Aruba 550 Series Indoor Access Points - Stoneleigh Consultancy Limited

Ultra-high-performing Wi-Fi 6 AP designed for environments such as large public venue locations, warehouse facilities, and extremely high-density locations.

Ultra-high performance

Designed to deliver ultra performance connectivity for extreme-density deployments of mobile and IoT.

High performance, extreme density

The 550 Series APs are designed to simultaneously serve multiple clients and traffic types with dual radio (8×8 + 4×4 MIMO) and optional tri-radio mode, boosting overall network performance by up to 4X versus 802.11ac APs.

WI-FI 6 BENEFITS

Ultimate efficiency

Built on Wi-Fi 6 standards, 550 Series APs include features such as OFDMA, bidirectional MU-MIMO, and Target Wait Time for better multi-user performance and improved efficiency.

LEARN ABOUT WI-FI 6

IoT and location-ready

Aruba’s Wi-Fi 6 AP provides support for Zigbee, Bluetooth 5, and third party overlays to simplify the deployment and management of IoT services and provide telemetry for contact-tracing dashboards in Aruba Central.

INTERNET OF THINGS USE CASES

Simple and secure access

Protects network security with stronger encryption and authentication, secure credentials/keys storage, and user and IoT access policy enforcement firewalls.

3X faster speed, extreme density in large indoor spaces

For large indoor, extremely high-density spaces, the 550 Series APs provide up to 5.37 Gbps maximum wireless speed with dual radios and optional tri-radio mode.

AI-powered wireless RF and client connectivity optimization
Dual-radio (8×8 + 4×4 MIMO) 802.11ax AP with up-and downlink OFDMA* and Multi-User MIMO (MU-MIMO)*
Optional tri-radio mode* with two 5GHz and one 2.4GHz radio (all 4×4 MIMO)
Aruba’s unique Smart PoE allows for the use of existing switching infrastructure to power up APs
Maximum data rates of 4.8Gbps in the 5GHz band and 1,150Mbps in the 2.4GHz band (for an aggregate peak data rate of 5.95Gbps)
Supports all mandatory and several optional 802.11ax features, and the full 37 OFDMA Resource Units (RUs)* with up to 1,024 associated client devices per radio*
Cost-effective and easy to manage universal IoT connectivity that includes Bluetooth 5 and Zigbee* radios for location and IOT use-cases
Aruba Intelligent Power Monitoring (IPM) allows the APs to operate even if there is not enough PoE power
High-density performance for environments such as universities, large public venues and growing enterprise environments

Specifications

Hardware Variants
AP-555: Internal antenna models

Wi-Fi Radio Specifications
AP type: Indoor, dual/tri-radio, 5GHz and 2.4GHz 802.11ax 4×4 MIMO 5GHz radio (dual-radio operation): Eight spatial stream Single User (SU) MIMO for up to 4.8Gbps wireless data rate with individual 8SS HE80 (or 4SS HE160) 802.11ax client devices, or with eight 1SS or four 2SS HE80 802.11ax MU-MIMO capable client devices simultaneously 5GHz radio (tri-radio operation^): Four spatial stream Single User (SU) MIMO for up to 2.4Gbps wireless data rate with individual 4SS HE80 (or 2SS HE160) 802.11ax client devices, or with four 1SS or two 2SS HE80 802.11ax MU-MIMO capable client devices simultaneously 2.4GHz radio: Four spatial stream Single User (SU) MIMO for up to 1,150Mbps wireless data rate with individual 4SS HE40 802.11ax client devices or with two 2SS HE40 802.11ax MU-MIMO capable client devices simultaneously Support for up to 1,024 associated client devices per radio^ (typical recommended limit for active clients is 200), and up to 16 BSSIDs per radio Supported frequency bands (country-specific restrictions apply): 2.400 to 2.4835GHz (radio 1) 5.150 to 5.250GHz (radio 0 and 0L) 5.250 to 5.350GHz (radio 0 and 0L) 5.470 to 5.725GHz (radio 0 and 0U) 5.725 to 5.850GHz (radio 0 and 0U) 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 37 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-QAM 802.11n 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: 6.5 to 600 (MCS0 to MCS31, HT20 to HT40), 800 with 256-QAM 802.11ac: 6.5 to 1,733 (MCS0 to MCS9, NSS = 1 to 4, VHT20 to VHT160), 2,166 with 1024-QAM 802.11ax (2.4GHz): 3.6 to 1,147 (MCS0 to MCS11, NSS = 1 to 4, HE20 to HE40) 802.11ax (5GHz): 3.6 to 4,804 (MCS0 to MCS11, NSS = 1 to 8, HE20 to HE160) 802.11n/ac packet aggregation: A-MPDU, A-MSDU Transmit power: Configurable in increments of 0.5dBm Maximum (aggregate, conducted total) transmit power (limited by local regulatory requirements): 2.4GHz band: +24dBm (18dBm per chain) 5GHz band: +27dBm in dual-radio mode, +24dBm in tri- radio mode (18dBm 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* ^*Not initially supported; will be enabled in a future software release

