Cisco Catalyst C9130AXE-x-K9

Listing Title

Full Commercial Product Description

Multi-Concurrent RF Radio Architecture

1. 2.4 GHz 802.11ax Primary Radio: Fixed 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.
2. Flexible 5 GHz 802.11ax Primary Radio: Software-switchable architecture: single 8×8:8 MU‑MIMO high-throughput mode or split dual independent 4×4:4 MU‑MIMO multi-client load-balanced mode; supports 20/40/80/160 MHz ultra-wide channels, DFS radar frequency avoidance, 1024-QAM high-efficiency modulation, peak single‑band PHY throughput reaching 4.18 GbpsCisco.
3. Auxiliary Dual-Band AUX Radio: Separate concurrent 2.4GHz/5GHz radio for isolated guest networks, dedicated IoT segmentation or secondary coverage zones.
4. Embedded Bluetooth Low Energy 5.0 IoT Radio: Independent built‑in omnidirectional internal antenna unaffected by external antenna configurations; enables indoor location analytics, asset tracking, proximity beacon marketing and low‑power Zigbee/Thread IoT sensor connectivity via future firmware upgradesCisco.

• Uplink & Downlink OFDMA: Splits wireless spectrum into miniature resource units to reduce multi‑client transmission latency and maximize spectrum efficiency
• Downlink MU‑MIMO: Simultaneously transmits data to multiple Wi‑Fi 6 compatible clients to improve airtime utilization in crowded environments
• BSS Coloring Spatial Reuse: Mitigates co‑channel interference between adjacent APs in stadiums, lecture halls and retail malls
• Target Wake Time (TWT): Extends battery life of smartphones, tablets and battery‑powered IoT sensors via scheduled sleep cycles
• Transmit Beamforming & MRC Maximal Ratio Combining: Extends RF coverage range and strengthens connection stability for distant client devices
• A‑MPDU/A‑MSDU packet aggregation, Cyclic Shift Diversity (CSD) and full DFS radar frequency avoidance support.

DART 8-Port Smart External Antenna Interface (Key Differentiator vs C9130AXI)

1. Self‑Identifying Antenna (SIA) Compatibility: Native support for Cisco DART‑terminated SIA antennas; the AP automatically detects antenna gain, band mapping and coverage characteristics for zero-touch RF provisioningCisco.
2. Legacy Antenna Adaptability: Two dedicated breakout cables convert the DART connector to standard legacy RF ports:
   • AIR-CAB002-D8-R=: DART to eight RP‑TNC connectors, supports antennas up to 6 dBi gain
   • AIR-CAB003-D8-N=: DART to eight N‑type connectors, supports high‑gain external antennas up to 13 dBi gainCisco.
3. Custom Coverage Flexibility: Integrators can deploy certified omnidirectional ceiling/pole antennas, narrow directional panel antennas or high‑gain sector antennas to eliminate RF dead zones, shape targeted coverage for partitioned offices, long corridors and uneven indoor propagation environments. The embedded BLE radio retains its separate internal antenna and does not consume any DART external antenna ports.

Hardware Interfaces & Power Specifications

Wired Interfaces

1. 5G Multigigabit PoE‑In Uplink Port: 100/1000/2500/5000BASE‑T RJ45, IEEE 802.3bz NBASE‑T standard, transports data and PoE power over Cat5e/Cat6 cabling; automatically downgrades to 1Gbps under thermal stress above 40°C ambient temperature.
2. RJ45 RS‑232 Local Console Port: For initial device configuration, firmware upgrades and field troubleshooting
3. USB 2.0 auxiliary port (4.5W power output): Supports lightweight Docker containerized IoT edge application hosting and local diagnostics; USB functionality is disabled when powered by limited 802.3af PoE inputCisco.
4. Multi‑color LED status indicator for boot sequence, WLC controller association, runtime operation and hardware fault alert
5. Physical reset button for one‑touch factory default configuration recovery
6. Kensington lock slot for physical anti‑theft protection

Power Supply Compatibility

• Primary full-performance power: IEEE 802.3at PoE+ (30W power budget), mandatory to enable full 8×8 MIMO 5 GHz radio functionality, 5G multigigabit uplink; USB port disabled under pure PoE+ operation, only active with UPOE 802.3bt power supplyCisco.
• Limited degraded operation via IEEE 802.3af PoE: Radios downgrade MIMO stream count, multigigabit uplink speed drops to 1Gbps, USB port fully disabled to reduce thermal load.
• Maximum total power consumption: 25.5W under PoE+ full-performance mode; compatible PoE injectors: AIR-PWRINJ5 (802.3af), AIR-PWRINJ6 (802.3at).

Supported Deployment Operation Modes

1. CAPWAP Lightweight Centralized Controller Mode: 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.
2. EWC Embedded Wireless Controller Standalone Mode: Runs lightweight virtual wireless controller locally on EWC preloaded AP variants for independent large campus, auditorium or branch mesh networks without dedicated physical WLC hardware.
3. Wireless Mesh Relay Mode: Self‑forming, self‑healing AWPP mesh routing for remote indoor zones without wired uplink access.
4. FlexConnect Local Switching Mode: Distributed local data forwarding for branch sites to reduce controller traffic overhead.
5. Auxiliary diagnostic operational modes: Monitor Mode, Sniffer Mode for RF spectrum capture and wireless traffic analysis.

