1. We're indeed going back to glossy. Several reasons for that, including how easily the textured surface of the AP-5xx models gets stained
2. Despite the numbering, AP-635 is not a replacement for or 6E equivalent model of the AP-535. First of all, 6E is not a typical "next Wi-Fi generation", but is adding a complete new spectrum layer (6GHz), which introduces new highs in terms of (realistically achievable) peak datarates (160MHz may finally be actually usable), adds a complete additional radio, and more than doubles the total capacity of the platform. The AP-635 has 2x2 MIMO radios, and while MU-MIMO may theoretically be possible with 1SS client devices, the value is very limited if there at all. Most 11ax (5GHz and 6GHz) client devices in the market now are 2SS. To really take advantage of MU-MIMO, you'll need 4x4 at least.
Without the 6GHz radio (and ignoring the dual Ethernet and Smart Rate capabilities), the AP-635 is actually more comparable with the AP-505 (2x2 radios, 8 RUs), but with a far more powerful architecture (CPU, memory, etc.) to deal with the incremental performance of the 6GHz radio.
AP-635 is not replacing anything, but adding an additional AP option for customers that want to take advantage of the improved performance and incremental capacity available in the 6GHz band. It is positioned as a mid-range 6E platform, but is built to support performance levels that compare well with a high-end AP-5xx device.
Hope that helps a bit.
/Onno
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Onno Harms
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Original Message:
Sent: May 29, 2021 03:39 AM
From: Christian Kraus
Subject: AP-635 inferior to AP-535/AP-515?
Hello,
so AP-635 has arrived lately: https://www.arubanetworks.com/products/wireless/access-points/indoor-access-points/630-series/
I must admit that I don´t like what I see:
1, Why did Aruba choose a glossy surface? This might blend and therefor bother everyone sitting around in certain lightning environments.
2. Shouldn´t be a "AP-635" the successor of a "AP-535"? Let´s compare AP-635 with AP-535 and AP-515: https://www.arubanetworks.com/products/wireless/access-points/compare/#132904,150581,298786
- AP-635 supports 2x2:2 for each band, only. As Aruba wants it to run in a kind of limited mode with 802.3af, this might be ok. But shouldn´t therefore be a kind of smaller ~AP-615?
- AP-635 support SU-MIMO, only? No DL-MU-MIMO, no UL-MU-MIMO? Even 802.11ac (Wave 2) supports DL-MU-MIMO. So, is this a typo?
- Regarding "Max number of Resource Units (OFDMA)": AP-635 supports (up to) 8 RUs, AP-535 supports (up to) 37 RUs, AP-515 supports (up to) 16 RUs.
What is one of the biggest features of 802.11ax one is us telling about for years? => Yes, it´s OFDMA. Now with AP-635 being a 3rd generation 802.11ax access point, it supports less RUs than the 2nd generation (AP-535/AP-555) and even less than the first generation* (AP-515)?
(* I myself call AP-515 a first generation/Wave 1 802.11ax access points as its chipset is not capable of UL-MU-MIMO.)
If I remember correctly, AP-515 uses a Broadcom (BCM43694?) chipset, AP-535/AP-555 uses a Qualcomm (Networking Pro 1200) chipset for wireless. As Qualcomm´s current Wi-Fi 6E chipsets (Networking Pro 610, Networking Pro 810, Networking Pro 1210, Networking Pro 1610) support up to 37 RUs, may I ask which chipset vendor and which chipset is being used for the AP-635 access point? (Hopefully not Mediatek MT79xx which supports 2x2:2 for 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz and 6 GHz radio, aswell)