Extreme Wireless WiFi 6 AP 305 C/CX For Small Enterprises
Last updated on November 2nd, 2020
Extreme Wireless WiFi 6 Access Points AP 305 C/CX suitable for small and medium businesses and other moderate usage sites that do not want to bear a high cost in acquiring the latest WiFi 6 standard is discussed in this article.
Extreme Networks Company
Extreme Networks (NASDAQ: EXTR) is a San Jose, California, USA headquartered company and a leading manufacturer of Enterprise networking devices and solutions. Gartner had placed Extreme Networks as “Leader” in the Magic quadrant for wired and wireless infrastructure in 2019.
The Company was founded in 1996 in California and made a series of acquisitions to strengthen its portfolio of products. Notable acquisitions include Zebra Technologies in 2016 and Aerohive Networks in 2019.
Extreme Networks has a range of WLAN solutions for different business segments and performance requirements. From entry-level products for small enterprises and cafes to ultra high performing devices targeted at corporate environments, Extreme has a wide variety of offers involving different WiFi standards.
In this post we will look at the entry level WiFi 6 WLAN solution from the company targeting small and medium enterprises that do not want to compromise on performance while looking for value products.
ExtremeWireless™ AP 305 C/CX
AP 305 C/CX Extreme wireless WiFi 6 access points have been tagged by Extreme Networks as “ideal for budget-conscious Enterprises who do not want to sacrifice performance”. The company is targeting these access points towards small and midsize enterprises that do not want to compromise on performance and features but also not willing to spend high.
Extreme wireless WiFi 6 305 C/CX Highlights
- High Efficiency WiFi 6 Standard (802.11ax)
- WPA3 authentication
- Inbuilt L2-L7 DPI Firewall
- Dual 5 Ghz capability
- BLE 5.0 support for IoT
Highlight Features Description
Extreme wireless WiFi 6 capabilities
WiFi 6 or 802.11ax is a “High Efficiency” standard as its core purpose is to improve the efficiency of WiFi communications and making it more stable and dependable under increasing user base and applications globally. We had earlier posted an in-depth article on the notable features of WiFi 6 access points that can transform WLANs. Extreme Networks 305 C/CX access points feature 802.11ax (WiFi 6) standard with support for client stations using previous legacy standards as well.
OFDMA (WiFi 6)
This Extreme Wireless WiFi 6 AP features Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), a technology that has been borrowed from the cell phone industry. OFDMA vastly improves upon the existing OFDM technology of WiFi access points. It allows multiple clients to have simultaneous access to a single WiFi channel. This feature will greatly help to relieve congestion in crowded offices as 802.11 ax stations need not compete with each other to get access to the whole channel and instead share the channel.
OFDMA makes the entire WLAN efficient as clients with smaller loads that usually form the bulk of communications need not occupy the full channel. They can instead co-transmit along with larger loads from other clients. Though this feature can only be fully utilized through 802.11ax clients, legacy clients will also experience the upside as the air will clear quickly due to efficient communications happening in 802.11ax.
MU-MIMO
Downlink MU-MIMO (2 streams per radio, total 4 streams) helps the AP to communicate with multiple clients simultaneously. This helps the client stations to get faster access to the AP and thereby increase the number of stations that can be served under an AP. This feature improves airtime efficiency and increases speeds for all the clients.
1024 QAM (WiFi 6)
This Extreme wireless WiFi 6 access point can support 1024 QAM, which means data transmissions at higher speeds than earlier standards are possible. But of course, achieving such higher speeds will need radio noise free environments and closer ranges between access points and stations. This requirement makes it practically impossible to achieve the rated speeds in dense enterprise environments requiring constant WiFi interference management.
Extreme Wireless WiFi 6 AP with Dual 5 GHz
It is possible to set the access point to have dual 5 Ghz radios, instead of dual bands of 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. This helps to meet certain specific office requirements where there is need to support only a high density of 5 GHz clients and 2.4 GHz radio can be safely turned off.
Extreme wireless WiFi 6 AP with L2-L7 Firewall
The access point features the latest authentication technology of WPA3 that uses 192 bit encryption and Simultaneous Authentication of Equals (SAE) technology for enhanced security. The AP also has an inbuilt DPI firewall to handle layer 2 to layer 7 security at the edge.
IoT Capabilities
The AP has an on board radio to support BLE 5.0. This eliminates the need to deploy separate infrastructure for IoT services. It can be useful for certain retail environments trying to engage customers through bluetooth based notifications etc.
>Related Post< Top WiFi 6 Access Points For Enterprise WLAN – Comparison Table
Extreme AP 305 C/CX WiFi 6 Access Points Features Summary
| Property | Description |
|---|---|
| Resource Utilization | OFDMA, MU-MIMO (Downlink) |
| User Experience | Wi-Fi Agile Multiband™, WMM®, Transmit Beamforming |
| Green Features | WMM®-Power Save, Light/Power sensor |
| Security Features | WPA3, WPA2, Trusted Platform Module Chip,L2-L7 DPI firewall |
| Interference Handling | Cellular Coexistence Filter (CCF) |
| Data speed features | 1024 QAM; Speed Rating: 5 GHz: Upto 1.2 Gbps, 2.4 GHz: Upto 574 Mbps |
| Max Client Capacity | 1024 |
| Wireless Standards | Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6™, Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ a/b/g/n/ac |
| IoT Support | BLE 5.0 |
| Radio Features | Concurrent Dual Band (2.4 GHz/5 Ghz), Dual 5 GHz |
| Operating System | IQ Engine( previously Hive OS) |
| Operational Modes | ExtremeCloud™ IQ managed |
| Radio Hardware | 2.4 GHz Radio: (2x2:2) 5 GHz Radio: (2x2:2) BLE 5 |
| Antenna | Internal(AP-305C): 3 No's of dual band & 1 No. of 5 Ghz antenna External(AP-305CX): 4 male RP-SMA connectors provisioned |
| Ethernet Ports | 1x1Gbps Ethernet Ports, |
| Other Ports | 1 USB 2.0 port Type A, Micro USB console port |
| Power-up Options | PoE 802.3af/at |
| Max Power Consumption | 11.28 W (w/o USB), 15.78W with USB 5V/0.9A load |
| Safety Compliance | UL2043 Plenum rated, USA/IEC/EN/AS/NZS 62368/60950-1, IEC/EN 60601-1-2 |
| Manufacturer Quote | "Priced for the mass-market, this enterprise-grade access point is ideal for budget-conscious enterprises who do not want to sacrifice performance" |
Summary
ExtremeWireless™ AP 305 C/CX access points have many standards based and proprietary features that will appeal to the discerning small and medium enterprise that wants performance at value. WiFi 6 standard, Dual 5 GHz radio option, IoT support, WPA3 authentication and inbuilt firewall features makes this AP an ideal option for smaller organizations that want to buy the latest WiFi standard in 2020 without compromising on budgets.
Note: All product/company/standards names are trademarks™ or registered® trademarks of their respective holders. Use of them does not imply any affiliation with or endorsement by them.The product features mentioned in this article are not exhaustive. For the full list of features and capabilities, kindly contact the manufacturer or its local representative in your region.
