Cisco Catalyst CW9176I Full English Description

Listing Title

Full Commercial Product Description

1. On-premises CAPWAP lightweight mode managed by Catalyst 9800 Series physical/virtual Wireless LAN Controllers and Cisco DNA Center automation & assurance stack
2. Meraki cloud-native zero-touch provisioning mode via Meraki Dashboard for multi-site centralized cloud orchestrationCisco.

• Tri-band mode: Concurrent 2.4GHz + 5GHz + clean interference-free LPI 6GHz Wi‑Fi 7 spectrum
• Dual 5GHz high-density mode: Disable 6GHz band to activate two parallel 4×4 5GHz radios for maximum client capacity in regions without 6GHz regulatory approvalCisco.

Five Concurrent Independent Radio Architecture

1. Fixed 2.4 GHz Wi‑Fi 7 Client Serving Radio: 4×4:4 MU‑MIMO with four spatial streams, supports only 20MHz channel bandwidth, fully backward compatible with legacy 802.11b/g/n IoT and mobile devices; maximum single-band PHY throughput 1.5 Gbps.
2. Primary 5 GHz Wi‑Fi 7 Client Serving Radio: 4×4:4 MU‑MIMO, supports 20/40/80/160MHz wide channels, DFS radar frequency avoidance, 4096-QAM high-efficiency modulation; peak single-band PHY throughput 4.8 Gbps.
3. Software XOR-Switchable Secondary Radio (Dual 5GHz or LPI 6GHz Wi‑Fi 7): Two flexible deployment modes:
   • Mode 1 (Full Tri-Band): Activate exclusive clean LPI 6GHz unlicensed band, supports 20/40/80/320MHz ultra-wide channels; max single-band PHY throughput 4.8 Gbps.
   • Mode 2 (High-Density Dual 5GHz): Disable 6GHz spectrum, merge secondary radio into a second independent 4×4 5GHz radio to double 5GHz client capacity.
     Total aggregate tri-band Wi‑Fi 7 PHY throughput reaches18 Gbps.
4. Dedicated AI/ML CleanAir Pro Tri-Band Scanning Radio: Runs 24×7 independently of client serving radios, continuously scans full 2.4/5/6GHz spectrum to decode EHT Wi‑Fi 7 frames, detect RF interference, rogue access points and malicious wireless intrusions, delivering automatic Air Marshal WIDS/WIPS rogue containment and real-time RF spectrum analytics without occupying user traffic radio resources.
5. Integrated Multi-Function IoT Radio Subsystem: Separate built-in omnidirectional internal antenna with three embedded modules:
   • BLE 5.3 beacon & scanning radio (software upgradable to BLE 6.0)
   • UWB Ultra-Wideband high-precision indoor location tracking module
   • Built-in GNSS/GPS receiver for AP geolocation calibration and location analytics accuracy
     Supports Cisco DNA Spaces / Meraki Spaces visitor flow counting, asset tracking, proximity beacon marketing and centimeter-level precision indoor navigation.

• Multi-Link Operation (MLO): Ultra-low-latency parallel multi-band transmission for real-time AR/VR, video conferencing and cloud desktop workloads
• Uplink & Downlink OFDMA: Splits wireless spectrum into miniature resource units to drastically reduce multi-client transmission latency
• 4096-QAM high-density modulation for maximum single-channel throughput
• Downlink MU‑MIMO: Simultaneous parallel data transmission to multiple Wi‑Fi 7 compatible clients to maximize airtime capacity
• BSS Coloring Spatial Reuse: Mitigates co-channel interference between adjacent APs in dense campus and auditorium layouts
• Target Wake Time (TWT): Extends battery service 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 weak-client connection stability
• Full LPI-compliant 6GHz indoor operation, 320MHz ultra-wide channel support, A-MPDU/A-MSDU packet aggregation, Cyclic Shift Diversity (CSD) and complete DFS radar frequency avoidance support.

