802.11ax support and benefits

[carl_townshend]

Hi All

We will soon be replacing our wifi access points with 802.11ax models, we generally use Meraki.

Do the new CW models run on both Meraki and Cisco controllers? will Meraki phase out the Meraki models and just end up with the CW models?

Can anyone explain the real world benefits of 802.11ax and wifi 6E in particular? we will keep the access points for around 6-7 years, should we be looking at 6E models?

If our sites have been surveyed for 5Ghz coverage, will putting 6E access points still provide the same coverage, or do you need more density?

Cheers

[Leo Laohoo]

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@carl_townshend wrote:
Can anyone explain the real world benefits of 802.11ax and wifi 6E in particular?

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@carl_townshend, the real question should be:  Are there any affordable fully-capable 802.11ax wireless client that really, really, really sustain >3 Gbps of bandwidth?  

[Flavio Miranda]

Hello

What do you mean by CW ?   But Meraki and Cisco WLC have been separated world and I dont believe will mix up ever. 

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Do the new CW models run on both Meraki and Cisco controllers? will Meraki phase out the Meraki models and just end up with the CW models?"

 Only Cisco could answer a question about next step in the platform evolution. 

"Can anyone explain the real world benefits of 802.11ax and wifi 6E in particular? we will keep the access points for around 6-7 years, should we be looking at 6E models?"

 802.11ax - It is an improvement for 802.11ac. In theory it offers more bandwidth and more density capacity.  But it will depends on which client device you have and how you build you network.  Depending on the previous mentioned condition, it is just one more standard. 

6E - Is a new spectrum and yes, it has potential to really boost wifi capacity as this new spectrum had never been used before and you will not see interference. But, the problem is to find client devices supporting this new spectrum. You may end up with the network ready and no device to connect. 

If our sites have been surveyed for 5Ghz coverage, will putting 6E access points still provide the same coverage, or do you need more density?

  It will not. I have no experience with 6E yet but the higher the frequency the shorter the wave so, it will require more AP for sure. The site survey must be done with 6E supported software. 

[Scott Fella]

You have a lot of good info from others here.  I would always try to get the best out there especially if you know that you will never replace them for another 6+ years.  The Cisco 9166 can run on both the Cisco 9800 controllers and Meraki, but you have to perform a conversion that only TAC can provide.  I really don't think Meraki will go away, but here is the thing, if you are familiar with Meraki, then stick with it if it's working for you.  This way you and your peers don't have to learn new things especially troubleshooting.

[Dustin Anderson · Accepted solution]

Cisco and Meraki are the same hardware now. We demo'd Meraki recently and all the equipment was just Cisco APs with different code installed. 

Now, even if a client can't take advantage of the new tech right now, who is to say in the 5-7 years. My rule is to buy the newest as it will have the longest time before EoL and no vulnerability support. Obviously get a sample and test to make sure there are no odd bugs with any clients you use. 

if you are set for 5GHz, you should be fine with 6GHz. Like with 2.4-5, your coverage drops as the Hz goes up, but 5-6 is low enough that the reduction really isn't an issue if you are designed for 5.

[JPavonM]

From my point of view, if you are not an experienced wireless engineer then stick to Meraki. I don't really like Meraki becuase is not an enterprise grade solution due to the limitations in configuration and troubleshooting, so at the end you need to rely on Meraki support for almost everything. This is basically what I call wireless-as-a-service solution, where you pay not only for hardware and support, but also for the access (if nothing has changed MEraki will disable the AP if you don't renew the subscription, something that not happen in the Cisco side as of today).

Regarding moving to WiFi6E APs, and as some colleagues have mentioned here before, it could be something benefitial, but it all depend if your company is going to invest on renewing end-user devices in the next 3-4 years. After that time, WiFi7 maybe out there with some new features and benefits.

But take care if doing this and ensure your current deployment provides full signal quality to all areas as using 6 GHz band decrease the signal range, so you could end up having connectivity and performance issues.