Why are 5508 & 8510 Wireless Controllers classified as "802.11ac Wave 1"?

[Muhammed Adnan]

Hi, 

While 802.11ac is the radio capabilities of an Access Point, why do we see the controllers classified as  802.11ac wave 1 and wave 2 respectively?

Will using 5508/8510 controller in the deployment prevents from using the 802.11ac wave 2 advantages of the deployed 802.11ac wave 2 Access Point?

If yes, what exactly are the features that are compromised?

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/wireless/wireless-lan-controller/index.html#~stickynav=2

[Leo Laohoo]

Because the models can support 802.11ac Wave 1 and Wave 2 APs.

[Muhammed Adnan]

Even 5508 controller, which is classified as wave 1 can have wave 2 Access Points up and operational on them. Trying to understand the reason of this kind of classification on the controller level when wave 1 and wave 2 are purely Access Point capabilities.

[Leo Laohoo]

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@Muhammed Adnan wrote:

to understand the reason of this kind of classification on the controller level when wave 1 and wave 2 are purely Access Point capabilities.

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The Data Sheet and comparison table was, most likely, authored by the Marketing team.