Integrated Internal Omnidirectional Tri-Band Antenna Array (CW9176I Exclusive Feature)

• 2.4GHz internal antenna gain: 5 dBi, uniform full 360° horizontal azimuth omnidirectional coverage
• 5GHz internal antenna gain: 5 dBi wide-area indoor coverage
• 6GHz Wi‑Fi 7 internal antenna gain: 6 dBi optimized for clean low-interference 6GHz band high-throughput transmission
• Separate dedicated omnidirectional internal antenna for BLE/UWB/GNSS multi-function IoT radio.

Hardware Interfaces & Power Specifications

Wired Interfaces

1. 1 × 100M/1000M/2500M/5000M/10GBASE-T Multigigabit (mGig) RJ45 PoE-In uplink port, IEEE 802.3bz NBASE-T compliant, supports Cat5e/Cat6 cabling for 10Gbps high-speed uplink transmission, receives PoE power input from upstream PoE switch/injector.
2. RJ45 RS‑232 local console port for manual initial configuration, firmware recovery and field troubleshooting
3. USB 2.0 Type-A auxiliary port with 9W power output, compatible with third-party IoT peripherals and local diagnostic logging; USB functionality only active under full 802.3bt UPOE power supply
4. External GNSS/GPS antenna extension port for enhanced geolocation signal reception
5. Single multi-color LED status indicator for boot sequence, WLC/cloud dashboard connectivity, runtime operation and hardware fault alerts
6. Physical reset button for one-touch factory default configuration recovery
7. Kensington lock slot for physical anti-theft protection.

Power Supply Compatibility

• Full-performance operation: IEEE 802.3bt UPOE / 802.3at PoE+ (42.5–57V DC, maximum 52W power budget), required to activate all five concurrent radios, full 10G multigigabit uplink, USB port and integrated GNSS/UWB/BLE IoT subsystem functionality; typical peak power consumption 52W.
• Degraded limited operation via IEEE 802.3af PoE: All serving Wi-Fi radios downgrade to 1×1 MIMO streams, multigigabit Ethernet port automatically drops to 1Gbps, USB port, UWB and GNSS modules fully disabled to reduce thermal load.
• Supported power sources: 802.3af/at/bt UPOE PoE switches, dedicated PoE injectors (CW-INJ-8, MA-INJ-6, AIR-PWRINJ7), external 54V DC power adapters.

Supported Deployment Operation Modes

1. CAPWAP Lightweight On-Prem Controller Mode (Factory Default Firmware): Unified global wireless policy management via Catalyst 9800 Series physical/virtual WLCs, automated RF group resource tuning, seamless inter-AP client roaming, centralized layered security enforcement and full Cisco DNA Center analytics integration. Supports SD-Access fabric architecture and Cisco ISE identity services engine integration.
2. Meraki Cloud-Managed Mode (Firmware Reflash Required): Zero-touch cloud provisioning; once powered on, the AP automatically connects to Meraki cloud servers, downloads pre-assigned network configurations and joins the managed site. Administrators deploy global wireless policies, run automated RF optimization, schedule seamless background firmware upgrades and monitor all APs via centralized Meraki Dashboard.
3. Auxiliary diagnostic modes: Monitor Mode, Sniffer Mode for full tri-band RF spectrum capture and wireless traffic packet inspection.

Enterprise-Grade Layered Wireless Security Suite

• WPA3-Enterprise 192-bit / WPA3-Personal / WPA2 / WPA wireless encryption suites with AES hardware acceleration
• Secure Boot, runtime integrity defense and digital firmware signing to prevent malicious firmware tampering, supported by Cisco Trust Anchor module for supply chain security
• Full IEEE 802.1X AAA authentication, native Active Directory integration and complete EAP protocol stack (EAP-TLS, PEAP, EAP-FAST, EAP-TTLS, LEAP)
• Air Marshal WIDS/WIPS: 24/7 dedicated scanning radio detects, classifies and contains rogue wireless devices with full threat audit logs
• Layer 7 application-aware traffic shaping: Classifies hundreds of business/streaming/gaming applications to prioritize productivity traffic and restrict non-work bandwidth consumption
• Cisco Umbrella native DNS-layer cloud security for automated malicious domain blocking (Meraki cloud management mode)
• Isolated VLAN segmentation to separate corporate employee, guest and IoT device wireless networks
• Hardware-accelerated DTLS encrypted control tunnels between AP and Catalyst WLC / Meraki cloud data centers.

