How we unpacked and installed Wi-Fi Aruba Networks

It is always important to personally know what you are selling. And it is extremely important to know not in theory, obtained from courses / trainings / from books / Internet, but to know in practice. Guided by this principle, we decided to put a new Wi-Fi in our office. The task of building a wi-fi network for domestic needs is practically confronting any firm, and our company is no exception. Previously, this type of access was not given due attention, but with the growth of the company and the increase in staff, a reliable stable network was required, with the possibility of expansion.

Considering the major players in this market, we stopped at Aruba Networks, for the following reasons:

1. When comparing similar solutions from large players in this market, Aruba has relatively lower prices. At once we want to note that it is important to correctly compare prices: in the GPL or already the prices for a specific customer. We, as partners, liked the price. Contact us if you also want to get interesting prices;)
2. Easy to deploy and maintain. Installation, configuration and setup of the equipment do not take much time. Simplicity for technical specialists directly depends on the ability to read technical literature, as well as on its availability, of course. By Aruba, all documentation is fully compiled right here .
3. Ensuring a high level of security.

Earlier on Habré there were already reviews of this manufacturer, today we will deal with the practical part and look at the equipment close.

We specifically took 3 types of access points of various series in order to test each of them and to understand in detail the differences between them. Namely, we took Aruba AP-93, AP-105 and AP-135. For them, the 3000 Series controller, namely the 3200XM, came to us with a margin. This controller supports up to 32 points connected through the network and up to 128 remote ones. Detailed equipment specifications are presented below.
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This equipment is visible for the first time and therefore, I will provide my own photos (not downloaded from the vendor’s site) and first impressions.

All boxes have a company logo - it inspires confidence. The access points themselves are small in size and fit approximately in a box the size of a small cake.

It was not possible to photograph all the boxes from different angles - my fast-moving colleagues proceeded to unpacking almost without warning and did not allow them to fully enjoy unboxing. The following photo of one box is not enough:



General view of access points:



Consider the AP closer:



Each access point has 4 indicators: power, LAN, 802.11 mode indicators.

Here I think I will be the captain, but the indicators of the 802.11 standard modes reflect precisely the reception status. It may be:

• 802.11 a / n frequency range 5 GHz;
• 802.11 b / g / n 2.4 GHz frequency band.

Each point has the possibility of a wired connection to the network at speeds of 10/100/1000 Mb / c.

The AP-135 access point, unlike the AP-93 and AP-105 models, has an additional Ethernet port, which is disabled by default and covered with a sticker. An additional port can be used when increasing traffic through an access point (AP-135 aggregates up to 450 Mbit / s over the air) and provide fault tolerance.



On the back there are also:
DC Power Jack
If PoE power is not available, you can use the AC-DC adapter for the Aruba access point (not included) to power the AP-130 series.
Reset button
The reset button can be used to restore the default access point for the access point. The button is located in a small hole next to the bottom right screw.
Kensington Lock Socket
The AP-130 Series is equipped with a Kensington lock slot for added security.

Here is an example of a working point indication:



You can find out what these lights tell us from the following hint:



When choosing access points, it is necessary to build on the following indicators:

• supported number of ranges;
• the number of radio modules;
• location (inside or outside);
• the ability to connect external antennas.

While fiddling with points, the controller was unpacked and placed in a rack. As you can see on the front panel there are 4 ports that can be used to connect RJ-45 10/100 / 1000BASE-T or SFP 1000BASE-X.



The controller is small in length, with only power output on the rear panel. In this model, only one power supply unit is supposed to be used, but the line of the older 6000 and 7200 series has a power redundancy feature.

The main difference between the line of controllers is the maximum number of supported access points and users.

For example:

Aruba 7200 Series Mobility Controller Max. Aps 2,048 Max. Users 32,768

Aruba 6000 Mobility Controller Max. Aps 512 per M3 module Max. Users 8,192 per M3 module

Aruba 3000 Series Mobility Controllers Max. Aps 512 Max. Users 2,048

Each controller has the following default functionality:

• location determination;
• full ITU;
• spectral analysis;
• packet traffic analyzer;
• wireless intrusion detection and prevention system;
• Automatic channel / frequency control system to maximize bandwidth and coverage.

Now we use only the basic features of the controller, but Aruba has the following additional software:

• ClearPass Access Management System - greatly simplifies the procedure of administering access to the network and its personal mobile device resources within the framework of the BYOD concept.
• AirWave Wireless Management Suite - tools for centralized management and monitoring of wireless networks.

We plan to deploy these applications on the basis of our infrastructure. After that, it will be possible to fully carry out demo testing in the IT-GRAD office on the basis of the Competence Center .