Introduction to of Cisco's Catalyst Series 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E APs
The Cisco Catalyst line of 802.11ax (called Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E) access points build on previous version 802.11ac (called Wi-Fi 5) APs by offering lower latency and more predictable performance, allowing higher client user density, providing greater security, conserving power for battery-dependent mobile devices, and providing more flexibility for handling different types of Internet-of-Things (IoT) endpoints. Cisco's Wi-Fi 6E products include support for the 6-GHz spectrum, opening up an additional 1200 MHz of bandwidth for over double the Wi-Fi bandwidth compared to the 5-GHz spectrum.

Progent's Cisco CCIE-certified wireless network infrastructure experts offer remote or on-premises integration and troubleshooting support to assist you to design, implement, upgrade, optimize, administer and debug Catalyst wireless access point environments of any scale or architecture. Progent's Cisco Wi-Fi controller consultants can also help you to combine your wireless environment with your wired network and cloud-based resources to build an enterprise connectivity foundation that is easy to manage and expand. Progent also can provide affordable Wi-Fi site surveys to assist you to decide the most efficient selection, placement and configuration of Aironet Wi-Fi APs to accommodate your unique office design, building structure, and anticipated workloads.

Catalyst 802.11ax APs Consultants

Cisco's Catalyst 9100 Line of Wi-Fi 6/6E access points deliver the throughput and density of 802.11ax technology

Cisco's Catalyst 9100 Series 802.11ax wireless access points are intended for environments ranging from home offices to crowded convention centers. Cisco Catalyst 9100 access points are compliant with the 802.11ax specification, referred to as Wi-Fi 6, which in turn builds on the preceding 802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5) standard. As an improvement to 802.11ac, Wi-Fi 6 is designed to utilize both the 2.4-Ghz and 5-GHz radio bands. Headline enhancements supported by Cisco Catalyst 9100 Series access points include MU-MIMO support for uplink traffic, dual NAVs for better reliability, TWT for conserving power usage in battery-powered endpoints, adaptive power and sensitivity thresholds for better spectrum use, and extended guard intervals for improved outdoor performance. All Cisco Catalyst 9100 Series 802.11ax APs can run Cisco's EWC, accommodate as many as 200 clients per Wi-Fi radio, and are powered by Cisco IOS XE Software.

Catalyst 9105i Wireless Access Points Solution Design ConsultantsCisco's Catalyst 9105AXi Series Wi-Fi access point is a compact Wi-Fi 6 access point intended for operation in home offices or in small to midsize networks. The Catalyst 9105AXi AP supports 802.11a/b/g/n/acW2/ax and features dual 2.4/5 GH radios plus an Internet-of-Things radio supporting Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) 5.0 and Zigbee. Cisco's Catalyst 9105AXi AP supports 2x2:2 MU/SU-MIMO and provides a combined maximum speed of 1.2 Gbps. The Catalyst 9105AXi includes one 10/100/1000 Base-T uplink port with PoE 802.3at, an RJ-45 management interface, and a pair of integrated antennas. Channel width for the 2.4 GHz radio is 20 MHz and 20/40/80 MHz for the 5 GHz radio. With Embedded Wireless Controller installed, the 9105AXi AP can manage 50 APs and 1,000 client users.

Catalyst 9105AXw Wi-Fi 6 APs Solution Design ConsultantsCisco's Catalyst 9105AXw Series Wi-Fi access point is designed specially as a wall-mount appliance and is intended for hospitality, dormitories, and other multi-unit living spaces. The 9105AXw's capability is like Cisco's 9105AXi Wi-Fi access point but has different antenna profiles and features a variety of interfaces not available on the 9105AXi unit. These include a 100/1000/2500 Base-T (Ethernet) uplink interface, three 10/100/1000 Base-T Ethernet downlink interfaces, a USB 2.0 interface, and a passthru port. A downlink interface supports 10.5W PSE Power Budget.

Cisco Catalyst 9115AX Wireless APs Planning and Deployment ExpertsCisco's Catalyst 9115AX Series Wi-Fi 6-supported wireless access point is designed for small to medium size networks. Cisco's 9115AX Series AP supports 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax and includes three Wi-Fi radios plus an Internet-of-Things (IoT) radio that supports (BLE) 5.0. Cisco's 9115AX features 4x4:4 + 4x4:4 spatial streams and supports a combined combined data rate of 5 Gbps. The Cisco Catalyst 9115AX Series AP comes with one 100/1000/2500 Multigigabit Ethernet (RJ-45) interface with Power-over-Ethernet 802.3at, an RJ-45 management interface, a USB 2.0 interface, built-in antennas, plus optional external antennas. Memory includes 2048 MB DRAM and 1024 MB flash. With the EWC image activated, the Cisco 9115AX Series AP can manage as many as 50 APs and 1,000 clients.

