Cisco unveils Wi-Fi 7 Technology

The tech giant introduces its first set of Wi-Fi 7-capable access points and the highly anticipated unified subscription that includes both Meraki and Catalyst-based management options so that users won’t have to pick between premises or cloud management.

Cisco Systems is introducing its first set of Wi-Fi 7-capable access points, but perhaps more exciting for end customers and partners is that the new hardware is being offered with a unified subscription that includes the options for both cloud and premises-based management, the tech giant said at Cisco Live 2024 in Melbourne, Australia.

The Wi-Fi 7 access points is the first offering that Cisco is providing with the new unified subscription, the “future” of how Cisco will offer up licenses for its products, Matthew Landry, vice president of product management, networking and security for Cisco, told CRN ahead of the event.

“These access points are the first fully integrated wireless portfolio as we brought Meraki and Catalyst wireless together during the Wi-Fi 6E generation. … The market has been very clear about wanting those multifunctional, multipurpose access points, [so] Wi-Fi 7 is going to be 100 percent top to bottom, end to end, converged. There’s no longer a cloud-managed-only or a controller-managed-only AP. This is a truly unified product portfolio,” Landry said.

Cisco’s latest announcements build on its Networking Cloud platform approach, and the San Jose, Calif.-based company’s mission to simplify overall network management. Users historically have had to choose between two different platforms—cloud-based Meraki and the premises-based Catalyst platforms for management. The new Cisco Networking Subscription and hardware will give customers more flexibility by offering a seamless wireless experience across cloud, on-premises and hybrid networks, the company said.

Customers won’t have to pick between management platforms, said Landry, who is responsible for Cisco’s wireless portfolio, which includes both the Meraki and Catalyst lines.

“We can ship one access point and that can be used anywhere in the world, and it can be used with cloud management or controller management out of the box. There’s no planning. All of that goes away. You buy one access point, same hardware, and you can use it however and wherever you want,” he said.

Wi-Fi 7 Innovation

The new Wi-Fi 7 product suite includes the CW 9176 and the CW 9178 access points, with the CW 9176 as the company’s premium, top-of-range offering for very large deployments, Landry said.

The latest wireless product family is intelligent, with AI built in and out-of-the-box self-configuration. The access points can auto-detect location once plugged in and come with Cisco Spaces as part of the subscription. Access to Cisco Spaces, the company's IoT platform, will help enterprises turn their workspaces into smart spaces, Cisco said.

As Cisco works diligently to tie together networking and security, the Wi-Fi 7 technology will include advanced threat detection and data encryption. It’s also infused with Cisco ThousandEyes, which will use AI and automation to identify and quickly remediate performance bottlenecks across the wireless network and across owned and unowned infrastructure, the company said.

Meanwhile, Lawrence Huang, Senior Vice President and General, Manager of Cisco Networking – Meraki and Wireless at Cisco told CRN Asia that Cisco's ability to offer customers end-to-end security and assurance capabilities, as well as Cisco Spaces to turn workplaces into smart spaces, is unmatched in the industry.

“With unified licensing, we're giving customers more flexibility in how they deploy. Ultimately, Cisco isn't simply providing Wi-Fi - we're providing the foundation for organizations to deliver the experiences they want to their employees and end customers,” said Huang.

Landry said that Cisco will offer an upgrade path in the future for the Cisco Networking Subscription for use with existing access points. The new Cisco Wi-Fi 7 access points are available to order now and will ship in December 2024.