Since Meraki is owned by Cisco, a lot of what you know about Meraki access points is true of Cisco devices, as well. And that applies to the Cisco Catalyst CW9164 and Cisco Catalyst CW9166 Wi-Fi 6E access points.
But why are we talking about the Cisco access points?
Sheer practicality. But why should you, a Meraki customer, care that you will soon be able to acquire Cisco access points? Because of course, Cisco owns Meraki. As a result, Cisco access points are compatible with Meraki hardware and the Meraki cloud operating system.
they can be substituted for Meraki access points. Easily.
And as it turns out, Corporate Armor will be shipping Cisco Catalyst CW9164 and Cisco Catalyst CW9166 access points beginning August 27. And you can order them now! These are serious, enterprise, Wi-Fi 6E access points. Comparable to the Meraki MR57E.
Wi-Fi 6E? Is that a typo?
No. WiFi simply 6E means WiFi 6 extended to the 6 GHz band. WiFi 6E works with the same standard as WiFi 6, but with an extended spectrum. 6 GHz is the new frequency band ranging from 5.925 GHz to 7.125 GHz, allowing up to 1,200 MHz of additional spectrum.
On existing bands, channels are currently crammed into the limited spectrum. But the 6 GHz band exists without overlap or interference. This means more bandwidth, faster speeds, and lower latency. It opens up resources for future innovations like in AR/VR, 8K streaming and more.
And the 6 GHz band is exclusive to WiFi 6E devices. This means 6 GHz networks don’t need to slow down to accommodate older devices. As a result, WiFi 6E devices can take full advantage of the bandwidth, spectrum, and speed improvements of 6 GHz without competing with any non-6E devices.
Catalyst plus Meraki equals WOW!
Catalyst is arguably the industry’s leading network architecture. And Meraki’s is arguably the leading cloud IT platform. Combining them will simply give you an unparalleled network experience. Need to power hybrid work from anywhere at any given time with elevated, secure, and connected experiences? The CW9164 and CW9166 are phenomenal choices.
Operational management is not static, as customers are able to change their network management whenever they want. If a network with the 9164 or 9166 was originally an on-premises deployment, it can be changed to cloud-based management easily. Without the need to purchase and redistribute additional hardware.
Cisco Catalyst 9164 and 9166 can also be paired with Catalyst 9800 WLC and Cisco DNA Center. Cisco DNA Center allows you to understand your network with real-time analytics. You will quickly detect and contain security threats, and easily provide network-wide consistency through automation and virtualization.
Meraki Cloud Management
Pairing the Cisco Catalyst access points with the Meraki cloud gives you a unified IT experience for network management. The Meraki dashboard provides an incredibly intuitive and easy-to-use web interface.
Cisco Catalyst CW9164 by the numbers
As stated already, the CW9164 is a Wi-Fi 6E compliant. Tri-band configuration unlocks the use of the new spectrum in the 6GHz frequency range. This provides additional channels to increase throughput and reduce interference and noise from legacy devices. 6GHz support ensures that the CW9164 supports future technologies.
The CW9164 provides up to 7.49 Gbps aggregate frame rate. It has concurrent 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6GHz radios. A dedicated fourth radio provides real-time WIDS/WIPS, and a fifth integrated IoT radio delivers Bluetooth scanning and beaconing. It has 1x 2.5 Gbps mGig Ethernet port. It comes with one 2×2:2 and two 4×4:4 MU-MIMO radios.
Cisco Catalyst CW9166 by the numbers
The CW9166 is a Wi-Fi 6E compliant. Tri-band configuration unlocks the use of the new spectrum in the 6GHz frequency range. This provides additional channels to increase throughput and reduce interference and noise from legacy devices. 6GHz support ensures that the CW9164 supports future technologies.
The CW9164 provides up to 7.78 Gbps aggregate frame rate. It has concurrent 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6GHz radios. A dedicated fourth radio provides real-time WIDS/WIPS, and a fifth integrated IoT radio delivers Bluetooth scanning and beaconing. It has 1x 5 Gbps mGig Ethernet port. It comes with three 4×4:4 MU-MIMO radios.
Now, if you have any other questions about the Cisco Catalyst CW9164, the Cisco Catalyst CW9166, or any Meraki product, you can email us or call Corporate Armor at 877-449-0458. We love answering questions. Thanks for reading!
Cisco Catalyst highlights
| Enterprise-grade, Wi-Fi 6E compliant access points |
| 7.49 Gbps frame rate (CW9164), 7.78 Gbps (CW9166) |
| MU-MIMO and ODFMA |
| Full compatability with both Cisco and Meraki ecosystems |