Getting started

The HPE OfficeConnect Solution offers the following benefits:

Smart-managed access points (APs) and switches to improve the wired and wireless networking experience for customers

Quick provisioning through the HPE OfficeConnect Wi-Fi Portal mobile app or web application, and ease of bringing UP the initial network

Simple device and network monitoring using the HPE OfficeConnect Wi-Fi Portal mobile app or web application

Simple statistics to view the network health and usage

Simple health checks and monitoring capabilities for seamless connectivity and user experience

Remote access capabilities that allow administrators to monitor and troubleshoot the HPE OfficeConnect Wi-Fi Portal deployments at remote sites

The HPE OfficeConnect Wi-Fi Portal is an application in the HPE OfficeConnect Solution suite for provisioning, monitoring, and managing your networks. HPE OfficeConnect Wi-Fi Portal offers the following benefits:

Mobile app-based quick setup and faster network bring-up

Ease of use and right-sized feature set

Simple statistics to view the network health and usage

Remote monitoring capabilities

Simple troubleshooting methods

The HPE OfficeConnect Wi-Fi Portal supports the following APs and switches:

Access Points

HPE OfficeConnect OC20

Switches

HPE OfficeConnect 1920S 8G Switch

HPE OfficeConnect 1920S 8G PPoE+ 65W Switch

HPE OfficeConnect 1920S 24G 2SFP Switch

HPE OfficeConnect 1920S 24G 2SFP PPoE+ 185W Switch

HPE OfficeConnect 1920S 24G 2SFP PoE+ 370W Switch

HPE OfficeConnect 1920S 48G 4SFP Switch

HPE OfficeConnect 1920S 48G 4SFP PPoE+ 370W Switch

The technology used in the HPE OfficeConnect Solution is simple and is aimed at carrying out the basic day-to-day operations for small businesses. Consider using the HPE OfficeConnect Wi-Fi Portal in one of the following scenarios:

You do not have IT staff; your company networks are usually designed by IT volunteers or by outside consultants or partners.

You are looking for a reliable network with the following capabilities:

Ease of use

Quick setup

Simple network statistics to view the network health and usage

Remote monitoring capabilities

Your technology requirements are simple.

Your budget for the networking equipment is small.

You will be automatically signed up for HPE OfficeConnect Wi-Fi Portal when you associate an email address to a site and if the same email address is not linked to another existing account. You can view the sign-up information in the Administration page:

In the HPE OfficeConnect Wi-Fi Portal web application, select Settings from the advanced drop-down menu on the HPE OfficeConnect Wi-Fi Portal header. The Settings page opens. From the Settings page, click Administration to open the Administration page.

In the HPE OfficeConnect Wi-Fi Portal mobile app, tap the advanced menu icon, and then select Settings to open the Settings screen. From the Settings screen, tap Administration to open the Administration screen.

Following are the power options for the HPE OfficeConnect OC20 AP:

The HPE OfficeConnect OC20 AP can be powered with an optional local power adapter. This is recommended for a single unit. Below are the parts:

Universal power adapter: JX990A

US style power cord: JW124A

A compatible Power over Ethernet injector can be used.

The HPE OfficeConnect OC20 AP can be powered with a Power over Ethernet switch. This just requires PoE 802.3af and not the higher wattage, more expensive PoE+ 802.3at. While any PoE-compatible switch will do, here are three great smart-managed or web-managed choices from the HPE OfficeConnect portfolio:

1920S 8G PPoE+ (65W) Switch JL383A – Eight Gigabit ports total with four supporting PoE / PoE+. Good for powering up to four HPE OfficeConnect OC20 APs. This device was used in the demonstration.

1920S 24G PPoE+ (185W) Switch JL384A – 24x Gigabit ports total with 12 supporting PoE / PoE+. Good for powering up to eight HPE OfficeConnect OC20 APs, up to four other PoE / PoE+ / non-PoE devices, and up to 12 non-PoE devices.

1920S 24G PoE+ (370W) Switch JL385A – 24x Gigabit ports total with 24 supporting PoE / PoE+. Good for powering up to eight HPE OfficeConnect OC20 APs, and up to 16x other PoE / PoE+ / non-PoE devices.