Wi-Fi Radio Specifications

AP type: Indoor, dual/tri-radio, 5GHz and 2.4GHz 802.11ax 4×4 MIMO
5GHz radio (dual-radio operation): Eight spatial stream Single User (SU) MIMO for up to 4.8Gbps wireless data rate with individual 8SS HE80 (or 4SS HE160) 802.11ax client devices, or with eight 1SS or four 2SS HE80 802.11ax MU-MIMO capable client devices simultaneously
5GHz radio (tri-radio operation^*): Four spatial stream Single User (SU) MIMO for up to 2.4Gbps wireless data rate with individual 4SS HE80 (or 2SS HE160) 802.11ax client devices, or with four 1SS or two 2SS HE80 802.11ax MU-MIMO capable client devices simultaneously
2.4GHz radio: Four spatial stream Single User (SU) MIMO for up to 1,150Mbps wireless data rate with individual 4SS HE40 802.11ax client devices or with two 2SS HE40
802.11ax MU-MIMO capable client devices simultaneously
Support for up to 1,024 associated client devices per radio^* (typical recommended limit for active clients is 200), and up to 16 BSSIDs per radio
Supported frequency bands (country-specific restrictions apply):
- 2.400 to 2.4835GHz (radio 1)
- 5.150 to 5.250GHz (radio 0 and 0L)
- 5.250 to 5.350GHz (radio 0 and 0L)
- 5.470 to 5.725GHz (radio 0 and 0U)
- 5.725 to 5.850GHz (radio 0 and 0U)
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 37 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-QAM
802.11n 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: 6.5 to 600 (MCS0 to MCS31, HT20 to HT40), 800 with 256-QAM
- 802.11ac: 6.5 to 1,733 (MCS0 to MCS9, NSS = 1 to 4, VHT20 to VHT160), 2,166 with 1024-QAM
- 802.11ax (2.4GHz): 3.6 to 1,147 (MCS0 to MCS11, NSS = 1 to 4, HE20 to HE40)
- 802.11ax (5GHz): 3.6 to 4,804 (MCS0 to MCS11, NSS = 1 to 8, HE20 to HE160)
802.11n/ac packet aggregation: A-MPDU, A-MSDU
Transmit power: Configurable in increments of 0.5dBm
Maximum (aggregate, conducted total) transmit power (limited by local regulatory requirements):
- 2.4GHz band: +24dBm (18dBm per chain)
- 5GHz band: +27dBm in dual-radio mode, +24dBm in tri- radio mode (18dBm 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*

^*Not initially supported; will be enabled in a future software release

Wi-Fi Antennas
Integrated downtilt omni-directional antennas for 4×4 MIMO in 2.4GHz with peak antenna gain of 4.3dBi, and 8×8 MIMO in 5GHz with peak antenna gain of 5.8dBi in 5GHz. In tri-radio mode, the peak gain of the antennas for each of the 4×4 5GHz radios is 5.5dBi (radio 0L, lower half of 5GHz) and 5.6dBi (radio 0U, upper half of 5GHz). Built-in antennas are optimized for horizontal ceiling mounted orientation of the AP. The downtilt angle for maximum gain is roughly 30 degrees. A mix of horizontally and vertically polarized antenna elements is used Combining the patterns of each of the antennas of the MIMO radios, the peak gain of the combined, average pattern is 2.4dBi in 2.4GHz and 0.7dBi in 5GHz (dual- radio mode). In tri-radio mode, the peak gain of the combined, average pattern is 1.1dBi (radio 0L, lower half of 5GHz) and 3.6dBi (radio 0U, upper half of 5GHz)

