About This Product
The Cisco Wireless 9176 Series Wi-Fi 7 access points are designed for high-density environments and critical applications. These access points offer the flexibility of choosing between on-premises and cloud management. Leveraging Wi-Fi 7, they support video streaming, augmented reality (AR), and virtual reality (VR) applications, providing real-time insights and personalized user experiences.

Operating in the 2.4, 5, and 6GHz bands, the Cisco Wireless 9176 Series Wi-Fi 7 access points deliver higher throughput and capacity. They feature three 4x4 radios and IoT radios.

The series includes the CW9176I model with an omni-directional antenna, suitable for most enterprise deployments, and the CW9176D1 model with an internal directional antenna, designed for areas with high ceilings like auditoriums, warehouses, and large open spaces. The CW9176D1 eliminates the need for external antennas, simplifying wireless coverage.

Network management is highly adaptable, allowing changes at any time. If initially deployed on-premises, the Cisco Wireless 9176 Series access points can be switched to cloud-based management without the need for additional hardware.

Cisco Meraki Cloud Management
Combining Cisco Wireless 9176 Series access points with the Meraki cloud platform offers a seamless IT experience for network monitoring and management. The Meraki dashboard features an intuitive and interactive web interface.

Through this dashboard, Meraki provides advanced and scalable tools for automating network optimization, deploying policy and segmentation configurations across thousands of sites and devices, and managing a comprehensive network that includes SD-WAN, Access, and IoT technologies. The platform supports over 3.5 million active networks worldwide.

Together, the Cisco Wireless 9176 Series and Cisco Meraki deliver features such as:

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

Cisco DNA and Catalyst 9800 WLC Support
The Cisco Wireless 9176 Series access points can also be managed using the Catalyst 9800 Wireless LAN Controller (WLC) and Cisco Catalyst Center. The Cisco Catalyst Center provides real-time analytics to help you understand your network, quickly identify and mitigate security threats, and ensure network-wide consistency through automation and virtualization.

Together, the Cisco Wireless 9176 Series and Catalyst Center offer features such as:

• Cisco Spaces
• Cisco Identity Services Engine
  
• Cisco Catalyst Center Analytics and Assurance along with Intelligence Capture (iCAP)
• For information about Cisco DNA, refer to the Cisco DNA Solution Overview
  

Software Configurable Flex Radio Architecture for Dual 5 GHz Support
The Cisco Wireless 9176 features a software-defined flex radio that can operate in either 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz mode. This allows the access point to be configured in a dual-band setup with 5 GHz and 6 GHz or a tri-band setup.

The tri-band configuration utilizes the 6 GHz spectrum, offering additional channels to enhance throughput and minimize interference from older devices. Support for 6 GHz ensures the CW9176 is ready for future technologies.

High-performance 802.11be compatible wireless
The CW9176 is a cloud-managed 4x4:4 802.11be-compatible access point designed to enhance wireless performance and efficiency. Ideal for next-generation deployments in offices, schools, hospitals, retail stores, and hotels, the CW9176 offers high throughput, enterprise-grade security, and straightforward management.

With concurrent 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz radios, the CW9176 achieves a maximum aggregate frame rate of 18 Gbps*. It includes a dedicated fourth radio for real-time WIDS/WIPS with automated RF optimization, and a fifth integrated IoT radio for Bluetooth scanning and beaconing.

Combining cloud management, high-performance hardware, multiple radios, and advanced software features, the CW9176 is well-suited for demanding applications, including high-density deployments and performance-intensive tasks like voice and high-definition video.

CW9176I and Meraki Cloud Management
The CW9176 is managed through an intuitive, browser-based dashboard that facilitates rapid deployment without the complexity and time-consuming staging processes. Being self-configuring and web-managed, the CW9176 can be set up remotely in minutes, even without on-site IT staff.

The Meraki cloud provides 24/7 monitoring, delivering real-time alerts for any network issues. Remote diagnostic tools enable immediate troubleshooting over the web, making it easy to manage distributed networks with minimal hassle.

Firmware updates for the CW9176 are automatically handled via the cloud, ensuring new features, bug fixes, and enhancements are seamlessly delivered. This eliminates the need for manual software updates and concerns about missing security patches.

