HPE Aruba AP-515 Access Points

Aruba Wi-Fi 6 access points provide high-performance connectivity for any organization experiencing growing numbers of IoT and mobility requirements. With a combined peak datarate of up to 2.69Gbps, they deliver the speed and reliability needed for any enterprise environment.

INCREDIBLE EFFICIENCY

The 510 Series APs are also designed to optimize user experience by maximizing Wi-Fi efficiency and dramatically reducing airtime contention between clients.

Features include Orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA), multi-user MIMO and cellular optimization. With up to 4 spatial streams (4SS) and 160MHz channel bandwidth (VHT160), the 510 Series provides groundbreaking wireless capabilities for any enterprise

Read the Multi-User 802.11ax white paper for further information

Advantages of OFDMA

This capability allows Aruba’s APs to handle multiple Wi-Fi 6 capable clients on each channel simultaneously, regardless of device or traffic type. Channel utilization is optimized by handling each transaction via smaller sub-carriers or resource units (RUs), which means that clients are sharing a channel and not competing for airtime and bandwidth.

Multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO)

The 510 Series APs support downlink MU-MIMO (5GHz radio) to maximize the use of its MIMO radio capabilities by simultaneously exchanging data with multiple single or dual stream client devices.

KEY FEATURES

• Up to 2.69Gbps combined peak datarate
• WPA3 and Enhanced Open security
• Built-in technology that resolves sticky client issues for Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 5 devices
• OFDMA and MU-MIMO for enhanced multi-user efficiency
• IoT-ready Bluetooth 5 and Zigbee support
• Embedded ranging technology for accurate indoor location measurements 

WI-FI OPTIMIZATION

Client optimization

Aruba’s patented AI-powered ClientMatch technology eliminates sticky client issues by steering a client to the AP where it receives the best radio signal. Client Match steers traffic from the noisy 2.4 GHz band to the preferred 5 GHz or 6 GHz band depending on client capabilities. ClientMatch also dynamically steers traffic to load balance APs to improve the user experience.

Automated Wi-Fi radio frequency management

To optimize the user experience and provide greater stability, Aruba AirMatch allows organization to automate network optimization using machine learning. AirMatch provides dynamic bandwidth adjustments to support changing device density, enhanced roaming using an even distribution of Effective Isotropic Radiated Power (EIRP) to radios, and real-time channel assignments to mitigate co-channel interference

Application Assurance

With Air Slice, organizations can provide application assurance to their users that goes beyond the traditional capabilities of airtime fairness. After the SLAs are configured, Air Slice monitors network usage, automatically allocates radio resources, and dynamically adjusts radio resources as new users connect. and applications sessions begin or end.

Aruba Advanced Cellular Coexistence (ACC)

This feature uses built-in filtering to automatically minimize the impact of interference from cellular networks, distributed antenna systems (DAS), and commercial small cell or femtocell equipment.

Intelligent Power Monitoring (IPM)

Aruba APs continuously monitor and report hardware energy consumption. They can also be configured to enable or disable capabilities based on available PoE power – ideal when wired switches have exhausted their power budget.

IOT READY

The 510 Series includes an integrated Bluetooth 5 and 802.15.4 radio (for Zigbee support) to simplify deploying and managing IoT-based location services, asset tracking services, security solutions and IoT sensors. This allows organizations to leverage the 510 Series as an IoT platform, which eliminates the need for an overlay infrastructure and additional IT resources.

Target Wake Time (TWT)

Ideal for IoTs that communicate infrequently, TWT establishes a schedule for when clients need to communicate with an AP. This helps improve client power savings and reduces airtime contention with other clients.

FOUNDATION FOR ACCURATE INDOOR LOCATION

Aruba APs act as a foundation for accurate indoor location so that location-aware services can be deployed at scale. Using embedded GPS receivers, Aruba Wi-Fi 6E APs are able to self-locate and work with Wi-Fi 6 APs to establish reference points that can be used to accurately determine indoor client location.

Because they use universal latitude and longitude coordinates, there is no need for custom map development or to create separate applications for indoor and outdoor environments.

ARUBA SECURE INFRASTRUCTURE

The Aruba 510 Series includes components of Aruba’s Zero Trust and SASE framework to help protect user authentication and wireless traffic. Select capabilities include:

WPA3 and Enhanced Open

Support for stronger encryption and authentication is provided via the latest version of WPA for enterprise protected networks

Enhanced Open offers seamless new protection for users connecting to open networks where each session is automatically encrypted to protect user passwords and data on guest networks.

