Gigabit WiFi: Aerohive Ships 802.11ac APs

Aerohive Rolls Out 2 New 802.11ac Gigabit WiFi Access Points

By Leila Meyer

Aerohive Networks has rolled out two new 802.11ac gigabit wireless access points (APs).

The Aerohive AP370 and AP390 802.11ac access points use Aerohive's Cooperative Control distributed architecture, which is designed to provide "enterprise-class WiFi without requiring a controller or overlay network," according to the company. A common concern about upgrading a network to 802.11ac is that it could require a time-consuming and expensive network overhaul, including upgrading to Power over Ethernet+ (PoE+), but Aerohive claimed that its Cooperative Control distributed architecture eases the pain of upgrading by enabling organizations to implement 802.11ac incrementally on an as-needed basis.

The AP370 and AP390 run Aerohive's HiveOS operating system, which enables the new APs to coexist on the same network as legacy APs, according to the company. The devices are also managed with HiveManager, the company's platform for cloud-based or on-premise management. HiveManager lets administrators define and manage configuration, security, and access policies and then push them to any Aerohive device.

Key features of the AP370 and AP390 access points include:

  • Support for high-availability configurations;
  • Dual Ethernet ports for simultaneous connection to two different switches for uninterrupted services during upgrades or in case of a switch failure;
  • Internal antennas (AP370) or external antennas (AP390);
  • Dual 802.11ac/n radios; and
  • High-performance 3x3 spatial stream MIMO.

802.11ac is the latest and greatest WiFi technology, offering data rates exceeding one gigabit per second. The WiFi Alliance just announced certification for 802.11ac products in June. According to Aerohive, 802.11ac offers numerous improvements over the current 802.11n standard, including greater capacity, improved radio frequency management, and overall improved performance.

Both the Aerohive AP370 and AP390 are available now. They start at $1,199.

About the Author

Leila Meyer is a technology writer based in British Columbia. She can be reached at [email protected].

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