Cisco Catalyst C9117AXE-x-K9
Listing Title
Cisco Catalyst C9117AXE-x-K9 Flagship High-Density Indoor Wi‑Fi 6 (802.11ax) Access Point, Dual-Band 4×4 (2.4GHz) + 8×8 (5GHz) MU‑MIMO, Eight RP‑TNC External Antenna Ports, Embedded BLE 5.1 IoT Radio, 5G/2.5G Multigigabit PoE+ Uplink, Supports Catalyst 9800 WLC / EWC Embedded Standalone Controller Mode, Optimized for Custom RF Coverage Complex Indoor Spaces, Partitioned Offices, Auditoriums, Stadium Concourses and Ultra-High-Density Venues
Full Commercial Product Description
The Cisco Catalyst C9117AXE-x-K9 is the top-tier flagship model of Catalyst 9117AX Wi‑Fi 6 enterprise indoor AP family, designated AXE for eight RP-TNC female external antenna connectors, contrasting with internal omnidirectional antenna variant C9117AXI without external RF portsCisco. This AP is purpose-built for ultra-high-density indoor environments with hundreds of concurrent wireless endpoints, supporting bandwidth-heavy workloads including 4K/8K video streaming, multi-party HD video conferencing, massive IoT sensor connectivity and crowded event venue wireless accessCisco. It delivers two flexible deployment architectures: CAPWAP lightweight centralized controller mode managed by Catalyst 9800 Series physical/virtual Wireless LAN Controllers, and EWC Embedded Wireless Controller standalone virtual controller mode (C9117AXE‑EWC‑x‑K9 variant) for independent campus, auditorium and large branch networks without dedicated physical WLC hardwareCisco.
Triple Concurrent Radio Architecture
The access point integrates three independent concurrent radios: dual high-performance Wi‑Fi 6 radios plus embedded BLE IoT radio
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2.4 GHz 802.11ax Radio: 4×4:4 MU‑MIMO with four spatial streams, supports 20/40 MHz channel bandwidth, backward compatible with legacy 802.11b/g/n IoT and mobile devices, maximum single-band PHY throughput up to 1.2 Gbps.
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5 GHz 802.11ax Radio: Flagship 8×8:8 MU‑MIMO architecture with eight spatial streams, supports 20/40/80/160 MHz ultra-wide channels, DFS radar frequency avoidance, 1024-QAM high-efficiency modulation, peak single-band PHY throughput reaching 5 GbpsCisco.
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Embedded Bluetooth Low Energy 5.1 Radio: Native integrated IoT radio for indoor location analytics, asset tracking, proximity beacon marketing and low-power sensor connectivity, mapped to dedicated external RP-TNC antenna port D when external antennas are deployedCisco.
Total aggregate dual-band Wi‑Fi 6 PHY throughput hits approximately 6.0 Gbps, equipped with high-capacity wireless switching hardware to handle massive concurrent client connections in crowded indoor venues.
Core Wi‑Fi 6 high-density optimization technologies fully supported:
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Uplink & Downlink OFDMA: Splits wireless spectrum into tiny resource units to drastically reduce multi-client transmission latency and improve spectrum utilization efficiency
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Downlink MU‑MIMO: Simultaneously transmits data to multiple Wi‑Fi 6 compatible clients to maximize airtime capacity in dense deployments
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BSS Coloring Spatial Reuse: Minimizes co-channel interference between adjacent access points in packed campus and auditorium layouts
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Target Wake Time (TWT): Extends battery service life of smartphones, tablets and battery-powered IoT sensors via scheduled sleep cycles
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Transmit Beamforming & MRC Maximal Ratio Combining: Extends wireless signal coverage range and strengthens connection stability for distant client devicesCisco
Eight RP‑TNC External Antenna Interfaces (Core Differentiator vs C9117AXI)
The C9117AXE features eight labeled RP‑TNC female external antenna ports on the chassis top panel, fully separating 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz RF signal paths to support fully customizable antenna matching schemes. System integrators can select Cisco‑certified dual-band external antennas (omnidirectional dipole, directional panel, sector high‑gain antennas) with flexible gain values to precisely shape RF coverage, eliminate dead zones and tailor signal propagation for partitioned office rooms, long corridor layouts, uneven indoor RF environments and industrial smart building deployments. Unlike the fixed built-in antenna C9117AXI, this external port variant allows field adjustment of coverage patterns without replacing the entire access pointCisco.
