Sophos Access Points – New APX Series with Wave 2.0

In our infamous blog post: Sophos Roadshow 2018: See the future, we reported that Sophos would be introducing new access points. With this announcement, Sophos has actually kept its word and we are really happy to introduce you to the new models in more detail.

The post was famous because many people were excited to see a public roadmap from Sophos. We have received great feedback from our customers for this. To our regret, however, this article had unintentionally made waves at Sophos, which is why we have to title it “infamous”. 😅

Note: If you don’t need a big introduction, you can also order the new Sophos access points directly from our website:

• APX 320
• APX 530
• APX 740

APX 320, APX 530, APX 740

There are officially three new access points from Sophos as of now, named APX 320, APX 530 and APX 740. These models will all be equipped with the Wave 2 standard.

Note: Wave 2 delivers faster data rates and offers the option of communicating with four different clients simultaneously instead of just one (MU-MIMO). The channel width is also twice as large (80 Mhz > 160 MHz) and the throughput is also an impressive 3.6 Gbit/s for Wave 2, in contrast to Wave 1 (1.3 Gbit/s).

Sophos APX 740

Let’s start with the flagship third-generation Sophos access point, the APX 740. This model is said to offer three times the performance of the AP 100. The area of application is, for example, for offices with many users that require a high capacity.

• Application: Indoor (desktop, wall mount, ceiling mount)
• WLAN standards: 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
• Radios: 1x 2.4 GHz single band, 1x 5 GHz single band, 1x Bluetooth low energy (BLE)
• Antennas: 4x internal 2.4 GHz antennas for radio 1, 4x internal 5 Ghz antennas for radio 2, 1x internal 2.4 GHz BLE
• Performance: 4×4:4 MU-MIMO – (1.7 Gbps + 450 Mbps) Max. Speed up to 3.6Gbps @ 160 MHz
• Interfaces: 1x RJ45 connector console serial port, 1x RJ45 10/100/1000 Ethernet port, 1x RJ45 10/100/1000 Ethernet w/PoE
• Power max.: 22.4 W
• PoE min. : PoE+ 802.3at
• Dimensions: 195x195x43 mm
• Weight: 1012 g

➜ View the Sophos APX 740 in our store.

Sophos APX 530

The APX 530 would now be the perfect choice if you had previously opted for an AP 100 in terms of size and performance. The difference now is that the APX 530 enters the race with twice the performance of the AP 100. In terms of application, it is suitable for offices with a few employees that require a high capacity.

• Application: Indoor (desktop, wall mount, ceiling mount)
• WLAN standards: 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
• Radios: 1x 2.4 GHz single band, 1x 5 GHz single band, 1x Bluetooth low energy (BLE)
• Antennas: 3x internal 2.4 GHz antennas for radio 1, 3x internal 5 Ghz antennas for radio 2, 1x internal 2.4 GHz BLE
• Performance: 3×3:3 MU-MIMO (1.3 Gbps + 450 Mbps) Max. Speed up to 2.6Gbps @ 160MHz
• Interfaces: 1x RJ45 connector console serial port, 1x RJ45 10/100/1000 Ethernet port, 1x RJ45 10/100/1000 Ethernet w/PoE
• Power max.: 16.7 W
• PoE min. : PoE+ 802.3at
• Dimensions: 183x183x39 mm
• Weight: 922 g

➜ View the Sophos APX 530 in our store.

Sophos APX 320

The APX 320 is the smallest possible choice of the three new Sophos access points, but comes with twice the performance of the AP 55. This access point is ideal for retail spaces or schools where many smartphones or tablets need to access the Internet.

• Application: Indoor (desktop, wall mount, ceiling mount)
• WLAN standards: 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
• Radios: 1x 2.5 GHz/5 GHz dual-band, 1x 5GHz single band
• Antennas: 2x internal 2.4 GHz antennas dual-band for radio 1, 2x internal 5 Ghz antennas for radio 2, 1x internal 2.4 GHz BLE
• Performance: 2×2:2 MU-MIMO (867 Mbps + 300 Mbps) Max. Speed up to 1.7Gbps
• Interfaces: 1x RJ45 connector console serial port, 1x RJ45 10/100/1000 Ethernet w/PoE
• Power max.: 11.5 W
• PoE min. : PoE+ 802.3af
• Dimensions: 155x155x38 mm
• Weight: 474 g

➜ View the Sophos APX 320 in our store.

Sophos APX 120

We have always talked about three new access points in this article so far. However, a fourth model, the APX 120, is expected to be released in November. This device, designed for the small budget, will probably do its job in small offices, one’s own living room, small stores or outposts. Unfortunately, we do not have any technical data on this yet.

Management

As you probably know, a “wireless controller” is needed to manage the Sophos access points. Until now, you could use Sophos Central, SG or XG Firewall for this purpose. However, the new APX are only supported by Sophos Central Wireless 2.0 in Sophos Central right out of the gate. The XG Firewall will receive a corresponding update for the wireless module before the end of Q4 2018. Users who still rely on the UTM operating system will be punished for the first time and will be left out in the cold for future support of these new access points. I quote from a Sophos presentation: “No support in SG UTM planned”. For UTM users, this leaves the option of either switching to the Sophos Firewall OS or managing the new APs via Sophos Central.

Update: 09/30/2019: Sophos has changed its mind after all and is now bringing APX support to all SG Firewalls with the UTM v9.700 update.

For XG users, we find it a bit annoying that you now have to wait until the end of 2018. But it should be a slap in the face for the companies that still rely on the UTM operating system. Sure, smaller companies can be migrated relatively quickly, while the same can definitely not be said for larger companies.

Synchronized Security – Wireless

The new Sophos APX access points, and only these models, also support the Synchronized Security feature. Just like Synchronized Security on the endpoint, mobile devices can be isolated in this way so that no other devices can be infected and sensitive data leaked onto the Internet.

On the endpoint, Sophos Central Mobile or Sophos Central Endpoint is required for this.

FAQ

Conclusion

The new APX series is a successful performance and design update. We will order all APs and write a detailed review. Currently, we have often reached the limit with the AP 55 and also AP 100 with larger downloads and many users. We hope that there will be no more bottlenecks here with the new APX series.