Enterprise-Grade Wireless Security Suite

• WPA3‑Enterprise / WPA2 / WPA wireless encryption suites with AES hardware acceleration
• Secure Boot, runtime integrity defense, digital firmware image signing and hardware authenticity verification to block malicious firmware tampering
• Full 802.1X AAA authentication, complete EAP protocol suite (EAP‑TLS, PEAP, EAP‑FAST, EAP‑TTLS, Cisco LEAP)
• Encrypted Traffic Analytics (ETA): Machine learning powered threat detection for encrypted traffic without decryption to identify ransomware and network intrusions
• MAC address filtering, isolated VLAN traffic segmentation for guest vs corporate/IoT networks, rogue AP detection and wireless intrusion monitoring
• Hardware‑accelerated DTLS tunnel encryption for CAPWAP controller communication links
• Optional FIPS 140‑2 cryptographic security kit available for government and regulated industry deployments.

Physical & Environmental Specifications

• Dimensions: 9.17 × 9.17 × 1.58 inches (233 × 233 × 40 mm) without mounting bracketCisco
• Weight: 1.48 kg (3.26 lb), lightweight for flush ceiling T‑bar rail or wall bracket mounting
• Operating temperature range: -20°C ~ 50°C (-4°F ~ 122°F); wider low-temperature tolerance than internal antenna C9130AXI model for semi‑harsh indoor industrial environmentsCisco
• Storage temperature range: -30°C ~ 70°C (-22°F ~ 158°F)
• Operating humidity: 10% – 90% non‑condensing
• Operating altitude: Up to 3000 meters at 40°C ambient temperature
• Mounting: Standard T‑bar ceiling rail / universal wall mounting bracket compatible
• System memory: 2GB DRAM, 1GB Flash storage for edge container applications and firmware images
• Warranty: Limited Lifetime Hardware Warranty

Cisco DNA Ecosystem Compatibility

Key Specification Bullet Points

• Model: C9130AXE-x-K9
• Wi‑Fi Standard: IEEE 802.11ax (Wi‑Fi 6), backward compatible with 802.11a/b/g/n/ac
• Radio Architecture: 4 concurrent RF radios: fixed 4×4 2.4GHz primary Wi‑Fi radio, software-flexible single 8×8 / dual split 4×4 5GHz primary Wi‑Fi radio, auxiliary dual‑band AUX radio, embedded standalone BLE 5.0 IoT beacon radio (separate internal antenna)
• Spatial Streams: 4 spatial streams (2.4 GHz), up to 8 spatial streams (5 GHz); Max total aggregate PHY throughput 5.38 Gbps
• Antenna Interface: Single 8-port DART Smart Self-Identifying Antenna connector (no factory internal Wi-Fi antennas); breakout cables support RP-TNC / N-type legacy external antennas up to 13 dBi gain; dedicated internal antenna for BLE IoT radio
• 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, DFS radar avoidance
• Supported Operation Modes: CAPWAP lightweight centralized controller mode, EWC embedded standalone virtual controller mode, AWPP wireless mesh relay mode, FlexConnect local switching mode, Monitor / Sniffer diagnostic modes
• Wired Interfaces:
  1 × 5G Multigigabit PoE‑In RJ45 uplink port
  1 × RJ45 RS‑232 local console port
  1 × USB 2.0 auxiliary diagnostic & edge application port
  Multi‑color status LED, physical reset button, Kensington anti-theft lock slot
• Power Compatibility: IEEE 802.3at PoE+ (full performance); IEEE 802.3af PoE (limited radio/port functionality); compatible with AIR-PWRINJ5 / AIR-PWRINJ6 PoE injectors; full USB functionality only with 802.3bt UPOE
• Environmental Parameters: Operating temp -20°C ~ 50°C; storage temp -30°C ~ 70°C; humidity 10%–90% non-condensing
• Physical Specs: Dimension 233 × 233 × 40 mm; weight 1.48 kg (3.26 lb)
• Mounting: Flush ceiling T-bar rail / wall bracket mounting, universal Cisco AP mounting kit compatible
• 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, optional FIPS 140-2 security kit
• Ecosystem Support: Cisco DNA Center cloud & on-prem management, DNA Assurance AI analytics, Intelligent Capture wireless traffic inspection, containerized edge IoT application hosting, SD-Access, Cisco DNA Spaces location analytics
• Typical Deployment Scenarios: Ultra-high-density stadium concourses, large auditoriums, university lecture halls & full campus coverage, shopping malls, healthcare hospital wireless networks, complex partitioned corporate offices, industrial indoor facilities, any indoor environment requiring fully customizable directional/sector external antenna layouts to eliminate RF dead zones

Model Quick Reference

• C9130AXE-x-K9: Flagship DART 8-port smart external antenna Wi‑Fi 6 enterprise AP, flexible 8×8 / dual 4×4 5GHz + fixed 4×4 2.4GHz MU‑MIMO radios, 5G mGig PoE+ uplink, embedded independent BLE IoT internal antenna, ceiling/wall mount for ultra-high-density indoor venues requiring custom RF coverage via external directional/sector antennas
• C9130AXE-EWC-x-K9: EWC embedded wireless controller preloaded variant supporting standalone operation without dedicated physical WLC
• C9130AXI-x-K9: Internal omnidirectional integrated antenna variant, no DART external antenna ports for standard uniform wide-area indoor coverage
• Catalyst 9120AX Series: Mid-tier indoor Wi‑Fi 6 enterprise APs with fixed 4×4 radios and 2.5G uplink for medium-density office and campus deployments
• Catalyst 9105AX Series: Entry-level 2×2 MU‑MIMO Wi‑Fi 6 APs with low throughput for SMB and low-density branch office deployments