[Official] Aruba IAP-207 AC access point review and setup

IAP is local, the first AP you configure is the controller.

Aruba InstantOn, their newer line, is cloud based.

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I want to wall mount but the included mounts are for mounting on drop ceiling. Any good DIY tips?

I havenā€™t received mine yet, but looking at pictures of the bracket, it doesnā€™t look like it can be modified much. Maybe dremel off the ceiling mount tabs?

From the AP spec sheet there are a few wall mount brackets available separately.
Part# JW047A - White surface mount bracket
Part# JW046A - Black surface mount bracket
There are some low profile and box mount options as well.

The surface mount brackets are about $10 on ebay.

The black version from RhinoTech, the seller of the APs. Open to offers.

Iā€™m going to try this first! (Some 2 part epoxy and L brackets)

Might need some washers or other material so it will sit level. But I think this works well for < $1 in parts.

One down. One to go. Attics are VERY warm.

@ Flyinace2000 Were you not able to come in behind the wall to hide the cable?

I already had a hole 12 inches away in the ceiling for some speaker wire, so just reused that hole. Mount #2 will be in the ceiling so it will look very clean.

@Flyinace2000 cool, thanks for the reply. Have you gotten to play with it much? I was getting ready to buy some ubiquity AC Pro for my home netwok. However, I had purchase an Aruba S2500 switch when that deal was posted on the site. Since I have not invested in ubiquity, I am wondering if I should go with these insteadā€¦

Not yet. Just getting them mounted tonight. Iā€™ll work on config once the kids are asleep. Step one is to just replicate existing flat wifi network. Then when I get time Iā€™m going to make some VLANs. Time to learn OPNSense, my Cisco 10port, and enterprise wifi setups :smiley:

Got one up and running with a basic setup. Some reason Iā€™m only getting 25mbps from Fast.com when Iā€™m standing in the same room. Switch sees the port running at 1gbps and wired test on desktop gives me 760up and 800 down. Gonna plug directly into that network drop to test it.

@Flyinace2000, thanks for the update. Keep them comingā€¦

So network drop #2 didnā€™t have the same speed issues. I can get 200-230mbps on a 2018 iPad Pro and 2020 iPhone SE. Tested both drops with a usb-c to ethernet adapter on my iPad, #2 was steady at 800+mbps. Drop #1 was all over the place 400-800. Iā€™m gonna re-terminate that cable and try again.

@Flyinace2000, Were you able to do some more tests today?

Yup! New termination on the kitchen network drop fixed the fluctuating speed issues. Also I disabled my existing network to free up some airspace.

Got them set up on either side of my house. One on the kitchen wall facing the back yard. The other on the ceiling by the front door. Both have cat5e runs to a Cisco SG300-10MP POE Gigabit switch in L3 mode. Both runs are less than 50 feet of cable.

Previous AP was in the living room under the TV (ASUS-AC68U/AC1900).

House is 1600 sqft. Single level with an unfinished basement. Rooms starting from the driveway going clockwise.

  1. Bedroom
  2. entry way (AP2)
  3. Living room
  4. Dingin room
  5. Kitchen (AP1)
  6. Bathroom
  7. Bedroom
  8. Office/Bedroom (blue map icon)

Previous speeds in the living room were 450+mpbs and the father corners would be in the 150ā€™ish range.

Now speed is consistently in the 175-220 speeds in most room. I think the biggest benefit will be the front and back yards. The other big benefit will be VLAN support.

So overall slower than my previous router (turned AP), but realistically should be more reliable and better coverage. I donā€™t really need 500mbps via wifi, all my streaming devices and home entertainment are hardwired. Most things that are streaming wifi are google homes and a few IoT devices.

Iā€™ll live with it for a few weeks to see how they do.

great idea for the mounting brackets! How long did you let the epoxy set?

Overnight. 10 hours.

@Flyinace2000 Thank you for the update. I actually have the same Asus AC68U. Although mine is running Sabai OS. I pretty much was able to hit everywhere in my home with that router. I set it in the middle of the living room on the first floor. We have 2 floors and a finish basement. around 4800 sq ft. including the basement. It hit everywhere pretty much but was spotty in the basement. Itā€™s a pretty good piece of equipment but it lacks the features such as Vlans like the Apā€™s you just installedā€¦ Thanks againā€¦

My Asus was free from T-Mobile and i ā€œunlockedā€ it to run the custom Merlin firmware. Very good for the price in my case. I saw some other Aruba equipment on EBay for about $55 to $60 that was 3x3. AP-215. Perhaps that would of been a better buy given the similar price point. Perhaps someone else that has more Aruba experience can chime in.

@Flyinace2000 From my understanding, the difference between Arubaā€™s IAP and AP is that IAP does not need a controller. For example, one of your IAP-207 is now acting as the controller. The APā€™s do need a controller. So therefore if you bought the AP-215, you would need to purchase a controller as wellā€¦