The FortiAP U431F/433F Wi-Fi 6 access point is out! Within the range of Wi-Fi 6 appliances, these could be considered a step up from the 231F. They’re pretty much top-of-the-line, in fact. The difference between the FortiAP U431F and the FortiAP U433F is that the 433 has 10 external antennas, the 431F’s antennas are internal.
The FortiAP U Series offers a wide range of access points. You can manage them by any of Fortinet’s controller and management options: Cloud, FortiOS, or WLAN Controller. There are models available right across the performance spectrum, and today we’re looking at the FortiAP U421EV. The “U” stands for “Universal,” because they are universally manageable, as mentioned.
This 4×4:4 MU-MIMO device has three radios, a 2.4 GHz, and 2 5 GHz ones. It delivers 4.8 Gbps on the 5 GHz radios, and 600 Mbps on the 2.4 GHz radio. There’s also a 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet port, plus an additional 1 Gbps Ethernet port for PoE diversity. It can provide 24/7 scanning across both bands while still providing access on both the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands. The FAP-U431F provides OFDMA, as well.
OFDM-what?
The FortiAP 431F has OFDMA, and that’s a good thing. OFDMA is an extension of an earlier architecture, OFDM. Both of these divide a channel into smaller, easy-to-manage units or sub-channels, called subcarriers. Each of those sub-carriers then sends “frames,” or “packets,” consecutively to the receiver.
So here’s your access point, breaking up it’s bandwidth into smaller sub-carriers, and sending packets of your data in a line down each one. The thing is, every single packet has what you might think of as a space of time in front of it. That empty space is the time your AP spends waiting it’s turn to grab a piece of bandwidth from amongst all the other devices around so it can send it’s data. It does this for every single packet.
So each packet has some amount of empty space in it. These spaces are very small, but they add up to become noticeable. What the FortiAP U431F with OFDMA does, is that it takes all those sub-carriers, each full of little packets lined up and waiting their turn to go, and combines them. Now the cool thing is, each of these groups of subcarriers, full of packets, only has as much empty space with it as a single packet normally would. So technically it isn’t transferring data any faster, just more efficiently, and with a lot less ‘empty space’ to slow things down.
As a result, your FortiAP U431F delivers a lot less latency, and a lot better coverage. In addition, you experience lower interference and improved flexibility. This leads to increased overall efficiency in small-packet applications in dense environments.
Is the FortiAP U431F a good fit for me?
The enterprise-grade FortiAP U431F is ideal for high-density public environments. Since it’s designed for faster browsing and downloading from mobile devices, companies with 5G deployments and offices with high-bandwidth use would also benefit. Manage it either by the built-in WLAN controller of your FortiGate, or the easy-to-navigate FortiAP Cloud portal.
But since we’re premier Fortinet specialists, Corporate Armor is your best bet if you want to find out more about this slick, inexpensive little access point. Our advice will be driven by your unique needs, nothing more.
So please reach out to us here, or call 877-449-0458. We can’t wait to serve you!
FortiAP U431F At-A-Glance
| Three radio, 4×4:4 MU-MIMO | |
| Dual 1 Gbps Ethernet ports | |
| 4.8 Gbps Maximum Data Rate on the 5 GHz bands | |
| 600 Mbps Maximum Data Rate on the 2.4 GHz band | |
| 10 antennas |