com/assets/ds/DS_AP210Series.pdf https://www.arubanetworks.com/assets/ds/DS_AP210Series.pdf
- 2bluesc 8y ago
  Interesting overview on Aruba AP-325 for those also interested: https://youtu.be/cMkH_cTw0D4 https://youtu.be/cMkH_cTw0D4

vlan3333 8y ago

Aruba access points are built for higher density and longer range deployments. One of the RF management features is called ClientMatch, which helps ensure WLAN performance is not compromised in noisy or high density environments. Most homes don't have more than 20-30 devices on the WiFi. Most Instant access points can handle about 50-60 devices at a time. In my own home, the 5 Ghz band is primarily used due to the open layout and there's a lot less interference on that band in my neighborhood. I'm just using one Instant access point (IAP-215) to cover about 2500 sq ft. From a hand wavy and extremely generalized assessment, RF performance between the major enterprise vendors (Cisco Meraki/Aerohive/Ruckus/Aruba) differs by about 10%. If you design your network to the environment and devices used, you can achieve a highly performing network with any of major vendor. The deciding factor usually comes down to training personnel have with the equipment, relationships, and budget. Most RF engineers will probably sneer at the above statement, but there's some truth to it. Other Useful Information The Aruba Instant platform does not require a hardware controller - instead it uses a virtual controller that's homed to a master Access Point with automatic fail over to slave Access Points in the cluster. You can also mix and match any Instant AP model within the same cluster. New Aps should automatically join as soon as they are powered up and plugged into the local network (on the same VLAN). There's no additional licensing needed for local management. Access points purchased through an official retailer come with a lifetime warranty. Application recognition and content filtering is not available with Ubiquity. You can't prioritize traffic or restrict traffic on the WiFi based on specific content – for example, prioritize traffic for voice over YouTube or Facebook. In enterprise environments, WiFi calling has become important due to adopting Skype. Aruba also offers 3rd party support and integration via Airwave and ClearPass. Overkill (IMO) for a home.

2bluesc 8y ago
> Aruba access points are built for higher density and longer range deployments. One of the RF management features is called ClientMatch, which helps ensure WLAN performance is not compromised in noisy or high density environments. This is the kind of stuff I'm curious about. If the antenna is well designed (good radiation pattern) and the EIRP is limited to FCC limits (100mW by default?) how will it achieve longer ranger? The client device (laptop, cellphone) has a TX power as well that requires some symmetry to achieve the range. I know APs can request clients lower their TX power to reduce interference in high density environments, but I don't know they'd raise it. As for high density environments, this comes down to the management software and not the features of WiFi chipset? Things like MU-MIMO certainly make sense for high density environments (Ubiquiti sells a series of "HD" suffixed parts that add MU-MIMO), but I'm curious if there are other things other then more radios on more bands. How many of the more advanced features of Enterprise APs at the mercy of the client WiFi module, firmware, and driver for behaving optimally? I assume a company like Aruba (or really any major player) has a full interoperability test lab. Which client devices work best (Intel?)? > Most homes don't have more than 20-30 devices on the WiFi. Most Instant access points can handle about 50-60 devices at a time. In my own home, the 5 Ghz band is primarily used due to the open layout and there's a lot less interference on that band in my neighborhood. I'm just using one Instant access point (IAP-215) to cover about 2500 sq ft. 2500 sq ft on one AP is pretty impressive, for the price though you could buy several UniFi APs. I checked out the datasheet[0] for the AP 210 series and was delighted to see some radiation plots at different frequencies. [0] https://www.arubanetworks.com/assets/ds/DS_AP210Series.pdf https://www.arubanetworks.com/assets/ds/DS_AP210Series.pdf
2bluesc 8y ago
Interesting overview on Aruba AP-325 for those also interested: https://youtu.be/cMkH_cTw0D4 https://youtu.be/cMkH_cTw0D4