Catalyst 9117 Wi-Fi 6 Access Points Solution Design ConsultantsCisco's Catalyst 9117AX Series Wi-Fi AP is intended for small to midsize enterprises. The Wi-Fi 6 device works with the 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax specifications and incorporates three Wi-Fi radios as well as an Internet-of-Things radio covering Bluetooth Low Energy 5.0. The Catalyst 9117AX Series AP features 8x8:8 MIMO for the 5-GHz band and 4x4:4 MIMO. Top combined performance is 5 Gbps. The Cisco Catalyst 9117AX includes a 100/1000/2500/5000 Ethernet (RJ-45) uplink port with Power-over-Ethernet 802.3at, an RJ-45 management port, a USB 2.0 interface, and built-in internal antennas. RAM includes 2048 MB DRAM and 1024 MB flash. With EWC activated, the Catalyst 9117AX can manage up to 50 access points and 1,000 clients.

Catalyst 9120 Wireless APs Solution Design ConsultantsCisco's Catalyst 9120AX Series Wi-Fi 6 access point is designed for for medium to large enterprises. The Cisco Catalyst 9120AX supports 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax and includes four radios. Flexible Radio Assignment technology permits radios to run in 2.4-GHz/5-GHz mode or in Dual 5-GHz mode. An IoT radio supports Bluetooth Low Energy 5.0. Cisco's 9120AX Series AP features 4x4:4 MU-MIMO and delivers a combined maximum data rate of 5.2 Gbps when both Wi-Fi radios operate in 5-GHz client serving mode. The Cisco Catalyst 9120AX Series AP includes 100/1000/2500 Multigigabit Ethernet (RJ-45). The access point also supports PoE 802.3at and comes with an RJ-45 management interface, a USB 2.0 interface, and built-in internal antennas. External antennas are an option. System memory includes 2048 MB DRAM and 1024 MB flash. With Embedded Wireless Controller installed, the 9120AX can manage 100 APs and 2,000 client users.

Catalyst 9130 Wi-Fi 6 APs Solution Design ConsultantsCisco's Catalyst 9130AX Series Wi-Fi 6 access point is intended for medium to large enterprises and high-density public venues such as auditoriums and stadiums. The Catalyst 9130AX complies with 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax Wi-Fi and features 8x8:8 MU-MIMO spatial streams. External antennas on Cisco's 9130AX device can be split into two 4x4 radios. An Internet-of-Things (IoT) radio supports Bluetooth Low Energy 5.0. The Catalyst 9130AX includes a 100/1000/2500/5000 Ethernet (RJ-45) uplink interface and supports a combined maximum data rate of 5.38 Gbps. The device also works with PoE 802.3at and comes with an RJ-45 management console port, a USB 2.0 interface, and integrated internal antennas. The Catalyst 9130AX AP includes an intelligent physical antenna connector that gives you the versatility to set up an external antenna to accommodate challenging venues. System memory includes 2048 MB DRAM and 1024 MB flash memory. With Embedded Wireless Controller installed, the 9130AX can manage up to 100 APs and 2,000 client users.

Cisco Catalyst 9136 Wi-Fi 6E APs Planning and Deployment ConsultantsCisco's Catalyst 9136 Series is a breakthrough line of access points intended for enterprises who need the enhanced speed, capacity, and security enabled by the 6-GHz spectrum expansion defined by the Wi-Fi 6E specification. By adding 1.2 GHz of contiguous and clean RF spectrum in the 6 GHz band, the Wi-Fi 6E standard supported by Cisco Catalyst 9136 Series APs more than doubles the bandwidth that can be used by earlier model Wi-Fi client devices. Catalyst 9136 access points support legacy 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax Wi-Fi devices operating in the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands in addition to the newer generation of 6 GHz Wi-Fi client devices. Concurrent MU-MIMO operation support up to 8x8:8 at 5 GHz and up to 4x4:4 at 2.4 GHz and 6 GHz. Combined max throughput rate is 10.2 Gbps. Also included are a Bluetooth Low Energy 5.0 radio for IoT and a scan radio. Internal omnidirectional antennas support 2.4 GHz, 5-GHz, and 6 GHz operation. Catalyst 9136 access points come with two integrated 5 Gbps mGig (RJ-45) Ethernet interfaces. Channel width is 20 MHz for the 2.4 GHz band and 20/40/80/160 MHz for the 5 GHz and 6 GHz bands. System memory consists of 2048 MB DRAM and 1024 MB flash memory. Power options include PoE, PoE+, and UPoE.

