Networking

Review: SonicWall SonicWave 641 Provides Secure, Fast Wireless Access

By tapping into Wi-Fi 6 technology, this access point can efficiently serve up to four times as many users as older devices.

John Breeden II

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John Breeden II is an award-winning reviewer and public speaker with 20 years of experience covering technology.

Considering how long wireless technology has been available, most businesses have probably already invested in some form of wireless networking for their employees and customers. But older wireless technology was designed to support only a fairly limited number of users.

While it’s still possible to connect everyone using older technology, it requires a lot of access points, layered channels and constant tuning — and even then, the network will probably have dead zones and experience slowdowns at peak hours.

Wi-Fi 6 changes that by integrating new technologies designed to enhance wireless signals, even in heavily congested areas. The new SonicWave 641 access point by SonicWall is a great example.

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Hidden inside the unassuming device, which looks like a small smoke detector, are dual radios and multiple antennas that can serve fast wireless signals to older devices using the 2.4-gigahertz band and connect to newer ones with the 5GHz spectrum.

Device setup is a breeze. The AP is designed to be easily mounted on a wall or ceiling or simply placed on a shelf. It supports Power over Ethernet, so it doesn’t require a power cord, just a PoE-compatible network cable to complete the setup.

Once the AP is physically placed, installation can be completed through the cloud. Any nontechnical staff can position the APs while the IT team configures everything remotely.

SPECIFICATIONS

Device Type: 802.11ax wireless AP
Radios: Dual-band 5GHz and 2.4GHz radios
Security: Supports both WPA2 and WPA3 encryption
Dimensions: 1.5x7.9x7.9 inches
Weight: 30 ounces

SonicWave 641 Outperforms Wi-Fi 5 Access Points

I tested the performance of the SonicWave 641 in my Wi-Fi 6 testing lab, which consists of a broad mix of older and new wireless-capable devices. First, I looked at the performance of 20 devices connected to an older, Wi-Fi 5 AP.

Not surprisingly, I experienced the typical slowdowns and disconnects when trying to transfer multiple large files or engaging in bandwidth-intensive activities such as video streaming. Some devices even had trouble joining the network when the others were maxing out its capabilities.

After switching to the SonicWave 641 AP, all 20 devices quickly connected. Older devices used the 2.4GHz band, while newer ones connected using a 5GHz signal. Once every device was logged in, the automatic management functions of the SonicWave 641 constantly optimized the bandwidth for each device it was serving.

If the network became overloaded, easy-to-configure rules allowed priority applications, users and groups to experience little to no disruption. All told, the SonicWave Wi-Fi 6 641 AP was at least three times more efficient than APs using only Wi-Fi 5 technology.

The SonicWave 641 AP is also highly secure and supports the most advanced encryption protocols. Connecting its PoE cable to a SonicWave smart switch or network security appliance provides even more security across the entire network of SonicWave APs.

DIVE DEEPER: Should small businesses make the switch to Wi-Fi 6?

Wi-Fi 6 Sets the Standard for Wireless Technology

The SonicWave 641 AP supports the latest Wi-Fi 6 standard. While not a new technology, Wi-Fi 6 is only now making its way into access points designed to operate more seamlessly in congested environments.

Instead of a new wireless frequency or band, Wi-Fi 6 (also known as 802.11ax to distinguish it from 802.11ac, the Wi-Fi 5 standard) is actually a collection of support technologies that work together to better optimize existing Wi-Fi signals. This is especially helpful in environments where a lot of devices are trying to connect to a wireless network.

The first big benefit of Wi-Fi 6 is that it takes advantage of multiuser multiple input, multiple output transmissions, making more effective use of radio antennas and data streams.

It also replaces the 256 Quadrature Amplitude Modulation found in 802.11ac APs with the much larger 1024 QAM standard, bringing even more benefits. The new 1024 QAM standard can broadcast through eight spatial data streams, effectively quadrupling available bandwidth and allowing APs to efficiently serve many more users than before.

But Wi-Fi 6 offers more than just increased bandwidth. APs that are built to the standard are also a lot smarter in how they manage signals, devices, applications and users. They do this by using orthogonal frequency-division multiple access technology to pull every bit of the available spectrum and give it to users. This works by dividing up the radio spectrum into much smaller units than the older standard was able to, so it can provide users with exactly the bandwidth they need, with nothing wasted.

Any extra bandwidth that one user does not need is automatically and seamlessly assigned to another user. In fact, APs with Wi-Fi 6, such as the SonicWave 641, are constantly evaluating their active wireless connections and optimizing them so that everyone gets what they need as long as a sliver of bandwidth is still available.

It’s true that individual devices that also support the Wi-Fi 6 standard will probably see small bumps in speed when using a Wi-Fi 6 AP. However, the real advantage of the standard is its ability to effectively manage multiple connections at the best possible speed.

In terms of performance, Wi-Fi 6 APs offer users more stable wireless connections and reduced latency with almost no dropped signals. Should too many users overload the access point, APs such as the SonicWave 641 are smart enough to follow whatever content rules administrators set up.

For example, they can be configured to reduce the bandwidth for certain applications or to prioritize certain users or groups. That way, any slowdown will be minimized or perhaps not even noticed by those designated as priority users.

While Wi-Fi 6 is not a new standard, it’s finally starting to see mainstream use. Given all the optimizations bundled within it, it may seem like a new kind of wireless signal to most users, even if it’s only optimizing existing technology.