WPA2-MPSK

MPSK enables simpler passkey management for WPA2 devices – should the Wi-Fi password on one device or device type change, no additional changes are needed for other devices. Requires ClearPass Policy Manager

VPN Tunnels

In Remote AP (RAP) and IAP-VPN deployments, the Aruba 510 Series can be used to establish a secure SSL/IPSec VPN tunnel to a Mobility Controller that is acting as a VPN concentrator.

Trusted Platform Module (TPM)

For enhanced device assurance, all Aruba APs have an installed TPM for secure storage of credentials and keys, and boot code.

SIMPLE AND SECURE ACCESS

To simplify policy enforcement, the Aruba 510 Series uses Aruba’s policy enforcement firewall (PEF) feature to encapsulate all traffic from the AP to the Mobility Controller (or Gateway) for end-to-end encryption and inspection. Policies are applied based on user role, device type, applications, and location. This reduces the manual configuration of SSIDs, VLANs and ACLs. PEF also serves as the underlying technology for Aruba Dynamic Segmentation.

FLEXIBLE OPERATION AND MANAGEMENT

Our unified APs can operate as standalone access points or with a gateway for greater scalability, security, and manageability. APs can be deployed using zero touch provisioning – without on-site technical expertise – for ease of implementation in branch offices and for remote work.

Aruba APs can be managed using cloud-based or onpremises solutions for any campus, branch, or remote work environment. As the management and orchestration console for Aruba ESP (Edge Services Platform), Aruba Central provides a single pane of glass for overseeing every aspect of wired and wireless LANs, WANs, and VPNs. AI-powered analytics, end-to-end orchestration and automation, and advanced security features are built natively into the solution.

ADDITIONAL WI-FI FEATURES

• Each AP also includes the following standards-based technologies:
• Transmit beamforming (TxBF)
• Increased signal reliability and range
• Passpoint Wi-Fi (Release 2) (Hotspot 2.0)
• Seamless cellular-to-Wi-Fi carryover for guests
• Dynamic Frequency Selection (DFS)
• Optimized use of available RF spectrum
• Maximum Ratio Combining (MRC)
• Improved receiver performance
• Cyclic Delay/Shift Diversity (CDD/CSD)
• Greater downlink RF performance
• Space-Time Block Coding
• Increased range and improved reception 
• Low-Density Parity Check (LDPC)
• High-efficiency error correction for increased throughput