Physical & Environmental Specifications

• Dimensions (without mounting bracket): 241.3 × 241.3 × 56.9 mm (9.5 × 9.5 × 2.2 inches)
• Weight: 1.65 kg (3.64 lb), lightweight for standard T-bar ceiling rail or wall bracket flush mounting
• Operating temperature range: 0°C ~ 50°C (32°F ~ 122°F)
• Storage temperature range: -40°C ~ 70°C (-40°F ~ 158°F)
• Operating humidity: 10% – 95% non-condensing
• Operating altitude: Up to 4205 meters (13.8K ft) at 45°C ambient temperature
• Mounting compatibility: Universal Cisco ceiling T-bar rail brackets and standard wall mounting kits
• System memory: 4GB DRAM, 2GB Flash storage
• Regulatory certification: Global single-SKU design compliant with FCC (North America), CE (EU), KC (Korea), MIC (Japan) and other regional RF regulatory standards
• Warranty: Limited lifetime hardware warranty (WARR-CW-LIFE-LTD).

Cisco DNA & Meraki Cloud Ecosystem Compatibility

1. Cisco DNA Center (Catalyst On-Prem Mode): Supports DNA Assurance AI/ML predictive wireless analytics, Intelligent Capture deep wireless traffic inspection, end-user client performance monitoring, automated fault troubleshooting and predictive wireless network capacity planning, native integration with Cisco ISE identity services engine, SD-Access fabric networks and Cisco Spaces indoor location & IoT beacon analytics (UWB high-precision positioning supported).
2. Meraki Cloud Dashboard (Cloud-Managed Mode): Supports Meraki Health AI anomaly detection, real-time visitor density mapping, dwell time tracking, repeat visitor reporting via cloud API, native integration with Meraki Vision smart IP cameras and Meraki MX SD-WAN security appliances for unified full-stack network visibility.

