HPE Aruba Networking 550 Series Indoor Access Points

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

High performance, extreme density

The 550 Series APs are designed to simultaneously serve multiple clients and traffic types with dual radio (8x8 + 4x4 MIMO) and optional tri-radio mode, boosting overall network performance by up to 4X versus 802.11ac APs.

Ultimate efficiency

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.

IoT and location-ready

IoT and location-ready

HPE Aruba Networking’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 HPE Aruba Networking Central.

Simple and secure access

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.

Wi-Fi 6 OFDMA and MU-MIMO, plus ClientMatch

Handles multiple clients on each channel, regardless of device or traffic types, and uses AI-powered RF to eliminate sticky client issues.

WPA3 and Enhanced Open security

Increases enterprise-level security without increasing complexity, and ensures stronger guest access protections.

Air Slice for SLA-grade performance

Provides service level agreement-grade performance for latency-sensitive, high-bandwidth, and IoT services.

IoT-ready Bluetooth 5 and 802.14.5/Zigbee support

Simplifies deploying and managing IoT location services, asset-tracking services, security solutions, and IoT sensors.

Flexible management options

Options to deploy in distributed or campus modes using a cloud-hosted or on-prem management  and orchestration platform.

Green energy efficiency

Offers green AP mode with AI-powered energy savings of up to 70%.

Details and Specifications for the HPE Aruba Networking 550 Series APs

Flagship tri-band Wi-Fi 6 radio

11ax radio supports dual-band 8x8/4x4 or tri-band 4x4

Integrated IoT radio

IoT radio supports 802.15.4/Zigbee and BLE

Dual-5G Smart-Rate PoE ports

2x5Gbps PoE Ethernet ports with Smart PoE and Intelligent Power Monitoring

Common Access Point Mount

Shares common mounting rail for all indoor access point mounts

DC power and USB console

Support for direct DC power and serial console

Details and Specifications for the HPE Aruba Networking 550 Series APs
  • Hardware variants
    • AP-555: Internal antenna models
    Wi-Fi radio specifications
    • AP type: Indoor, dual/tri-radio, 5GHz and 2.4GHz 802.11ax 4x4 MIMO
    • 5GHz radio (dual-radio operation): Eight spatial stream HE80 (or 4SS HE160) MIMO for up to 4.8Gbps wireless data rate
    • 5GHz radio (tri-radio operation): Four spatial stream HE80 (or 2SS HE160) MIMO for up to 2.4Gbps wireless data rate
    • 2.4GHz radio: Four spatial stream HE40 (HE20) MIMO for up to 1,150Mbps wireless data rate
    • Support for up to 1,024 associated client devices per radio, and up to 16 BSSIDs per radio
    • Supported frequency bands (country-specific restrictions apply):
      • 2.400 to 2.4835GHz (radio 1) ISM
      • 5.150 to 5.250GHz (radio 0 and 0L) U-NII-1
      • 5.250 to 5.350GHz (radio 0 and 0L) U-NII-2A
      • 5.470 to 5.725GHz (radio 0 and 0U) U-NII-2C
      • 5.725 to 5.850GHz (radio 0 and 0U) U-NII-3
      • 5.850 to 5.895GHz (radio 0 and 0U) U-NII-4
    • Available channels: Dependent on configured regulatory domain
    • Dynamic frequency selection (DFS) optimizes the use of available RF spectrum
      • Including Zero-Wait DFS (ZWDFS) to accelerate channel changes
    • 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
    Wi-Fi antennas
    • Integrated downtilt omni-directional antennas for 4x4 MIMO in 2.4GHz with peak antenna gain of 4.3dBi, and 8x8 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 4x4 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 status
    • Reset 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 4x4 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 (except for AP staging; no radios will be enabled).
    • 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 HPE Aruba Networking 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 61mm (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 HPE Aruba Networking 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, 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
    • ArubaOS 10.0.0.0
    Warranty

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Antennas for access points with wire extensions

Antennas

To optimize coverage, learn all about our portfolio of antennas

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