Support third-party antennas in select FortiAP models 7.4.2

This information is also available in the FortiWiFi and FortiAP 7.4 Configuration Guide: Configure third-party antennas in select FortiAP models

The release supports installing third-party antennas on select FortiAP models and customizing their antenna gain. On FortiAP models that support third-party antennas, you can enable the FortiAP profile external antenna setting and customize the antenna gain in dB. Third-party antennas can help optimize coverage and overall wireless performance in various installation settings.

The following table shows which FortiAP models support third-party antennas:

FortiAP F models	FAP-432F
	FAP-432FR
	FAP-433F
FortiAP G models	FAP-233G
	FAP-432G
	FAP-433G
FortiAP-U F models	FAP-U432F
	FAP-U433F

The following CLI commands have been added to configure third-party antenna parameters:

config wireless-controller wtp-profile
  edit <name>
    config platform
      set type [432F|432FR|...]
    end
    config radio-2
      set optional-antenna [none|custom|FANT-04ABGN-0606-O-R|...]
      set optional-antenna-gain {integer}
    end
   next
end

set optional-antenna	Set which optional antenna you want to use on the FAP (default = none).
set optional-antenna-gain	Optional antenna gain in dBi (0 to 20, default = 0).

Antenna gain values in dBi configurable for your antenna should remain within regulatory EIRP limits. Please consult your external antenna documentation and regulatory authority standards for details.

To configure FortiAP to use third-party antennas - GUI

1. Go to WiFi and Switch Controller > FortiAP Profiles and select Create New.
2. In Platform, select a FortiAP model that supports third-party antennas.

3. Under the Radio section, enable External antenna and select Custom.

   

4. In External antenna gain (dB), configure a value between 0 to 20.
5. When you are finished, click OK.

To configure FortiAP to use third-party antennas - CLI

1. Create a FortiAP profile and select a platform that supports third-party antennas.

   Set optional-antenna to custom and configure an optional-antenna-gain value between 0 to 20.

   config wireless-controller wtp-profile
     edit "FP433G"
       config platform
         set type 433G
       end
       config radio-2
         set optional-antenna custom
         set optional-antenna-gain "10"
       end
      next
   end

2. Verify the settings have been applied:

   # diagnose wireless-controller wlac -c wtpprof FP433G | grep antenna
       opt antenna      : Custom
       opt antenna gain : 10

3. From the FortiAP CLI, check that antenna configurations have been applied:

   FortiAP-433G # rcfg
   … …
   Radio 1: AP
      country        : cfg=US oper=US
      countryID      : cfg=841 oper=841
      802.11d enable  : enabled
      sta info       : 0/0
      radio type     : 11AX_5G
      mimo,chainmask : 4, 0xf0 (mimo) 0xf0 (power) 0xf0/0xf0 (oper)
      airtime fairness   : disabled
      ps optimize    : 0
      tx optimize    : f
      11g prot mode  : 0
      HT20/40 coext  : 1
      beacon intv    : 100
      opt antenna    : Custom
      opt ant gain   : 10
   … …