Hardware Interfaces & Power Specifications
Wired Interfaces
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1 × 100/1000/2500/5000BASE-T Multigigabit (mGig) RJ45 uplink port, compliant with IEEE 802.3bz NBASE-T standard, transmitting data and receiving PoE power over a single Cat5e/Cat6 cableCisco.
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RJ45 RS‑232 local console port for device configuration, firmware upgrade and field troubleshooting.
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USB 2.0 auxiliary port with up to 4.5W power output for local diagnostics and lightweight edge IoT application hosting (activated under full PoE+ power supply)Cisco.
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Multi‑color LED status indicator for boot state, WLC association, runtime operation and hardware fault alert.
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Physical reset button for one-touch factory configuration recovery.
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Kensington lock slot for physical anti‑theft protection.
Power Supply Compatibility
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Primary required power: IEEE 802.3at PoE+ (30W power budget), mandatory to enable full 8×8 MIMO 5GHz radio performance and USB port activation.
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Limited degraded operation via IEEE 802.3af PoE: When powered by af PoE, radios downgrade to reduced MIMO streams, Multigigabit uplink speed drops to 1Gbps, and USB port is disabled to lower thermal load.
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Compatible PoE injectors: AIR‑PWRINJ5 (802.3af), AIR‑PWRINJ6 (802.3at).
Supported Deployment Operation Modes
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CAPWAP Lightweight Controller Mode: Centralized unified wireless policy management via Catalyst 9800 physical/virtual WLCs, global RF resource scheduling, seamless inter‑AP client roaming, centralized security enforcement and full Cisco DNA network analytics support.
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EWC Embedded Wireless Controller Standalone Mode: Runs lightweight virtual wireless controller locally on EWC preloaded AP variants for independent large campus, auditorium or branch networks without dedicated WLC hardware.
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Auxiliary diagnostic operational modes: Monitor Mode, Sniffer Mode for RF spectrum capture and wireless traffic analysis.
Enterprise‑Grade Wireless Security Suite
Comprehensive layered security compliant with enterprise, education, retail and public venue compliance standards:
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WPA3‑Enterprise / WPA2 / WPA wireless encryption suites with AES hardware acceleration
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Secure Boot, runtime integrity defense, digital firmware image signing and hardware authenticity verification to block malicious firmware tampering
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Full 802.1X AAA authentication, complete EAP protocol suite (EAP‑TLS, PEAP, EAP‑FAST, EAP‑TTLS)
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Encrypted Traffic Analytics (ETA): Machine learning powered threat detection for encrypted traffic without decryption to identify ransomware and network intrusions
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MAC address filtering, isolated VLAN traffic segmentation for guest vs corporate/IoT networks, rogue AP detection and wireless intrusion monitoring
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Hardware‑accelerated DTLS tunnel encryption for CAPWAP controller communication links
Physical & Environmental Specifications
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Dimensions: 220 × 220 × 49.3 mm (8.66 × 8.66 × 1.94 in) without mounting bracket
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Weight: 1.4 kg (3.09 lbs), lightweight for flush ceiling installation
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Operating temperature: 0°C ~ 50°C (32°F ~ 122°F); when ambient temperature exceeds 40°C, radio MIMO streams, uplink speed and USB port are restricted for thermal protection
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Storage temperature: -30°C ~ 70°C (-22°F ~ 158°F)
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Operating humidity: 10% – 90% non‑condensing
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Operating altitude: Up to 3000 meters at 40°C ambient temperature
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Mounting: Standard ceiling rail / wall bracket mount, compatible with Cisco universal AP mounting kits
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Memory: 2GB DRAM, 1GB Flash storage
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Warranty: Limited Lifetime Hardware Warranty
Cisco DNA Ecosystem Compatibility
Cisco DNA Ready platform, fully integrated with Cisco DNA Center on‑premises and cloud management platforms. Supports DNA Assurance AI‑driven network analytics, Intelligent Capture wireless traffic inspection, end‑user client performance monitoring, automated fault troubleshooting and predictive wireless network capacity planning for centralized IT lifecycle management of multi‑site enterprise and education deployments.
