Fortinet FortiAP 421E
4x4 MU-MIMO Access Point with Dual Radio, Internal Antennas

Overview:

The FortiAP 421E and 423E access points support the latest 802.11ac Wave 2 standard. Additional features include 802.11ac explicit transmit beamforming (TxBF), multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO), and more.

• 802.11ac Wave 1
• Dual Radio 2.4 and 5 GHz
• 4 External Antennas
• 2x2 MIMO
• Up to 450 + 1,300 Mbps

Cloud or FortiOS-managed Access Points

FortiAP access points are managed centrally by the integrated WLAN controller of any FortiGate® security appliance or can be managed through the free FortiCloud provisioning and management portal. With the integration of the wireless controller functionality into the market leading FortiGate appliance, Fortinet delivers a true Unified Access Layer. This enables you to easily manage wired and wireless security from a Single-pane-of-glass management console and protects your network from the latest security threats.

Deployment:

Centralized or Local Wireless Controller

Outdoor Point-to-Point Bridging or Multipoint Mesh Deployment

Outdoor Mesh and PoE Pass-Through Deployment

Antenna Radiation Patterns:

RF RX/TX Performance Table:

	FortiAP 421E / 423E
	Radio 1 - 2.4 GHz		Radio 2 - 5 GHz
802.11 a/g	Tx Power (dBm)	Rx Sensitivity (dBm)	Tx Power (dBm)	Rx Sensitivity (dBm)
6 Mbps	18	-93	19	-86
9 Mbps	18	-91	19	-83
12 Mbps	18	-88	19	-81
18 Mbps	18	-85	19	-78
24 Mbps	18	-80	19	-76
36 Mbps	18	-77	18	-74
48 Mbps	18	-76	18	-70
54 Mbps	18	-75	16	-66
802.11n HT20
MCS 0/8/16 (BPSK)	18	-87	18	-84
MCS 1/9/17 (QPSK)	17	-84	17	-81
MCS 2/10/18 (QPSK)	17	-81	17	-79
MCS 3/11/19 (16-QAM)	16	-78	16	-76
MCS 4/12/20 (16-QAM)	16	-73	16	-72
MCS 5/13/21 (64-QAM)	15	-70	15	-68
MCS 6/14/22 (64-QAM)	15	-69	15	-67
MCS 7/15/23 (64-QAM)	15	-67	15	-66
802.11n HT40
MCS 0/8/16 (BPSK)	18	-84	18	-83
MCS 1/9/17 (QPSK)	17	-80	17	-80
MCS 2/10/18 (QPSK)	17	-77	17	-78
MCS 3/11/19 (16-QAM)	16	-74	16	-75
MCS 4/12/20 (16-QAM)	16	-71	16	-73
MCS 5/13/21 (64-QAM)	15	-67	15	-72
MCS 6/14/22 (64-QAM)	15	-65	15	-70
MCS 7/15/23 (64-QAM)	15	-65	15	-69
MCS 8/16/24 (256-QAM)	15	-64	15	-65
MCS 9/17/25 (256-QAM)	15	-63	15	-63
802.11 HT80
MCS 0 (BPSK)			18	-83
MCS 1 (QPSK)			17	-80
MCS 2 (QPSK)			17	-78
MCS 3 (16-QAM)			16	-75
MCS 4 (16-QAM)			16	-73
MCS 5 (64-QAM)			15	-72
MCS 6 (64-QAM)			15	-70
MCS 7 (64-QAM)			15	-69
MCS 8 (256-QAM)			15	-65
MCS 9 (256-QAM)			15	-63

Maximum capability of the Hardware provided (Exenculding antenna gain)

Specifications:

	FortiAP-421E	FortiAP-423E
Hardware
Hardware Type	Indoor	Indoor
Number of Radios	2	2
Number of Antennas	8 Internal	8 RP-SMA External
Peak Antenna Gain	4 dBi for 2.4 GHz, 5 dBi for 5 GHz	3 dBi for 2.4 GHz, 3 dBi for 5 GHz
Frequency Bands (GHz) *	2.400–2.4835, 5.150–5.250, 5.250–5.350, 5.470–5.725, 5.725–5.850	2.400–2.4835, 5.150–5.250, 5.250–5.350, 5.470–5.725, 5.725–5.851
Frequency of Radio 1	2.4 GHz b/g/n (4x4:4 stream) QCA9980 20/40 Mhz (256 QAM)	2.4 GHz b/g/n (4x4:4 stream) QCA9980 20/40 Mhz (256 QAM)
Frequency of Radio 2	5 GHz a/n/ac (4x4:4 stream) QCA9980 20/40/80 Mhz (256 QAM)	5 GHz a/n/ac (4x4:4 stream) QCA9980 20/40/80 Mhz (256 QAM)
Maximum Data Rate	Radio 1: up to 600 Mbps Radio 2: up to 1.733 Gbps	Radio 1: up to 600 Mbps Radio 2: up to 1.733 Gbps
Ethernet Ports	2x GE RJ45	2x GE RJ45
USB Port	1x Type A	1x Type A
Serial Console Port	1 RS-232 x RJ45	1 RS-232 x RJ45
Power over Ethernet (PoE)	Dual redundant PoE power ports with support for IEEE 802.3at (25.5 W)	Dual redundant PoE power ports with support for IEEE 802.3at (25.5 W)
Simultaneous SSIDs	16 (14 if background scanning enabled)
EAP Type(s)	EAP-TLS, EAP-TTLS/MSCHAPv2, EAPv0/EAP-MSCHAPv2, PEAPv1/EAP-GTC EAP-SIM, EAP-AKA, EAP-FAST
User/Device Authentication	WPA and WPA2 with 802.1X or Preshared key, WEP and Web Captive Portal, MAC blacklist & whitelist
Maximum Tx Power	19 dBm (80 mW)*	19 dBm (80 mW)*
Physical Security	Kensington Lock	Kensington Lock
IEEE Specifications	802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11d, 802.11e, 802.11g, 802.11h, 802.11i, 802.11j, 802.11n, 802.1x, 802.11ac, 802.3at, 802.3az, 802.3ad (LACP support)
FortiPresence Capable	Yes	Yes
Wireless Mesh Capable	Yes	Yes
Concurrent Clients Per Radio (Maximum / Recommended)	512 / 128	512 / 128
Advanced 802.11 Features
802.11ac Wave2 MU-MIMO	Yes	Yes
Transmit Beam Forming (TxBF)	Yes	Yes
Low-Density Parity Check (LDPC) Encoding	Yes	Yes
Maximum Likelihood Demodulation (MLD)	Yes	Yes
Maximum Ratio Combining (MRC)	Yes	Yes
A-MPDU and A-MSDU Packet Aggregation	Yes	Yes
MIMO Power Save	Yes	Yes
Short Guard Interva	Yes	Yes
WME Multimedia Extensions	Yes (4 priority queues for voice, video, data and background traffic)
Wireless Monitoring Capabilities
Frequencies scanned	2.4 and 5 GHz	2.4 and 5 GHz
Background scan with client access on2.4 and 5 GHz	Yes	Yes
Full-time scan as dedicated monitor	Yes	Yes
Full-time scan with client access on 5G GHz	No	No
Dimensions
Length x Width x Height	8.5 x 8.5 x 2.2 inches (215 x 215 x 56 mm)	8.5 x 8.5 x 2.2 inches (215 x 215 x 56 mm)
Weight	3.53 lb (1.6 kg)	3.57 lb (1.62 kg)
Package (shipping) Weight	4.95 lb (2.2 kg)	5.3 lb (2.4 kg)
Mounting Options	Ceiling, T-Rail and wall	Ceiling, T-Rail and wall
Included Accessories	Ceiling, T-Rail and wall mount kit (AC power adapter sold seperately)	Ceiling, T-Rail and wall mount kit and 8 dipole antennas (AC power adapter sold seperately)
Environment
Power Supply	Adapter Input: 100–240V, 50/60Hz, 0.9A Maximum Output: 12V DC, 3A	Adapter Input: 100–240V, 50/60Hz, 0.9A Maximum Output: 12V DC, 3A
Power Consumption (Average / Maximum)	20 W / 23 W	20 W / 23 W
Humidity	5–90% non condensing	5–90% non condensing
Operating Temperature	-4–122x°F (-20–50°C)	-4–122x°F (-20–50°C)
Storage Temperature	-40–158°F (-40–70°C)	-40–158°F (-40–70°C)
Directives	Low Voltage Directive • RoHS	Low Voltage Directive • RoHS
UL2043 Plenum Material	Yes	Yes
Mean Time Between Failures	>30 Years	>30 Years
Certifications
WiFi Alliance Certified	In Process	In Process
DFS Certified	In Process	In Process
Warranty
Limited Lifetime Warranty	Yes	Yes

* Frequency selection and power may be restricted to abide by regional regulatory compliance laws.

Documentation:

Download the Fortinet FortiAP Series Datasheet (PDF).