SPECIFICATIONS

Hardware variants

• AP-514: External antenna models
• AP-515: Internal antenna models

Wi-Fi radio specifications

• AP type: Indoor, dual radio, 5GHz 802.11ax 4x4 MIMO and 2.4GHz 802.11ax 2x2 MIMO
• 5GHz radio:
•  Four spatial stream Single User (SU) MIMO for up to 4.8Gbps wireless data rate to individual 4SS HE160 802.11ax client devices (max)
•  Two spatial stream Single User (SU) MIMO for up to 1.2Gbps wireless data rate to individual 2SS HE80 802.11ax client devices (typical)
•  Four spatial stream Multi User (MU) MIMO for up to 4.8Gbps wireless data rate to up to four 1SS or two 2SS HE160 802.11ax DL-MU-MIMO capable client devices simultaneously (max)
•  Four spatial stream Multi User (MU) MIMO for up to 2.4Gbps wireless data rate to up to four 1SS or two 2SS HE80 802.11ax DL-MU-MIMO capable client devices simultaneously (typical)
• 2.4GHz radio:
•  Two spatial stream Single User (SU) MIMO for up to 574Mbps wireless data rate to 2SS HE40 802.11ax client devices (max)
•  Two spatial stream Single User (SU) MIMO for up to 287Mbps wireless data rate to 2SS HE20 802.11ax client devices (typical)
• Support for up to 512 associated client devices per radio, and up to 16 BSSIDs per radio
• Supported frequency bands (country-specific restrictions apply):
•  2.400 to 2.4835GHz ISM
• 5.150 to 5.250GHz U-NII-1
•  5.250 to 5.350GHz U-NII-2A
•  5.470 to 5.725GHz U-NII-2C
•  5.725 to 5.850GHz U-NII-3
• Available channels: Dependent on configured regulatory domain
• Dynamic frequency selection (DFS) optimizes the use of available RF spectrum 
• Supported radio technologies:
•  802.11b: Direct-sequence spread-spectrum (DSSS)
•  802.11a/g/n/ac: Orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM)
•  802.11ax: Orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA) with up to 16 resource units (for an 80MHz channel)
• Supported modulation types:
•  802.11b: BPSK, QPSK, CCK
•  802.11a/g/n: BPSK, QPSK, 16-QAM, 64-QAM, 256-QAM (proprietary extension)
•  802.11ac: BPSK, QPSK, 16-QAM, 64-QAM, 256-QAM, 1024-QAM (proprietary extension)
•  802.11ax: BPSK, QPSK, 16-QAM, 64-QAM, 256-QAM, 1024-QAM802.11n high-throughput (HT) support: HT20/40
• 802.11ac very high throughput (VHT) support: VHT20/40/80/160
• 802.11ax high efficiency (HE) support: HE20/40/80/160
• Supported data rates (Mbps) :
•  802.11b: 1, 2, 5.5, 11
•  802.11a/g: 6, 9, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, 54
•  802.11n (2.4GHz): 6.5 to 300 (MCS0 to MCS15, HT20 to HT40)
•  802.11n (5GHz): 6.5 to 600 (MCS0 to MVC31, HT20 to HT40)
•  802.11ac: 6.5 to 3,467 (MCS0 to MCS9, NSS = 1 to 4, VHT20 to VHT160)
•  802.11ax (2.4GHz): 3.6 to 574 (MCS0 to MCS11, NSS = 1 to 2, HE20 to HE40)
•  802.11ax (5GHz): 3.6 to 4,803 (MCS0 to MCS11, NSS = 1 to 4, HE20 to HE160)
• 802.11n/ac/ax packet aggregation: A-MPDU, A-MSDU
• Transmit power: Configurable in increments of 0.5 dBm
• Maximum (aggregate, conducted total) transmit power (limited by local regulatory requirements):
• 2.4 GHz band: +21 dBm (18dBm per chain)
•  5 GHz band: +24 dBm (18 dBm per chain)
•  Note: conducted transmit power levels exclude antenna gain. For total (EIRP) transmit power, add antenna gain.
• Advanced Cellular Coexistence (ACC) minimizes the impact of interference from cellular networks
• Maximum ratio combining (MRC) for improved receiver performance
• Cyclic delay/shift diversity (CDD/CSD) for improved downlink RF performance
• Space-time block coding (STBC) for increased range and improved reception
• Low-density parity check (LDPC) for high-efficiency error correction and increased throughput
• Transmit beam-forming (TxBF) for increased signal reliability and range
• 802.11ax Target Wait Time (TWT) to support low-power client devices

Wi-Fi antennas

• AP-514: Four (female) RP-SMA connectors for external dual band antennas (A0 through A3, corresponding with radio chains 0 through 3). Worst-case internal loss between radio interface and external antenna connectors (due to diplexing circuitry): 1.3dB in 2.4GHz and 1.7dB in 5GHz.
• AP-515: Four integrated dual-band downtilt omni-directional antennas for 4x4 MIMO with peak antenna gain of 4.2dBi in 2.4GHz and 7.5dBi in 5GHz. Built-in antennas are optimized for horizontal ceiling mounted orientation of the AP. The downtilt angle for maximum gain is roughly 30 degrees.
•  Combining the patterns of each of the antennas of the MIMO radios, the peak gain of the effective per-antenna pattern is 3.8dBi in 2.4GHz and 4.6dBi in 5GHz

