Support external antennas in select FortiAP models 7.4.2

The release supports installing external antennas on FAP-432F, FAP-433F, FAP-U432F, and FAP-U433F models. Fortinet external antennas can help optimize coverage and overall wireless performance in various installation settings. On supported FortiAP models, you can configure a new FortiAP profile setting and choose from a list of supported Fortinet external antenna models. This setting allows antenna gains specific to the Fortinet external antenna model and the Wi-Fi band (2.4 GHz or 5 GHz) to be taken into consideration by the FortiGate Wireless controller when setting transmit power for a managed FortiAP device.

To see which external antenna and predefined types correspond to which SKU, refer to the Fortinet Antenna Portfolio Data Sheet.

To configure supported external antenna - GUI

1. Go to WiFi and Switch Controller > FortiAP Profiles and select Create New.
2. From Platform, select a FortiAP model that supports external antennas.

3. Under the Radio section, enable External antenna and select the antenna that you want to install.

   

4. When you are finished, click OK.

To configure supported external antenna - CLI

1. Create a FortiAP profile and select a platform that supports external antennas. In set optional-antenna, enter the antenna model.

   config wireless-controller wtp-profile
     edit "FP432F"
       config platform
         set type 432F
       end
       config radio-2
         set optional-antenna FANT-04ABGN-1414-P-N
       end
     next
   end

2. Verify the settings have been applied:

   # diagnose wireless-controller wlac -c wtpprof FP432F | grep antenna
       ..
       opt antenna      : FANT_04ABGN_1414_P_N

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

   FortiAP-432F # 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    : FANT_04ABGN_1414_P_N
      txpwr mode     : set by percentage (100%)
   … …