The HPE OfficeConnect Wi-Fi Portal is available as a web application and also as a mobile app.

The HPE OfficeConnect Wi-Fi Portal app is supported both on iOS and Android devices. You can download the HPE OfficeConnect Wi-Fi Portal app from the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store.

The app is required for initial setup. After setting it up, one can use a desktop browser to manage the HPE OfficeConnect OC20 AP. This can be local on the network or remote through the HPE OfficeConnect OC20’s cloud capabilities.

The HPE OfficeConnect OC20 AP or a configured cluster of HPE OfficeConnect OC20 APs is secured using an email address and a password. The same credentials are required to access the site either from the app, the web browser, or remotely via the cloud. The app automatically stores the credentials for quick access.

This account ID must be in the form of an email, with a standard xxx@yyy.zzz format. However, the validity of the email address is currently not verified, and is not used for marketing or other purposes. In the future, we may consider using the email for notifications.

The HPE OfficeConnect Wi-Fi Portal mobile app displays its contents based on the language setting in your mobile device. To view the HPE OfficeConnect Wi-Fi Portal mobile app in a different language, set your preferred language in the mobile device settings.

NOTE: If the language you selected on your mobile device is supported by the HPE OfficeConnect Wi-Fi Portal mobile app, the app will automatically switch to the selected language. Otherwise, the app will keep English as its default language setting. Currently, the HPE OfficeConnect Wi-Fi Portal mobile app supports English, Japanese, and Spanish languages.

On Android Devices

On iOS Devices

NOTE: The terminology of the options and menu items in the above procedures may slightly vary depending on the software version used in the Android or iOS devices.

The following outbound ports should be opened on the customer’s firewall to access the internet:

HTTP – TCP:80

HTTPS – TCP:443

NTP – UDP:123

You can pre-stage a network configuration in one location and then install it in its permanent location. The initial configuration must be done through the app and will require internet access. It is not possible to pre-stage a network configuration via the cloud ahead of the installation.

Currently, there is only one model of the HPE OfficeConnect OC20 AP.

There are two regional variants:

JZ073A HPE OC20 802.11ac (US) Access Point

JZ074A HPE OC20 802.11ac (RW) Access Point

US is the model for the United States and Puerto Rico.

RW is the model for rest of the world—most other countries around the globe. In the Americas, use the RW model for Canada, countries of Latin America, and the Caribbean outside of Puerto Rico.

Countries can have different wireless regulations impacting channels and signal strength. The US model complies with the rules of the United States. With the RW model, you must make the initial country selection and the unit will then comply with the regulations of the chosen country.

If you were to order the wrong unit, say the US model for use in Canada, the unit would function but may not comply with local regulations. We highly advise deploying the US model only in the United States and deploying the RW model for other locations.

Should there be any confusion with the order, consult with your supplier on swapping out to get the correct model.

Following are the pre-requisites for installing the HPE OfficeConnect OC20 AP:

There must be a router on the network to provide an IP address via DHCP.

There must be internet access so the cloud management capability can be set up.

You can deploy up to 8 HPE OfficeConnect OC20 APs in a management cluster.

The HPE OfficeConnect OC20 will not allow a cluster of more than 8 APs. This is a hard built-in limit.

While it is technically possible to set up two networks in one location, each one with up to 8 APs and managed separately, this is not recommended. They would need to be on separate subnets. The two clusters would operate independently so that there would be no network Wi-Fi optimization across both Wi-Fi networks.

The enterprise Aruba brand portfolio provides support to even hundreds of APs. Consider models such as Aruba Instant for these larger network needs.

There is no hard limit. Our practical advice is no more than 25 clients per AP.

There is no hard limit. In general, we target our HPE OfficeConnect product line to small business networks of up to 100 clients.

To form a cluster, HPE OfficeConnect OC20 APs must be on the same subnet. They can be on the same switch or on different switches.

The HPE OfficeConnect OC20 AP comes with a mounting bracket that can be attached to a rail-based drop ceiling or can be used as a stand for desktop operation.

