Extronics and Aruba Networks Tackle Industrial Mobility

The launch of the industry’s first Explosion-Proof outdoor Gigabit Wi-Fi Access Point; the new 802.11ac AP connects the Industrial Internet of Things in chemical, petroleum, mining, hazardous material handling, and transportation industries.

CHESHIRE, U.K. – 24^th September, 2014 – Extronics Ltd. today announced that it has teamed with Aruba Networks (NASDAQ: ARUN) to create the first exp­losion-proof 802.11ac access point (APs) for ATEX Zone 1, IEC Ex, and NEC 500 Class 1 Division 1 industrial applications. Combining Aruba Networks’ ruggedized AP-274 outdoor AP with Extronics’ iWAP107 explosion-proof enclosure system, the new iWAP107-AP274 reliably delivers telemetry, data, voice, video and Microsoft Lync unified communications to mobile devices in the harshest industrial environments.

“The Internet of Things is comprised of a wide range of devices, including ones used in facilities that may have hazardous and explosive gases, liquids, or materials present,” said Matthias Machowinski, directing analyst for enterprise networking at Infonetics Research. “The Extronics/Aruba solution allows companies to extend mission-critical networks with the latest wireless technology, 802.11ac, into these rugged and potentially hazardous environments, and move their IoT strategy forward.”

The iWAP107-AP274 is designed to address these limitations by combining an advanced explosion-proof enclosure system integrated with a high performance 802.11ac access point supporting a broad range of application-specific antenna options. Extronics’ rugged explosion-proof enclosure system is made of epoxy powder-coated, marine-grade, copper-free aluminum light alloy or, optionally, 316L stainless steel.  ATEX, IEC Ex, and NEC 500 certified for use in the most hazardous industrial applications, the enclosure system is richly featured with installer-friendly features:

• Six Intrinsically Safe antenna connectors allows a broad range of standard antennas to be connected and enables live connect and disconnect.
• 90-264Vac or IEEE802.3at Power over Ethernet make it easy to drop in as a replacement for older wireless solutions
• 1000Base-T Ethernet and single- or multi-mode fibre optics leverage existing local area networks

High performance Wi-Fi is provided by Aruba’s AP-274, a dual radio, 3×3 MIMO 8021.11ac Wi-Fi access point with a maximum data rate of 1.3Gbps., The access point operates from in a wide range of environmental conditions and temperatures and features a suite of industry-leading features:

• Automated cloud-provisioning for zero-touch bring-up, firmware upgrades, and inventory management
• Standards-based adaptive beam forming for the longest possible range and maximum throughput
• Built-in spectrum analysis to remotely identify sources of RF interference

The performance, features, and specifications of the iWAP107-AP274 make it the ideal choice for a broad range of indoor and outdoor industrial applications operating in hazardous areas. The unit is available for purchase directly from Extronics, which also provides support and technical services.