Additional interfaces

• E0: HPE SmartRate port (RJ-45, maximum negotiated speed 2.5Gbps)
•  Auto-sensing link speed (100/1000/2500BASE-T) and MDI/MDX
•  2.5Gbps speed complies with NBase-T and 802.3bz specifications
•  PoE-PD: 48Vdc (nominal) 802.3af/at/bt (class 3 or higher)
•  802.3az Energy Efficient Ethernet (EEE)
• E1: 10/100/1000BASE-T Ethernet network interface (RJ-45)
•  Auto-sensing link speed and MDI/MDX
•  802.3az Energy Efficient Ethernet (EEE)
• Link aggregation (LACP) support between both network ports for redundancy and increased capacity
• DC power interface: 12Vdc (nominal, +/- 5%), accepts 2.1mm/5.5mm center-positive circular plug with 9.5mm length
• USB 2.0 host interface (Type A connector)
•  Capable of sourcing up to 1A / 5W to an attached device
• Bluetooth 5 and Zigbee (802.15.4) radio (2.4GHz)
•  Bluetooth 5: up to 8dBm transmit power (class 1) and -95dBm receive sensitivity
•  Zigbee: up to 8dBm transmit power and -97dBm receive sensitivity
•  Integrated vertically polarized omnidirectional antenna with roughly 30 degrees downtilt and peak gain of 3.5dBi (AP-515) or 4.9dBi (AP-514)
• Visual indictors (two multi-color LEDs): for System and Radio status
• Reset button: factory reset, LED mode control (normal/off)
• Serial console interface (proprietary, micro-B USB physical jack)
• Kensington security slot Power sources and power consumption
• The AP supports direct DC power and Power over Ethernet (PoE; on port E0)
• When both power sources are available, DC power takes priority over PoE
• Power sources are sold separately; see the ordering Information section below for details
• When powered by DC or 802.3at (class 4) / 802.3bt (class 5) PoE, the AP will operate without restrictions.
• When powered by 802.3af (class 3) PoE and with the IPM feature enabled, the AP will start up in unrestricted mode, but it may apply restrictions depending on the PoE budget and actual power. What IPM restrictions to apply, and in what order, is programmable.
• Operating the AP with an 802.3af (class 3 or lower) PoE source and IPM disabled is not supported.
• Maximum (worst-case) power consumption:
•  DC powered: 16.0W
•  PoE powered (802.3af, IPM enabled): 13.5W
•  PoE powered (802.3at/bt): 20.8W
•  All numbers above are without an external USB device connected. When sourcing the full 5W power budget to such a device, the incremental (worst-case) power consumption for the AP is up to 5.7W (PoE powered) or 5.5W (DC powered).
• Maximum (worst-case) power consumption in idle mode: 12.6W (PoE) or 9.7W (DC)
• Maximum (worst-case) power consumption in deep-sleep mode: 5.9W (PoE) or 1.5W (DC)

Mounting details

A mounting bracket has been pre-installed on the back of the AP. This bracket is used to secure the AP to any of the (sold separately) mount kits; see the ordering Information section below for details.

Mechanical specifications

• Dimensions/weight (AP-515; unit, excluding mount bracket):
•  200mm (W) x 200mm (D) x 46mm (H)/ 7.9” (W) x 7.9” (D) x 1.8” (H)
•  810g/28.5oz
• Dimensions/weight (AP-515; shipping):
•  230mm (W) x 220mm (D) x 72mm (H)/ 9.1” (W) x 8.7” (D) x 2.8” (H)
•  1010g/35.5oz

Environmental specifications

• Operating conditions
•  Temperature: 0C to +50C/+32F to +122F
•  Humidity: 5% to 93% non-condensing
•  AP is plenum rated for use in air-handling spaces
•  ETS 300 019 class 3.2 environments
• Storage and transportation conditions
•  Temperature: -40C to +70C/-40F to +158F
•  Humidity: 5% to 93% non-condensing
•  ETS 300 019 classes 1.2 and 2.3 environments

Reliability

Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF): 560,000hrs (64yrs) at +25C operating temperature.

Regulatory compliance

• FCC/ISED
• CE Marked
• RED Directive 2014/53/EU
• EMC Directive 2014/30/EU
• Low Voltage Directive 2014/35/EU
• UL/IEC/EN 60950
• EN 60601-1-1, EN60601-1-2
• Railway Certs (AP-515 Only):
• EN 50155:2017 – Railway Applications
•  EN 50121-1:2017 – Railway EMC
• EN 50121-3-2 – Railway EMC
•  EN 50121-4:2016 – Railway Immunity
• IEC 61373 ed2:2008 – Railway Shock and Vibration For more country-specific regulatory information and approvals, please see your Aruba representative.
• Regulatory model numbers
• AP-514: APIN0514
• AP-515: APIN0515

Certifications

• UL2043 plenum rating
• Wi-Fi Alliance:
• Wi-Fi CERTIFIED a, b, g, n, ac, ax
•  WPA, WPA2 and WPA3
•  Enterprise with CNSA option, Personal(SAE), Enhanced Open ( OWE)
•  WMM, WMM-PS, Wi-Fi Vantage, W-Fi Agile Multiband
•  Passpoint (release 2)
• Bluetooth SIG

WARRANTY

Aruba’s hardware limited lifetime warranty.

MINIMUM OPERATING SYSTEM SOFTWARE VERSIONS

ArubaOS and Aruba InstantOS 8.4.0.0 (with some restrictions). For unrestricted operation, use 8.6.0.0 or later.