Key Specification Bullet Points

• Model: CW9176I (Catalyst 9176I Global Single-SKU Tri-Band Wi‑Fi 7 Indoor Flagship AP with Integrated Omnidirectional Antennas, Built-In GNSS/UWB/BLE Multi-IoT Subsystem)
• Wi‑Fi Standard: IEEE 802.11be Wi‑Fi 7, backward compatible with Wi‑Fi 6E / Wi‑Fi 6 / 802.11a/b/g/n/ac
• Radio Architecture: Five concurrent independent radios
  1. Fixed 2.4GHz serving radio: 4×4 MU-MIMO
  2. Fixed primary 5GHz serving radio: 4×4 MU-MIMO
  3. XOR switchable secondary radio: Dual 5GHz high-density mode OR dedicated LPI 6GHz tri-band Wi‑Fi 7 mode (4×4 MU-MIMO)
  4. Dedicated full-time tri-band AI/ML CleanAir Pro Air Marshal WIDS/WIPS scanning radio
  5. Integrated multi-function IoT radio (BLE 5.3 upgradable to BLE6 + UWB high-precision location + GNSS/GPS geolocation, separate internal omnidirectional antenna)
• Spatial Streams: 4 spatial streams for all three client Wi-Fi radios; Max total aggregate tri-band PHY throughput 18 Gbps
• Antenna Design: Factory integrated omnidirectional tri-band internal antenna array; gain: 5 dBi (2.4GHz/5GHz), 6 dBi (6GHz); no external RF antenna ports
• Exclusive Hardware Features: Single 10G mGig uplink port, built-in GNSS/GPS receiver, UWB ultra-wideband high-precision indoor positioning module, upgradable BLE 5.3 IoT radio
• Core Wi‑Fi 7 Exclusive Features: Multi-Link Operation (MLO), 4096-QAM modulation, 320MHz wide 6GHz channel support, AI/ML-driven CleanAir Pro full-spectrum scanning
• Supported Operation Modes: CAPWAP Catalyst 9800 on-prem controller mode (factory default), migratable Meraki cloud-managed Dashboard mode, Monitor / Sniffer RF diagnostic modes
• Wired Interfaces:
  1 × 10G Multigigabit PoE-In RJ45 uplink port
  1 × RJ45 RS‑232 local console port
  1 × USB 2.0 auxiliary IoT/peripheral port
  1 × External GNSS antenna extension jack
  1 × DC 54V external power jack
  Multi-color single status LED, physical reset button, Kensington anti-theft lock slot
• Power Compatibility: IEEE 802.3bt UPOE / 802.3at PoE+ (full 5-radio + GNSS/UWB/BLE performance); IEEE 802.3af PoE (limited radio/port functionality, IoT modules disabled); compatible with UPOE switches, dedicated PoE injectors and 54V DC power adapters
• Environmental Parameters: Operating temp 0°C ~ 50°C; storage temp -40°C ~ 70°C; humidity 10%–95% non-condensing
• Physical Specs: Dimension 241.3 × 241.3 × 56.9 mm; weight 1.65 kg
• Mounting: Flush ceiling T-bar rail / wall bracket mounting, universal Cisco AP mounting kit compatible
• Security Suite: WPA3/WPA2/AES hardware encryption, Secure Boot + Cisco Trust Anchor firmware anti-tampering, 24/7 Air Marshal WIDS/WIPS rogue AP containment, Cisco Umbrella DNS cloud security (Meraki), Layer7 application traffic shaping, full 802.1X multi-EAP authentication, isolated VLAN segmentation for wired/wireless users, DTLS encrypted CAPWAP/cloud control tunnels
• Ecosystem Support: Dual-stack Cisco DNA Center on-prem management + Meraki cloud dashboard, DNA Assurance / Meraki Health AI network analytics, Intelligent Capture wireless traffic inspection, containerized edge IoT application hosting, Cisco Spaces UWB high-precision indoor location & IoT beacon analytics, ISE identity integration, Meraki MX SD-WAN / Meraki Vision camera unified stack integration
• Typical Deployment Scenarios: Ultra-high-density university campuses, large convention centers, stadium concourses, auditoriums, big-box retail malls, all-wireless corporate headquarters, smart office buildings, healthcare hospitals and clinics, mass smart building IoT deployments, indoor environments requiring interference-free tri-band Wi‑Fi 7 high-throughput spectrum, centimeter-level UWB indoor location tracking, visitor analytics and asset tracking, flexible hybrid on-prem Catalyst WLC or Meraki zero-touch cloud managed flagship Wi‑Fi 7 AP deployments

Model Quick Reference

• CW9176I: Global single-SKU flagship tri-band Wi‑Fi 7 indoor enterprise AP with integrated omnidirectional internal antennas, five concurrent radios (3×4×4 tri-band client radios + dedicated CleanAir Pro scanning radio + integrated GNSS/UWB/BLE multi-IoT radio), single 10G mGig PoE++ uplink, dual unified Catalyst 9800 on-prem CAPWAP or Meraki cloud dashboard management, ceiling/wall mount for ultra-high-density campus, convention center, retail and smart building deployments requiring high-throughput Wi‑Fi 7 and high-precision indoor location tracking
• CW9176D1: Directional integrated patch antenna variant for high-ceiling warehouses, auditoriums and long indoor aisles
• CW9172I: Mid-tier Wi‑Fi 7 AP with only 2×2 tri-band client radios, lower throughput and no UWB/GNSS IoT subsystem for medium-density deployments
• CW9172H: Wall-plate hybrid wired/wireless Wi‑Fi 7 AP with built-in Gigabit switch and PoE-out port for hotel guest rooms and dormitories
• Catalyst 916x Series: Previous generation Wi‑Fi 6E APs without Wi‑Fi 7 MLO / 4K-QAM capabilities and no UWB/GNSS integrated IoT modules