Cisco Catalyst 9166 Wi-Fi 6E Access Point ConsultantsCisco's Catalyst 9160 Series Wi-Fi 6E access points are the first Cisco access points with the capability to be monitored and managed either on-prem via Cisco DNA Center or from the cloud by using Meraki Dashboard management utilities. This enables organizations to move to cloud-based or hybrid deployments at their own pace. All Catalyst 916x APs comply with the a/b/g/n/ac/ax and 6E Wi-Fi standards and include support for the new 6-GHz band. Each AP has 5 radios and allows up to 400 clients on each radio. Every model also comes with a dedicated radio for Cisco CleanAir Pro for mitigating wireless interference, includes a USB 2.0 port, and supports Bluetooth Low Energy. The small-footprint Catalyst 9162 Series AP is intended for small organizations, has three 2x2 radios, and includes 1x 100M/1000M/2.5G mGig Ethernet connectivity.

Cisco Catalyst Access Points System Design and TroubleshootingCisco's Catalyst 9163E Wi-Fi 6E access point is designed for harsh outdoor deployments such as campuses or stadiums. The 9163E includes three client serving 2x2 radios, one IoT radio, and a tri-band scanning radio. Interfaces include 1x 100M/1000M/2.5G mGig Ethernet (RJ-45), a management console port (RJ-45), 4x N-Type Wi-Fi antenna connectors, and a GPS/GNSS antenna connector. The 9163E supports Omnidirectional Dipole Self-Identifying Antennas. Cisco's Catalyst 9164 Series AP is suited for small and middle-size organizations, incorporates one 2x2 radio and two 4x4 radios, and features 1x 100M/1000M/2.5G mGig Ethernet. The Catalyst 9166 Series access point is meant for large and medium-sized enterprises, includes three 4x4 radios, and offers 1x 100M/1000M/2.5G/5G mGig Ethernet connectivity. The 9166 also has environmental sensors to measure air quality, temperature, and humidity.

Cisco's EWC on Catalyst 9100 Series Wi-Fi 6 Access Points
Cisco's Embedded Wireless Controller (EWC) is a software image running on Cisco IOS XE and available for most Catalyst 9100 Series Wi-Fi 6 APs. EWC supports the majority of features, but not the expandability, of Catalyst 9800 Series Wi-Fi controller devices. APs running EWC can concurrently support Wi-Fi clients. (Catalyst 9105AXW access points can join an EWC network and support clients but cannot provide EWC management functions.) The Embedded Wireless Controller can be managed via Cisco DNA Center (DNAC) for multi-location deployments, or by means of a browser or mobile app for a single location. All Cisco DNAC Automation and Assurance features are supported. Embedded Wireless Controller features include always-on by deploying active and standby controllers, software maintenance updates for live patching, auto configuration, Application Visibility and Control, and Site Survey.

How Progent's Consultants Can Assist Your Company with Cisco Catalyst 802.11ax Access Points
Progent can provide a Cisco-certified consulting professional to help you to design, deploy, manage and repair a Wi-Fi environment that incorporates Cisco's Catalyst 9100 Series Wi-Fi 6 APs. Progent can assist you to support legacy wireless access points from Cisco or migrate seamlessly to current 802.11ax. Progent's Cisco wireless controller integration consultants can help you to determine whether your wireless environment should include Cisco wireless controller hardware or can be managed with Cisco's software-based management tools such as Cisco's Embedded Wireless Controller.

Progent's CISM and CISSP security specialists can advise you about how to design protection into your wireless network and your company's processes. Progent's disaster recovery consultants and business continuity planning consultants can assist you to deploy the high availability (HA) technology built into Cisco's wireless and wired technologies so your converged network delivers non-stop return on investment.

Progent's Wireless Site Survey assists you to design and implement a robust WLAN customized for your environment, providing a Wi-Fi solution that provides comprehensive coverage, high speed and capacity, QoS features to support IP voice and video, advanced security and compliance, and simplified management. Progent's Wireless Site Survey can be performed online to reduce time and expense, or on premises to deal with more complex situations.

To find out more information concerning Progent's engineering help for Cisco technology, pick a topic: Contact Progent for Consulting Support for Cisco Catalyst WiFi 5 and WiFi 6/6E Access Points
To find out more about Progent's support for planning, installing, maintaining and troubleshooting a Wi-Fi deployment based on Cisco Catalyst 9100 Series WiFi 5 and WiFi 6/6E access points, call 1-800-993-9400 or visit Contact Progent.