Tri–radio aggregate frame rate of up to 18 Gbps
The CW9176 features 6 GHz 4x4:4, 5 GHz 4x4:4, and 2.4 GHz 4x4:4 radios, offering a combined tri-radio aggregate frame rate of 18 Gbps*. This includes up to 11,520 Mbps in the 6 GHz band, 5,700 Mbps in the 5 GHz band, and 688 Mbps in the 2.4 GHz band. Technologies such as transmit beamforming and enhanced receive sensitivity enable the CW9176 to support a higher client density compared to typical enterprise-class access points, resulting in improved performance for more clients per AP.

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

Multi Link Operation (MLO)
Supporting 802.11be features, the CW9176 can operate across multiple bands simultaneously, achieving higher throughput and improved SLA. This enhances network performance and the user experience.

Multi-User Multiple Input Multiple Output (MU-MIMO)
With 802.11be features, the CW9176 offers DL/UL MU-MIMO and OFDMA for efficient transmission to multiple clients. Ideal for environments with numerous mobile devices, MU-MIMO and OFDMA enable simultaneous data reception by multiple clients.

Bluetooth Low Energy Beacon and Scanning Radio
An integrated Bluetooth radio facilitates seamless deployment of BLE Beacon functionality and easy visibility of Bluetooth devices. The CW9176 supports next-generation location-aware applications and future-proofs deployments.

Automatic cloud-based RF Optimisation
RF data collected by the dedicated fourth radio is continuously fed to the Meraki cloud, which uses this data to automatically adjust channel selection, transmit power, and client connection settings for optimal performance under challenging RF conditions.

Integrated Enterprise Security and Guest Access
The CW9176 includes integrated, user-friendly technologies to ensure secure connectivity for both employees and guests. Advanced security features such as AES hardware-based encryption, enterprise authentication with 802.1X, and Active Directory integration provide wired-like security while remaining easy to configure. The CW9176 also supports WPA3 192-bit encryption for enhanced wireless network security. One-click guest isolation offers secure, Internet-only access for visitors. PCI compliance reports verify network settings against PCI requirements, simplifying secure retail deployments.

Dedicated scanning radio delivers 24x7 Air Marshal and RF analytics
A dedicated scanning radio allows simultaneous wireless security (AirMarshal), advanced RF analysis, and client data service without impacting client traffic or AP throughput. The CW9176's tri-band scanning radio continuously monitors the environment, characterizing RF interference and containing wireless threats like rogue access points (containment in 2.4GHz and 5GHz only, as 6GHz mandates PMF).

Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) & Mobile Device Management (MDM) integration
Meraki Systems Manager integrates with the CW9176 to offer automatic, context-aware security. System Manager's self-service enrollment facilitates rapid MDM deployment without additional equipment, dynamically linking firewall and traffic shaping policies to client posture.

Application-aware traffic shaping
The CW9176 features an integrated layer 7 packet inspection, classification, and control engine, enabling QoS policy configuration based on traffic type. This helps prioritize mission-critical applications while limiting recreational traffic like peer-to-peer and video streaming. Policies can be applied per network, SSID, user group, or individual user for maximum flexibility and control.

Voice and video optimisations
Built-in industry-standard QoS features are easy to configure. Wireless Multimedia (WMM) access categories, 802.1p, and DSCP standards ensure important applications are prioritized correctly, not only on the CW9176 but also on other network devices. Unscheduled Automatic Power Save Delivery (U-APSD) and Target Wait Time features in 802.11ax clients minimize battery drain on wireless VoIP phones.

Self-configuring, self-maintaining, always up-to-date
When connected, the CW9176 automatically links to the Meraki cloud, downloads its configuration, and joins the appropriate network. Administrators can schedule automatic firmware upgrades via the Dashboard, ensuring the network remains up-to-date with bug fixes, security updates, and new features.

Meraki Health
The CW9176 supports advanced analytics for machine learning-based anomaly detection, server root cause analysis, wireless client scoring based on performance and connectivity metrics, and network benchmarking for networks of similar size and vertical. Additionally, the CW9176 provides advanced location analytics via API and Dashboard graphs, offering a clear picture of client density and movement across the floor plan.

Choice of Mode
Cisco Wireless 9176 Series access points can be managed on-premises with Catalyst 9800 Wireless LAN Controllers (WLC) or cloud-managed through the dashboard. Customers have the flexibility to deploy these access points in one mode and migrate to the other mode in the future.