Wi-Fi Antennas

Integrated downtilt omni-directional antennas for 4×4 MIMO in 2.4GHz with peak antenna gain of 4.3dBi, and 8×8 MIMO in 5GHz with peak antenna gain of 5.8dBi in 5GHz. In tri-radio mode, the peak gain of the antennas for each of the 4×4 5GHz radios is 5.5dBi (radio 0L, lower half of 5GHz) and 5.6dBi (radio 0U, upper half of 5GHz). Built-in antennas are optimized for horizontal ceiling mounted orientation of the AP. The downtilt angle for maximum gain is roughly 30 degrees.
- A mix of horizontally and vertically polarized antenna elements is used
- Combining the patterns of each of the antennas of the MIMO radios, the peak gain of the combined, average pattern is 2.4dBi in 2.4GHz and 0.7dBi in 5GHz (dual- radio mode).
- In tri-radio mode, the peak gain of the combined, average pattern is 1.1dBi (radio 0L, lower half of 5GHz) and 3.6dBi (radio 0U, upper half of 5GHz)

Other Interfaces
E0, E1: HPE SmartRate port (RJ-45, maximum negotiated speed 5Gbps) -Auto-sensing link speed (100/1000/2500/5000BASE-T) and MDI/MDX -2.5Gbps and 5Gbps speeds comply with NBase-T and 802.3bz specifications -POE-PD: 48Vdc (nominal) 802.3af/at/bt POE (class 3 or higher) -802.3az Energy Efficient Ethernet (EEE) Link aggregation (LACP) support between both network ports for redundancy and increased capacity POE power can be drawn from either port (single source, or set to prioritize) or both ports simultaneously (set to combine). When set to prioritize, the AP draws power from E0 and may failover to E1. DC power interface: 48Vdc (nominal, +/- 5%), accepts 1.35mm/3.5mm 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 Low Energy (BLE5.0) and Zigbee (802.15.4)^* radio -BLE: up to 8dBm transmit power (class 1) and -99dBm receive sensitivity (125kbps) -Zigbee: up to 8dBm transmit power and -97dBm receive sensitivity -A pair of integrated omnidirectional antennas (polarization diversity) with roughly 30 degrees downtilt and peak gain of 4.5dBi Visual indictors (two multi-color LEDs): for System and Radio statusReset button: factory reset, LED mode control (normal/off)Serial console interface (proprietary, micro-B USB physical jack)Kensington security slot ^*Not initially supported; will be enabled in a future software release

Other Interfaces

E0, E1: HPE SmartRate port (RJ-45, maximum negotiated speed 5Gbps)

-Auto-sensing link speed (100/1000/2500/5000BASE-T) and MDI/MDX
-2.5Gbps and 5Gbps speeds comply with NBase-T and 802.3bz specifications
-POE-PD: 48Vdc (nominal) 802.3af/at/bt POE (class 3 or higher)
-802.3az Energy Efficient Ethernet (EEE)

Link aggregation (LACP) support between both network ports for redundancy and increased capacity

POE power can be drawn from either port (single source, or set to prioritize) or both ports simultaneously (set to combine). When set to prioritize, the AP draws power from E0 and may failover to E1.

DC power interface: 48Vdc (nominal, +/- 5%), accepts 1.35mm/3.5mm 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 Low Energy (BLE5.0) and Zigbee (802.15.4)^* radio
-BLE: up to 8dBm transmit power (class 1) and -99dBm receive sensitivity (125kbps)
-Zigbee: up to 8dBm transmit power and -97dBm receive sensitivity
-A pair of integrated omnidirectional antennas (polarization diversity) with roughly 30 degrees downtilt and peak gain of 4.5dBi Visual indictors (two multi-color LEDs): for System and Radio statusReset button: factory reset, LED mode control (normal/off)Serial console interface (proprietary, micro-B USB physical jack)Kensington security slot

