The weatherproof DWL-8710AP delivers fast wireless connectivity to an outdoor area.
The stand-out feature of D-Link's DWL-8710AP is that it's weatherproof, but the access point also offers 802.11ac and Gigabit Ethernet for network performance and Power over Ethernet (PoE) for ease of installation. A PoE injector is also included for use where the access point is connected to a switch that does not provide PoE.
Dual wireless operation provides up to 300Mbps on the 2.4GHz band (802.11n) plus up to 867Mbps on 5GHz (802.11ac).
A single DWL-8710AP can be managed directly in standalone mode for the simplest networks, and multiple units self-configure into a cluster to keep things uncomplicated. For large networks, up to 1024 access points can be run from a wireless controller.
The $1400 DWL-8710AP also supports beamforming, a technique that focuses the 802.11ac Wi-Fi signal to provide better coverage.
Other features include the prioritisation of time-sensitive traffic, support for up to 32 virtual access points for different classes of user (such as restricting the amount of bandwidth available to guests), and policy-based quality of service controls to regulate the priority given to different types of traffic.
The standard antennas can be replaced by a directional antenna to link one site to another, and a second Gigabit Ethernet port allows the connection of a second access point, a surveillance camera or other device with a wired interface.