Following are some of the other available mounting options:

JW045A—AP-220-MNT-C2 2x Ceiling Grid Rail Adapter for Interlude and Silhouette Mount Kit

JX961A—AP-MNT-CM1 Industrial Grade Indoor Access Point Metal Suspended Ceiling Rail Mount Kit

JW046A—AP-220-MNT-W1 Flat Surface Wall/Ceiling Black AP Basic Flat Surface Mount Kit

JW047A—AP-220-MNT-W1W Flat Surface Wall/Ceiling White AP Basic Flat Surface Mount Kit

JY705A—AP-200-MNT-W3 White Low Profile Box Style Secure Small AP Flat Surface Mount Kit

No. An HPE OfficeConnect OC20 cluster or network operates in a controllerless mode with the control being handled by the APs themselves. The switch in the network is not a controller for the wireless network.

The HPE OfficeConnect OC20 AP is an 802.11ac 2x2 Wave 1 access point

802.11ac is the latest standards-compliant Wi-Fi bringing faster performance and greater reach than the older 802.11n technology

2x2 refers to the number of radios for transmit and receive. As you add radios, the cost goes up and so does performance. As a 2x2 AP, the HPE OfficeConnect OC20 AP is quite affordable and will perform well for small businesses

Wave 1 refers to the earlier of two variations of 802.11ac. Its technology is MIMO which is Multiple In Multiple Out, essentially allowing the AP to communicate on multiple paths in parallel to a client for improving performance

Wave 1 refers to the earlier of two variations of 802.11ac. The technology used is MIMO which is Multiple In Multiple Out, and allows the AP to communicate on multiple paths in parallel to a client thus improving the performance

Wave 2 is a newer variation of 802.11ac with Multi User MIMO. This technology is available on higher-end APs offered by Aruba Networks, and allows for communicating on multiple paths in parallel to multiple clients thus improving the performance even better

Yes. Wave 2 HPE OfficeConnect APs are being planned for the future.

The HPE OfficeConnect OC20 AP supports up to 867 Mbps in the 5 GHz band (with 2SS/VHT80 clients) and up to 400 Mbps in the 2.4 GHz band (with 2SS/VHT40 clients).

This is not very relevant in most applications as most of the communication depends on the transmit power of the client devices. Smart Air software automatically assigns channel and power settings.

The range is highly variable based on the environment. A typical office setting with 8-10 ft ceiling height with an area of approximately 2500 square feet.

Not necessarily; however, more APs equate to less available non-overlapping channels or bumping down from a 40 MHz to a 20 MHz channel.

The HPE OfficeConnect OC20 AP does not support wireless mesh configurations.

Note that the wireless mesh is not an ideal configuration. With mesh networking, AP radios are used not only for communicating to clients but also for communicating between APs. There is convenience of not needing cabling. However, wireless networking is suboptimal because the radios are handling dual roles. Highest Wi-Fi performance comes from using hard-wired APs and by avoiding mesh networking. In consumer environments, mesh can be acceptable. We do not recommend this for business networks.

No. The HPE OfficeConnect OC20 AP does not support any QoS features.

You can configure two SSIDs on an HPE OfficeConnect OC20 AP. A quick and easy setup for a main, employee or internal network and a guest network.

The HPE OfficeConnect OC20 AP does not allow an administrator to configure VLANs. The HPE OfficeConnect OC20 AP does enforce a strict separation of traffic between the main network and the guest network, which is done internal to the cluster using VLAN technology. However, to simplify the operation, this is done automatically without administrative access. It is not possible to make adjustments to these VLANs.

HPE OfficeConnect OC20 APs do not support Captive Portal.

It does support Facebook login into the network. This functionality is set up from the web browser, not from the HPE OfficeConnect Wi-Fi Portal app.

Currently, you cannot configure a static IP address for the APs using the HPE OfficeConnect Wi-Fi Portal app.

The HPE OfficeConnect OC20 AP currently does not support non-broadcast of the SSID.

Note that various experts discourage this because non-broadcast is not secure from devices that can sniff for SSIDs.

This issue does not impact the HPE OfficeConnect OC20 AP.

Below is the link to our public-facing FAQ:

http://www.arubanetworks.com/assets/alert/ARUBA-PSA-2017-007_FAQ_Rev-1.pdf