^*Not initially supported; will be enabled in a future software release

Power Sources and Power Consumption
The AP supports direct DC power and Power over Ethernet (POE; on port E0 and/or E1) When POE power is supplied to both Ethernet ports, the AP can be configured to combine or prioritize power sources When both DC and POE 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, 802.3bt (class 5) POE or 2x 802.3at (class 4) POE, the AP will operate without restrictions. When powered by 1x 802.3at (class 4) POE and with the IPM feature disabled, the AP will disable the USB port, disable the other Ethernet port, operate the 5GHz radio in 4×4 mode, and disable tri-radio operation In the same configuration but with IPM enabled, the AP will start up in unrestricted mode, but may dynamically apply restrictions depending on the POE budget and actual power. The feature restrictions and order can be programmed. Operating the AP with an 802.3af (class 3 or lower) POE source is not supported. Maximum (worst-case) power consumption (dual-radio operation): -DC powered: 32.6W -POE powered (802.3bt or dual 802.3at): 38.2W -POE powered (802.3at, IPM disabled): 25.1W -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 6.0W (POE powered) or 5.4W (DC powered). Maximum (worst-case) power consumption in idle mode (dual-radio operation): 15.0W (POE) or 15.1W (DC). Maximum (worst-case) power consumption in deep-sleep mode: 3.8W(POE) or 3.6W (DC)

Power Sources and Power Consumption

The AP supports direct DC power and Power over Ethernet (POE; on port E0 and/or E1)
When POE power is supplied to both Ethernet ports, the AP can be configured to combine or prioritize power sources
When both DC and POE 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, 802.3bt (class 5) POE or 2x 802.3at (class 4) POE, the AP will operate without restrictions.
When powered by 1x 802.3at (class 4) POE and with the IPM feature disabled, the AP will disable the USB port, disable the other Ethernet port, operate the 5GHz radio in 4×4 mode, and disable tri-radio operation
In the same configuration but with IPM enabled, the AP will start up in unrestricted mode, but may dynamically apply restrictions depending on the POE budget and actual power. The feature restrictions and order can be programmed.
Operating the AP with an 802.3af (class 3 or lower) POE source is not supported.

Maximum (worst-case) power consumption (dual-radio operation):

-DC powered: 32.6W
-POE powered (802.3bt or dual 802.3at): 38.2W
-POE powered (802.3at, IPM disabled): 25.1W
-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 6.0W (POE powered) or 5.4W (DC powered).

Maximum (worst-case) power consumption in idle mode (dual-radio operation): 15.0W (POE) or 15.1W (DC).
Maximum (worst-case) power consumption in deep-sleep mode: 3.8W(POE) or 3.6W (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 Aruba mount kits (sold separately); see the ordering Information section below for details.

Mechanical Specifications
Dimensions/weight (AP-555; unit, excluding mount bracket): -260mm (W) x 260mm (D) x 58mm (H) / 10.2″ (W) x 10.2″ (D) x 2.3″ (H) -1,570g / 55.4oz Dimensions/weight (AP-555; shipping): -320mm (W) x 303mm (D) x 108mm (H) / 12.6″ (W) x 11.9″ (D) x 4.3″ (H) -2,230g / 78.7oz

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): 855,000hrs (98yrs) 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 For more country-specific regulatory information and approvals, please see your Aruba representative.

Regulatory Model Numbers
AP-555: APIN0555

Certifications
UL2043 plenum rating Wi-Fi Alliance: -Wi-Fi CERTIFIED a, b, g, n, ac -Wi-Fi CERTIFIED ax¹ -WPA, WPA2 and WPA3 – Enterprise with CNSA option, Personal (SAE), Enhanced Open (OWE) -WMM, WMM-PS, Wi-Fi Vantage, W-Fi Agile Multiband -Wi-Fi Location^* -Passpoint (release 2) Bluetooth SIG Ethernet Alliance (POE, PD device, class 4) ^*Not initially supported; will be enabled in a future software release

Certifications

UL2043 plenum rating

Wi-Fi Alliance:

-Wi-Fi CERTIFIED a, b, g, n, ac
-Wi-Fi CERTIFIED ax¹
-WPA, WPA2 and WPA3 – Enterprise with CNSA option, Personal (SAE), Enhanced Open (OWE)
-WMM, WMM-PS, Wi-Fi Vantage, W-Fi Agile Multiband
-Wi-Fi Location^*
-Passpoint (release 2)

Bluetooth SIG
Ethernet Alliance (POE, PD device, class 4)

^*Not initially supported; will be enabled in a future software release

Minimum Operating System Software Versions
ArubaOS and Aruba InstantOS 8.5.0.0

Warranty
Aruba’s hardware limited lifetime warranty