Primary Device
Cisco Catalyst 9120AX
★ 3.2 Value Score
Technical Specifications
- Wi-Fi Standard: 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6)
- Spatial Streams (MIMO): 4x4:4 MU-MIMO on both radios with 802.3at/bt PoE; reduced to 1x1 on both radios, or 2x2 on one, under 802.3af
- Aggregate Throughput: Up to 5.38 Gbps PHY rate (5 GHz at 160 MHz, 2.4 GHz at 20 MHz); dual 5 GHz mode up to 5.2 Gbps (2 x 2.6 Gbps)
- Radios (bands): 2 main radios: 1 flexible 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz radio, plus 1 dedicated 5 GHz radio. Dual 5 GHz mode is supported. Some variants add a BLE/802.15.4 radio.
- Uplink Port Speed: 1 x multigigabit RJ-45 port (100/1000/2500 Mbps, IEEE 802.3bz); 2.5 Gbps requires Cat 5e or better. 1 Gbps uplink under 802.3af.
- Max Clients: Not published in Cisco datasheet
- PoE Requirement: 802.3at (PoE+) or 802.3bt (UPOE/UPOE+) for full capability, 25.5 W max draw; 802.3af supported at 13.4 W max draw with reduced radio and uplink capability
Curation Review
- ✔ Pros: Full 4x4:4 on both radios with 802.3at/bt PoE; Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) with OFDMA and MU-MIMO for dense client environments; Multigigabit 2.5 Gbps uplink avoids the 1 Gbps bottleneck; Model choice for internal (AXI), external antenna (AXE), or professional external antenna (AXP) deployments; Optional embedded wireless controller (-EWC) variants for small deployments; Dual 5 GHz mode for higher 5 GHz capacity; Supports Cisco power injectors for 802.3af or 802.3at environments
- ✘ Cons: Full performance needs 802.3at/bt PoE; 802.3af drops radios to 1x1 or 2x2 and the uplink to 1 Gbps; No 5 Gbps or 10 Gbps uplink on the base model; Max client count not published by Cisco; Higher price than many Wi-Fi 6 APs from competing vendors; Some older listings show Wi-Fi 6E or older variants, so confirm the exact part number before purchase; Prices vary widely across resellers and regions and may not reflect current Cisco list pricing
- Est. Price: $1,550 - $2,863
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