Radios (bands): 4 client-serving radios: tri-band 2.4 GHz / 5 GHz / 6 GHz with a 4th radio (quad-radio design)
Uplink Port Speed: 2x 10 Gbps mGig ports (multi-gigabit Ethernet)
Max Clients: 1200 (400 per radio)
PoE Requirement: 802.3bt (PoE++) required for full operation; 802.3at/af supports reduced functionality; draws approx. 30-52 W
Curation Review
✔ Pros:Wi-Fi 7 with tri-band 2.4/5/6 GHz and 4x4 MU-MIMO on every radio; 24 Gbps aggregate throughput for high-density environments; dual 10 Gbps mGig uplinks avoid a 1 Gbps bottleneck; rated for up to 1200 clients; supports 802.3bt PoE on the mGig ports with at/af fallback; manageable from Catalyst 9800 WLC/Catalyst Center or Meraki cloud depending on SKU
✘ Cons:Requires 802.3bt PoE for full functionality, which raises switch and injector cost; needs Catalyst 9800 controller running IOS XE 17.15.2 or later for the Catalyst SKU; Wi-Fi 7 benefits need Wi-Fi 7 clients to be realized; list pricing varies widely by reseller and SKU (CFG vs Global vs RTG), and reseller spec figures differ in places; cloud-managed (Meraki) deployment requires separate licensing; premium cost compared with Wi-Fi 6E alternatives
Est. Price:
$1,681 - $2,996
Compare Against
Aruba (HPE) 7030
★ 3.3 Value Score
Technical Specifications
Device Category: Wireless LAN Mobility Controller (not a firewall, switch, or AP; firewall-style metrics shown for comparison)
Firewall Throughput: 8 Gbps
Threat Prevention Throughput: Not published
IPsec VPN Throughput: 2.4 Gbps (3DES, per one listing); AES-CCM 4.0 Gbps; AES-GCM-256 3.4 Gbps (sources conflict)
Max Sessions: 65,536 active firewall sessions (~64K); up to 4,096 concurrent users/clients
New Sessions/sec: Not published
Interfaces: 8 x 1GbE RJ-45 (some listings describe 8 x RJ-45/SFP combo ports)
Form Factor: Rack-mountable, 1U; 4.4 cm x 30.5 cm x 21.1 cm; 2.06 kg
Max Campus APs Supported: 64
Wired Bridged Throughput: 8 Gbps
Operating Temperature: 0 u00b0C to 40 u00b0C
Certifications/SKUs: Base US SKU JW687A; FIPS/TAA variants include JW710A, JW711A, JW712A, JW774A
Data Accuracy Note: Most figures come from reseller listings and mirror copies of older Aruba datasheets, not a verified current HPE datasheet
Curation Review
✔ Pros:Supports up to 64 access points and about 4,096 concurrent clients from one compact rack unit; 8 Gbps firewall and wired bridged throughput; Gigabit RJ-45 ports suit small to mid-sized campus and branch WLAN deployments; FIPS/TAA SKUs available for regulated environments; Rack-mountable form factor with a light 2.06 kg chassis
✘ Cons:Only 1GbE interfaces listed, with no 10GbE uplink option; Encrypted/IPsec VPN throughput is low (about 2.4 Gbps on 3DES) and session-count figures conflict across sources; Threat prevention throughput and new sessions per second are not published; Platform is an older controller generation, so its specs and availability should be verified with HPE; Pricing varies widely by SKU, region, and warranty, and the listed figures are reseller prices rather than official HPE list prices
