The Cisco Catalyst9162 Series Access Points (APs) allow you to choose between on-premises and cloud management. These next generation APs are perfect for small to medium-sized deployments and support the 6-GHz band for Wi-Fi. They are resilient, secure, and intelligent.
Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax)
The IEEE 802.11ax standard, also known as High-Efficiency Wireless (HEW) or Wi-Fi 6, builds on 802.11ac. It delivers a better experience in typical environments with more predictable performance for advanced applications such as 4K or 8K video; high-density, high-definition collaboration apps; all-wireless offices; and the Internet of Things (IoT). Wi-Fi 6E is Wi-Fi 6 "extended" into the 6-GHz frequency band.
AP power optimizations (AP Power Save mode)
AP power optimizations (AP Power Save mode) allow the access point to reduce its power consumption by, for example, shutting off radios during off-hours and weekends, while being smart enough to reengage all features should they be needed. This both saves power and reduces the carbon footprint of running a wireless network.
Band steering
Band steering helps clients that are 6-GHz capable leave the 5-GHz radio and connect to the 6-GHz one. Wi-Fi 6E clients are automatically directed to connect to the 6-GHz radio to take advantage of the benefits that it offers and free up the 2.4- and 5-GHz radios for legacy clients.
Uplink/downlink OFDMA
Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access (OFDMA)-based scheduling splits the bandwidth into smaller frequency allocations called Resource Units (RUs), which can be assigned to individual clients in both the downlink and uplink directions to reduce overhead and latency.
Uplink/downlink MU-MIMO technology
Supporting six spatial streams, multiuser multiple input, multiple output (MU-MIMO) enables the access points to split spatial streams between client devices to maximize throughput.
BSS coloring
Spatial reuse (also known as Basic Service Set [BSS] coloring) allows the access points and their clients to differentiate between BSSs, thus permitting more simultaneous transmissions.
Target Wake Time
Target Wake Time (TWT) allows the client to stay asleep and to wake up only at prescheduled (target) times to exchange data with the access point. This offers significant energy savings for battery-operated devices, up to three to four times the savings achieved by 802.11n and 802.11ac.
Intelligent Capture
Intelligent Capture probes the network and provides Cisco DNA Center with deep analysis. It can track more than 240 anomalies and instantaneously review all packets on demand, emulating the onsite network administrator. This feature allows for more informed decision making on your wireless network.
Application hosting
Application hosting helps simplify IoT deployments and ready them for the future by eliminating the need to install and manage overlay networks. Using the USB interface, containerized applications and hardware modules can be deployed to reduce cost and complexity. Adding Cisco DNA Center provides workflows and deployment-wide application lifecycle management.
Bluetooth 5.1
The integrated Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) 5.1 radio enables location-based use cases such as asset tracking, wayfinding, and analytics.
Container support for applications
Container support enables edge computing capabilities for IoT applications on the host access point.
Choice of management mode
The Catalyst 9162 Series can be managed either on-premises with Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers or cloud-managed through the Meraki Dashboard. It gives you the flexibility to deploy the access points in one management mode and shift to a different management mode in the future.
