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Currently available 802.11ax capable APs (9115, 9117 & 9120) not recommedned for large enterprises?

Muhammed Adnan
Level 4
Level 4

Hello Experts

 

Are the currently available 11ax series for wireless access points not recommended for large enterprises? If yes, what is the specific reason for same?

Amongst the available ones, which one is more recommended 11ax AP (9120)?

 

Compare 11ax APs.PNG

12 Replies 12

Leo Laohoo
Hall of Fame
Hall of Fame
In terms of throughput, how many wireless clients can really, really benefit from 802.11ax (very large batteries, multi-core CPU, 4 antennas, etc)?
Does the company actually have a big internet pipe?

marce1000
VIP
VIP

 

 - I don't see any blocking factor in acquiring them , perhaps more if you need to replace old access points. Besides Leo's argument it's more that it will still take a few years before smartphones, desktops, and other devices will have comparable radios(-hardware)+drivers to really use WiFi6.   For model comparisons go here :

                        https://www.cisco.com/c/en_be/products/wireless/access-points/index.html

 M.



-- ' 'Good body every evening' ' this sentence was once spotted on a logo at the entrance of a Weight Watchers Club !

patoberli
VIP Alumni
VIP Alumni
It really depends on your requirements. The 9120 is the most feature complete model, somewhat comparable to the 4800 series. Most 802.11ax features are not yet enabled though (see the release notes regarding unsupported features) and will require some software upgrades in the future.
I also read somewhere that the current 91xx series will not get 802.11ax certificated, although that is currently more of a paper issue than a real one.
So if you have the money, go for the 9120. If you prefer stability and a hopefully much better price, get the 2800 series.

I don't know if I would recommend the 9120 at this time. 

 

Backstory: We have dozens of 3702/2702s in production in my environment but with the release of the 9800 Controller, Cisco pushed us in that direction over the AireOS product line.  We adopted the 9800 Controller architecture. At the time of purchase, the 4800s were the only APs available but we didn't like how heavy they are.  These things are bricks.  We were worried about mounting issues and possible hazards of it falling if not mounted properly.  Then Cisco pushed us to wait for the 9120s... but they have been problematic thus far.

 

The main reason is that our organization still has MANY Windows 7 laptops (both Dell/Lenovo).  There is a push to get employees to go to Windows 10 but when you're dealing with offices globally in nearly all countries with employee counts in the XX,XXX thousands, it's a lot of work.  We use a standard image that's pushed out to all our PCs/Laptops.  What Cisco TAC eventually found out (actually earlier this week) is that if you're running Windows 7 and running a specific set of NIC hardware, the AP will not visibly detect any SSIDs unless you either upgrade the NIC drivers (not available on all NICs) or upgrade to Windows 10.

 

So offices that we've already converted to the 9800 WLC/9120 AP Platform, we're trying to scramble to get things fixed.  

 

I suppose you can say it's our own fault for not researching enough, but in our defense when you have a aging legacy AireOS infrastructure, we weren't given many options.  But I won't elaborate on that.

 

In hindsight, I wish we would have stuck with the 4800s.

 

It’s not your fault. We have seen this when going from autonomous to AireOS and also seeing drive issues because they are never updated. Driver updates along with Ethernet NIC drive updates is a necessity especially if your doing wired 802.1x and have old devices in your network.

It’s a lessons learned thing and now before you do any upgrade of code, etc. you know to test these devices as part of your validation.

Thanks for posting the fix!
-Scott
*** Please rate helpful posts ***

Have you enabled by any chance 802.11r on the new infrastructure? That feature is VERY driver dependent and at this time I don't recommend to enable it if you still have old clients.

Are the currently available 11ax series for wireless access points not recommended for large enterprises? If yes, what is the specific reason for same?

No. They all are good for enterprise deployments. Among 3 models, only 9117 will not get WiFi6 (WiFi Alliance) certification. 9120 got high end features and that's the one you should go for large enterprise deployment.

 

Amongst the available ones, which one is more recommended 11ax AP (9120)?

Yes 9120 is the most recommended model as of today.

 

HTH

Rasika

*** Pls rate all useful responses ***

d.friday
Level 4
Level 4

I've been testing the 9117 and 9120 models, I was able to get 2 gig connection using Intel's latest AX chip, yes the APs are capable of doing a lot more however clients don't support this yet.  The 9120 will be Cisco high end AP that has a special ASIC board installed to do all the fancy stuff.

 

In order to get the speeds AX states you can get you have to use 160MHZ channels, and most place this will be hard to achieve, due to channel noise.  I would suggest a site Survey to understand your environment.  you and still us the APs like you do any other AP you may not get the AX speeds

i

patoberli
VIP Alumni
VIP Alumni
One more detail, the new 9130 has been released this week and is the successor for the 3800/4800 and thus branded for Large enterprise.
Data sheet: https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/collateral/wireless/catalyst-9100ax-access-points/nb-06-cat-9130-ser-ap-ds-cte-en.html

9130 will replace 3800.
9130 is not designed to replace the 4800 because of HALO (or lack of).

A 9140 when available would replace the 4800.
-Scott
*** Please rate helpful posts ***

Thanks for clarification!


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