The Meraki CW9162 is a cloud-managed 2x2:2 Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax) tri-band indoor access point with separate radios dedicated to security.

Key Features

• 2x2:2 MU-MIMO 802.11ax (WiFi 6) compatible.
• 3.9 Gbps tri-radio aggregate frame rate.
• 24x7 real-time WIDS/WIPS and spectrum analytics via dedicated fourth radio.
• Integrated Bluetooth Low Energy Beacon and scanning radio.
• One (1) 2.5 Gbps mGig Ethernet port support.
• USB 2.0 host interface (Type A connector) with 4.5W power budget.
• Enhanced transmit power and receive sensitivity.
• Full-time WiFi location tracking via dedicated 3rd radio.
• Integrated enterprise security and guest access.
• Application-aware traffic shaping.
• Optimised for voice and video.
• Self-configuring, plug-and-play deployment.
• Sleek design blends into office environments.
• Limited lifetime warranty
  
  

Options
Access Point Licenses (Mandatory)
Meraki Systems Manager
Power Injectors

Downloads
Datasheet
Meraki Sizing Tool

About This Product
The Meraki CW9162 is a tri-band access point compatible with 802.11ax, featuring distinct radios for security, RF management, and Bluetooth®. It also includes a USB port for connecting hardware peripherals, including third-party solutions.

Flexible Deployment Options
The Catalyst 9162 Series Access Point offers the flexibility of both cloud and on-premises management, ensuring protection for your network investment and enabling hybrid work environments. This Wi-Fi 6E-compliant access point leverages the 6-GHz band to create a more reliable and secure network with higher throughput, increased capacity, and reduced device interference. It features three 2x2 client-serving Wi-Fi radios and a range of advanced capabilities.

By integrating the leading network architecture of Catalyst with Meraki's top cloud IT platform, this access point delivers an exceptional network experience. Ideal for organizations supporting hybrid work, it allows employees to work from anywhere with enhanced, secure, and connected experiences.

Management is adaptable, allowing customers to switch between on-premises and cloud-based management as needed, without requiring additional hardware purchases or redistribution.

Cisco Meraki Cloud Management
Combining Cisco Catalyst 9162 access points with the Meraki cloud platform offers organizations a unified IT experience for network monitoring and management. The Meraki dashboard features an intuitive and interactive web interface that connects your network to the leading cloud IT platform.

Through this dashboard, Meraki provides advanced and scalable tools to automate network optimization, deploy policy and segmentation configurations across numerous sites and devices, and manage a comprehensive network from SD-WAN to Access to IoT technologies. The platform supports over 3.9 million active networks globally.

Together, the Catalyst 9162 Series and Cisco Meraki offer features such as:

• Cisco DNA Spaces
• Cisco Identity Services Engine
• Meraki Health intelligent optimisation and assurance
• Meraki Vision, smart cameras, and sensors for network closet monitoring
  
  

Cisco DNA Center & Catalyst 9800 WLC Support
The Cisco Catalyst 9162 Series Access Points can be integrated with the Catalyst 9800 Wireless LAN Controller (WLC) and Cisco DNA Center. Cisco DNA Center provides real-time network analytics, rapid security threat detection and containment, and seamless network-wide consistency through automation and virtualization.

Together, the Catalyst 9162 Series and Cisco DNA Center deliver integrations and solutions such as:

• Cisco DNA Spaces
• Cisco Identity Services Engine
• Cisco DNA Analytics and Assurance along with Intelligence Capture
  
  

CW9162 & Meraki Cloud Management
The CW9162 is managed through the Meraki cloud, featuring an intuitive browser-based interface that allows for quick deployment without complex staging processes. Its self-configuring nature and web-based management enable rapid setup at remote locations, even without on-site IT staff.

The Meraki cloud provides 24/7 monitoring, offering real-time alerts for any network issues. Remote diagnostic tools facilitate immediate troubleshooting over the web, ensuring distributed networks are managed with minimal hassle.

Firmware updates for the CW9162 are automatically handled via the cloud, delivering new features, bug fixes, and enhancements seamlessly. This eliminates the need for manual software updates and ensures security patches are always up to date.

Tri–radio aggregate frame rate of up to 3.9 Gbps
The CW9162 access point features tri-radio technology with 6 GHz 2x2:2, 5 GHz 2x2:2, and 2.4 GHz 2x2:2 radios, delivering a combined frame rate of approximately 3.9 Gbps. Advanced technologies such as transmit beamforming and improved receive sensitivity enable the CW9162 to accommodate a higher number of clients compared to standard enterprise-class access points, ensuring enhanced performance for more devices connected to each AP.

