Aerohive Networks, a Cloud†Networking leader, announced that the Aerohive Atom AP30, the industry’s first pluggable, enterprise-class Wi-Fi access point, is now available for purchase. Aerohive Atom AP30 is designed to augment or replace ceiling-mounted access points and to radically simplify providing connectivity in both easy and hard-to-reach locations.
“We have seen significant demand in the Wi-Fi Infrastructure market for devices that reduce the need for wiring; two such examples are Consumer Repeaters and the Wi-Fi mesh devices, each which have experienced significant growth since their introduction,” said Chris DePuy, Founder and Technology Analyst at 650 Group. “In enterprises, there is pent up demand for devices that can be rapidly installed to extend coverage, improve throughput or connect wired devices without the need to run any cabling. Pluggable access points, like the Aerohive Atom P30, address the demand for rapid deployment of Wi-Fi coverage while at the same time allowing these devices to be managed as part of an enterprise-class management system.”
“Over the next five years, billions of IoT devices will be connected, with many of them connecting over Wi-Fi,” said Zeus Kerravala, principal analyst, ZK Research. “Because the Atom AP30 has built-in Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), it can be used as an IoT bridge where IoT devices can connect to it. This can be particularly useful in places where IoT devices are in hard-to-reach locations or even out in the field. I’ve talked to many network managers who are trying to get Wi-Fi literally everywhere. This includes lobbies, stairwells, bathrooms, storage rooms or other areas. Without Atom AP30, extending Wi-Fi to these locations would involve pulling cables or moving existing APs. Now they can just plug in Atom and connect away.”
“Another interesting use case is to improve connectivity in areas with a large number of mobile devices,” said Kerravala. “When the density of devices gets too high, it becomes a game of musical chairs as to who can connect and who can’t, leading to a situation where everyone’s connectivity is bad. The Atom AP30 can be quickly added to these kinds of spaces either permanently or temporarily. Atom AP30 also has integrated VPN capabilities, making it easy for the company network to be extended to remote locations. For example, a teleworker could take an AP30 home, plug it in and have connectivity back to the company network, obviating the need for software-based VPN clients to be deployed on mobile devices. Other use cases for this could be connectivity to a company booth at a trade show, a kiosk in a mall or a consultant at a client site.”
Aerohive Atom AP30 has gone through the rigid enterprise-class testing required to achieve Wi-Fi Alliance Certification, making the Aerohive Atom AP30 the only enterprise-class pluggable AP available on the market. Aerohive Atom AP30 rounds out a full and diverse portfolio of Wi-Fi Alliance Certified access points for Aerohive.
