D-Link DAP-2590 Wireless Access Point

This wireless access point is a good choice for indoor use if you need to support dual bands in all modes or if you need bridge mode operation.

Guide Price: £330
Type: Wireless Access Point
Protocols: 802.11a/b/g/n Max
WiFi speed: 300Mbps
Range: x1
Ports: 1x 10/100 auto-sensing RJ-45
Security: WEP WEP, WPA1/2
Operating modes: Access point, Access point/bridge and bridge only
Power: External or POE
Size: 165 x 185 x 32 mm
Weight: 0.762kg
Power consumption: 6w typical
Special Features: Power over Ethernet (PoE) and rogue access port detection

The D-Link DAP-2590 is a robust dual-band managed access point which supports all of the usual modes including draft n for higher speeds. What this means is that with a single access point you can connect the widest possible range of clients. Using both the 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz bands it can be used to create more complex network organisations than a single frequency access point.

It is built into a small "plenum-rated" metal case, and hence can be mounted in air passageways without being a fire risk. It feels solid and robust and is very suitable for mounting in public places. Three detachable “stick” antennae are provided as standard. You can either power it using POE or the external power supply which is provided.

The DAP-2590 is managed via a web interface and is very easy to set up. You can also use D-View or an alternative SNMP management software or telnet to it and use a command prompt. You can set security mode for both network bands at the same time by default. This is what you would normally require but you can customise each band separately. As well as shared key WPA, it also supports a Radius server to provide what is often called WPA Enterprise mode.

It can be set to work as a combined access point and WDS bridge. A typical configuration would be to use one band to connect multiple DAP-2590s together and the other band to connect clients. To support this mode of operation it also has some load restriction and balancing options and QoS facilities - it also supports Wi-Fi Multimedia, WMM. This makes it quite easy to build a totally wireless network covering a fairly large area without the need to wire together the access points. You can also select WDS bridge mode only and even use the access point as a wireless client. It will also operate as a DHCP server which is unusual for an access point.

It supports up to 8 VLANS with up to 8 SSIDs to allow segmentation. It also includes all of the standard security features you would expect and in addition has a rogue AP detection feature. You can add any known access points to a list so that they are not detected as rogue a second time. An unusual feature is the ability to switch the access point on and off according to a schedule.

Next page - Managing the router and image gallery