*Refers to maximum over-the-air data frame rate capability of the radio chipset, and may exceed data rates allowed by IEEE 802.11ax operation.

Multi-User Multiple Input Multiple Output (MU-MIMO)
The CW9162 supports 802.11ax features, including DL MU-MIMO and OFDMA, which enhance transmission efficiency to multiple clients. Ideal for environments with many mobile devices, MU-MIMO and OFDMA allow simultaneous data reception by multiple clients, boosting overall network performance and enhancing the user experience.

IoT and Bluetooth Low Energy Radio
The CW9162 features an integrated Bluetooth radio that facilitates easy deployment of BLE Beacon functionality and provides clear visibility of Bluetooth devices. This access point supports the next generation of location-aware applications and future-proofs deployments, making it ready for new customer engagement strategies.

Automatic cloud-based RF Optimisation
The CW9162 features advanced and automated RF optimization, eliminating the need for specialized hardware and RF expertise to fine-tune a wireless network. The dedicated fourth radio continuously collects RF data and sends it to the Meraki cloud. This data is then used to automatically adjust channel selection, transmit power, and client connection settings, ensuring optimal performance even in the most challenging RF environments.

Integrated Enterprise Security and Guest Access
The CW9162 incorporates user-friendly security technologies to ensure secure connectivity for both employees and guests. It includes advanced security features like AES hardware-based encryption and enterprise-level authentication with 802.1X and Active Directory integration, offering wired-like security with easy configuration. Additionally, the CW9162 supports 192-bit encryption and WPA3 for enhanced wireless network security.

One-click guest isolation offers secure, Internet-only access for visitors, while PCI compliance reports help verify network settings against PCI standards, simplifying secure retail deployments.

Dedicated scanning radio delivers 24x7 Air Marshal and RF analytics
You don't have to compromise between wireless security (AirMarshal), advanced RF analysis, and client data service. The dedicated scanning radio ensures that all functions operate in real-time without affecting client traffic or AP throughput.

The CW9162's dedicated tri-band scanning radio continuously monitors the environment, identifies RF interference, and mitigates wireless threats such as rogue access points. Containment is feasible in the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands, while the 6 GHz band requires Protected Management Frames (PMF) for security.

Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) & Mobile Device Management (MDM) integration
The CW9162 seamlessly integrates with Meraki Systems Manager to provide automatic, context-aware security. With self-service enrollment, System Manager enables rapid deployment of MDM without the need for additional equipment, dynamically linking firewall and traffic shaping policies to client posture.

Application-aware traffic shaping
The CW9162 features an integrated layer 7 packet inspection, classification, and control engine, allowing the configuration of QoS policies based on traffic type. This helps prioritize mission-critical applications while limiting recreational traffic such as peer-to-peer and video streaming. Policies can be applied per network, SSID, user group, or individual user, offering maximum flexibility and control.

Voice and video optimisations
The CW9162 includes built-in, industry-standard QoS features that are simple to configure. Wireless Multimedia (WMM) access categories, 802.1p, and DSCP standards ensure that critical applications are prioritized correctly, not just on the CW9162 but across other network devices as well. Additionally, Unscheduled Automatic Power Save Delivery (U-APSD) and the Target Wait Time feature in 802.11ax clients help minimize battery drain on wireless VoIP phones.

Self-configuring, self-maintaining, always up-to-date
Upon connection, the CW9162 automatically links to the Meraki cloud, retrieves its configuration, and joins the designated network. Administrators can effortlessly schedule automatic firmware upgrades via the Dashboard, ensuring the network remains current with bug fixes, security updates, and new features..

Meraki Health
The CW9162 will support cutting-edge analytics, including AI/ML anomaly detection, server root cause analysis, wireless client scoring based on performance and connectivity metrics, and network benchmarking for networks of similar size and industry. Additionally, the CW9162 will offer advanced location analytics through API and Dashboard graphs, providing a detailed view of client density and movement across the floor plan.

Choice Of Management Mode
Cisco Catalyst 9162 Series Access Points offer versatile management options, either on-premises with Catalyst 9800 Wireless LAN Controllers (WLC) or through the Meraki dashboard for cloud management. Customers can initially deploy these access points in one mode and switch to the other mode as needed in the future.