AP60 vs. AP62: The Next Generation of Datto Access Points

The newest addition to the Datto Networking line of access points, the AP62, is a tri-band, 2 x 2 802.11ac Wave 2 wireless access point, with multi-user MIMO and up to 160MHz channel width. It supports up to 1,734Mbps on the 5GHz bands combined and up to 300Mbps on the 2.4GHz band, for a total speed rating of 2Gbps. It is currently the most performant Datto AP.

The AP62 represents a significant performance improvement over the AP60, especially in high-density environments. The AP60 is a dual-band, 3 x 3 802.11ac Wave 1 wireless access point, with single-user MIMO and up to 80MHz channel width. It supports up to 1,300Mbps on the 5GHz band and up to 450Mbps on the 2.4GHz band, for a total speed rating of 1.7Gbps. For a more in depth comparison, see the table below.

	AP60	AP62
Speed	1.7 Gbps	2.0 Gbps
Radio	Dual-Band (1 x 2.4GHz; 1 x 5GHz)	Tri-Band (1 x 2.4GHz; 2 x 5GHz)
PoE	Standard 802.3af	Standard 802.3af/at or Passive 18-24V⎓1.34-1A
Range (approximate)	Indoor: 75-150’ indoor (3-4 walls)	Indoor: 75-150’ indoor (3-4 walls)
	Outdoor: 400-500’	Outdoor: 400-600'
Recommended users	50-100	75-150
WLAN Standard	3 x 3 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wave 1	2 x 2 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wave 2
CPU	Single-Core Qualcomm "Scorpion"	Quad-Core Qualcomm "Dakota"
Memory	128MB DRAM	256MB DRAM
MIMO Type	Single-user MIMO	Multi-user MIMO

So, what does all that mean? MIMO (Multiple-Input and Multiple-Output) means that there are multiple antennas on each access point, which transmit and receive multiple streams of data at the same time. 2 x 2 = 2 streams and 3 x 3 = 3 streams.

Most current wireless devices (laptops, smartphones, IoT devices, tablets, etc) are 2 x 2, and some high end laptops are 3 x 3. So, in theory 3 x 3 access points can serve a wider variety of devices. However, 3 x 3 devices are far from mainstream. Single-user MIMO (Wave 1) access points, as their name implies, stream data to one client at a time. Conversely, multi-user MIMO (Wave 2) access points connect to multiple clients simultaneously, and as such, offer higher performance.

Dual-band APs like the AP60 operate with two radio bands: one 2.4GHz and one 5GHz. As you are probably aware, the 2.4GHz band offers wider coverage, while the 5GHz band offers higher performance over a shorter distance. The AP62 uses a tri-band configuration, which offers a second 5GHz radio to improve performance in dense environments, as you will see in the example client load chart below.

“Optimal WiFi design usually means installing several APs in a space for redundancy and performance reasons.  The AP62 can handle 100+ device connections on a single AP so they are well suited to high density installations," said Ed Parenti, Product Manager - Datto Networking. “We've tested the AP62 to its limits and have seen well performing high-density installations in the field. The AP62 provides excellent coverage and performance for MSP customers.”

Learn more about the benefits of Datto Networking.