The suffix "x" in the part number represents regional regulatory domain variants (A=FCC North America, C=China, E=ETSI Europe, K=Korea, S=Singapore etc.) to comply with local radio frequency transmit power, channel allocation and wireless spectrum licensing regulations worldwide.
Key Specification Bullet Points
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Model: C9117AXE-x-K9
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Wi‑Fi Standard: IEEE 802.11ax (Wi‑Fi 6), backward compatible with 802.11a/b/g/n/ac
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Radio Architecture: Dual concurrent 2.4 GHz + 5 GHz Wi‑Fi 6 radios; embedded BLE 5.1 IoT beacon radio
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Spatial Streams: 4 spatial streams (2.4GHz), 8 spatial streams (5GHz); Max total aggregate PHY throughput ~6.0 Gbps
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Antenna Interface: Eight RP‑TNC female external antenna ports; compatible with Cisco certified omnidirectional/directional/sector dual-band external antennas; no factory built-in internal antennas
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Core Wi‑Fi 6 Technologies: Uplink/downlink OFDMA, downlink MU‑MIMO, BSS Coloring spatial reuse, TWT power saving, transmit beamforming, MRC receive diversity, 160 MHz wide 5 GHz channel support
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Supported Operation Modes: CAPWAP lightweight centralized controller mode, EWC embedded standalone virtual controller mode, Monitor / Sniffer diagnostic modes
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Wired Interfaces:
1 × 5G Multigigabit PoE‑In RJ45 uplink port
1 × RJ45 RS‑232 local console port
1 × USB 2.0 auxiliary diagnostic port
Multi‑color status LED, physical reset button, Kensington anti‑theft lock slot
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Power Compatibility: IEEE 802.3at PoE+ (full performance); IEEE 802.3af PoE (limited radio/port functionality); compatible with AIR‑PWRINJ5 / AIR‑PWRINJ6 PoE injectors
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Environmental Parameters: Operating temp 0°C ~ 50°C; storage temp -30°C ~ 70°C; humidity 10%–90% non‑condensing
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Physical Specs: Dimension 220 × 220 × 49.3 mm; weight 1.4 kg
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Mounting: Flush ceiling rail / wall bracket mounting, universal Cisco AP mounting kit compatible
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Security Suite: WPA3/WPA2/AES, Secure Boot firmware protection, Encrypted Traffic Analytics (ETA), 802.1X multi‑EAP authentication, rogue AP detection, VLAN segmentation, DTLS encrypted CAPWAP tunnels
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Ecosystem Support: Cisco DNA Center cloud & on‑prem management, DNA Assurance AI analytics, Intelligent Capture wireless traffic inspection, containerized edge IoT application hosting
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Typical Deployment Scenarios: Complex partitioned corporate offices, university lecture halls & full campus coverage, large shopping malls, auditoriums, stadium concourses, convention centers, event venues, healthcare hospital wireless networks, smart building massive IoT deployments, indoor spaces requiring fully customized directional/sector external antenna coverage to eliminate RF dead zones
Model Quick Reference
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C9117AXE-x-K9: Flagship external RP‑TNC antenna port Wi‑Fi 6 enterprise AP, 4×4 2.4GHz + 8×8 5GHz MU‑MIMO radios, 5G Multigigabit mGig PoE+ uplink, embedded BLE IoT radio, ceiling mount for ultra-high-density indoor venues requiring custom RF coverage layout via external antennas
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C9117AXE-EWC-x-K9: EWC embedded wireless controller preloaded variant supporting standalone operation without dedicated physical WLC
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C9117AXI-x-K9: Internal integrated omnidirectional antenna variant, no external RP‑TNC antenna ports for standard uniform wide‑area coverage
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Catalyst 9115AX Series: Mid-tier 4×4 MU‑MIMO Wi‑Fi 6 APs with lower overall throughput for medium-density office and campus deployments
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Catalyst 9105AX Series: Entry-level 2×2 MU‑MIMO Wi‑Fi 6 APs with low throughput for SMB and low-density branch office deployments
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