PACKETPERF

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PA-7500 Palo Alto Networks Prisma SD-WAN ION 3200H Ubiquiti Cloud Gateway Max Ubiquiti Cloud Gateway Max (UCG-Max) Ubiquiti Cloud Gateway Ultra Ubiquiti Dream Machine Pro Max Ubiquiti Dream Machine Pro Max (UDM-Pro-Max) Ubiquiti Dream Machine Special Edition (UDM-SE) Ubiquiti Enterprise 24 PoE (USW-Enterprise-24-PoE) Ubiquiti Enterprise 8 PoE Ubiquiti Enterprise Fortress Gateway (EFG) Ubiquiti Pro Max 24 PoE Ubiquiti Pro Max 48 PoE Ubiquiti Pro Max Aggregation (USW-Pro-Max-Aggregation) Ubiquiti Switch Enterprise 24 PoE (USW-Enterprise-24-PoE) Ubiquiti Switch Pro Max 24 PoE Ubiquiti Switch Pro Max 48 PoE Ubiquiti U6 Pro Ubiquiti U6-Enterprise Ubiquiti U6-Pro Ubiquiti U7 Pro Ubiquiti U7 Pro Max Ubiquiti U7 Pro Outdoor Ubiquiti UniFi Cloud Gateway Fiber Ubiquiti UniFi Cloud Gateway Max (UCG-Max) Ubiquiti UniFi Dream Machine Beast Ubiquiti UniFi Dream Machine Pro Max Ubiquiti UniFi Dream Machine Pro Max (UDM-Pro-Max) Ubiquiti UniFi Enterprise 7 Ubiquiti UniFi Pro Max 24 PoE Ubiquiti UniFi Pro Max 48 PoE Ubiquiti UniFi Standard 24 PoE (USW-24-POE) Ubiquiti UniFi Switch Pro Max 16 PoE Ubiquiti UniFi Switch Ultra Ubiquiti UniFi U7 Pro Ubiquiti UniFi U7 Pro Max Ubiquiti UniFi U7 Pro Outdoor Ubiquiti UniFi U7 Pro Wall Ubiquiti UniFi U7 Pro XGS Ubiquiti UniFi6 Mesh (U6 Mesh) Ubiquiti USW Pro Max 24 PoE Ubiquiti USW Pro Max 48 PoE Ubiquiti USW-Enterprise-24-PoE Ubiquiti USW-Pro-24-PoE

Technical Specifications

• Wi-Fi Standard: 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6E, 6 GHz capable); also 802.11a/b/g/n/ac backward compatible
• Spatial Streams (MIMO): 4x4:4 on each of the three client radios (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz); MU-MIMO and OFDMA supported
• Aggregate Throughput: Up to 7.78 Gbps tri-radio aggregate (maximum over-the-air PHY/chipset frame rate, not per-client throughput)
• Radios (bands): Tri-radio 4x4:4: 2.4 GHz client radio, 5 GHz client radio, 6 GHz client radio; plus tri-band scanning radio (2.4/5/6 GHz) for security/RF analytics and a 2.4 GHz Bluetooth Low Energy radio
• Uplink Port Speed: 1x multigigabit RJ45 (100 Mbps / 1 Gbps / 2.5 Gbps / 5 Gbps BASE-T); also 1 USB 2.0 Type-A port
• Max Clients: Not published in the sources reviewed
• PoE Requirement: 802.3bt (UPOE) 30.5 W for full functionality including USB; 802.3at (PoE+) 25 W supported with reduced functionality and no USB; 802.3af not supported; 54 V DC option available
• Form Factor: Indoor ceiling/wall-mount access point; omnidirectional (CW9166I) or directional (CW9166D1) antenna variants
• Dimensions: 241.3 x 241.3 x 56.9 mm (CW9166I) / 57.9 mm height (CW9166D1); approx. 1.6 kg
• Management: Catalyst 9800 wireless controllers (IOS-XE) or Meraki cloud (CW9166I-MR / CW9166D1-MR SKUs)

Curation Review

• ✔ Pros: Tri-band Wi-Fi 6E with 4x4:4 on every client radio for high-density capacity; dedicated tri-band scanning radio for WIPS, spectrum analysis, and location analytics; multigigabit 5 Gbps uplink on a single RJ45 port; Bluetooth Low Energy radio for beacons and asset tracking; supports both Catalyst 9800 controller and Meraki cloud management; full functionality on 802.3bt PoE with USB output
• ✘ Cons: Full feature set requires 802.3bt (UPOE) power, and 802.3at operation reduces functionality; only one uplink port, so no link aggregation or redundancy; premium price compared with many Wi-Fi 6E APs; maximum client count is not published in available sources; Catalyst (CW9166I-B/-E) and Meraki (CW9166I-MR) SKUs are the same hardware under different management licences, which can confuse purchasing; end-of-sale/end-of-life status is unconfirmed and should be checked with Cisco
• Est. Price: $1,136 - $3,317

Compare Against

Select Comparison Hardware... Aruba AP-515 Aruba AP-535 Aruba (HPE) 7030 Aruba (HPE) AP-735 Aruba (HPE) Aruba AP-655 Aruba (HPE) Aruba AP-755 Aruba (HPE) Instant On AP33 Aruba (HPE) Instant On AP45 Cisco Catalyst 9120AX Cisco Catalyst 9136 Cisco Catalyst 9136I Cisco Catalyst 9164 (CW9164I) Cisco Catalyst 9166 Cisco Catalyst 9166 Series (CW9166) Cisco Catalyst 9176I (CW9176I) Cisco Catalyst 9176I (CW9176I-CFG) Cisco Catalyst 9178i Cisco Catalyst CW9164 Cisco Catalyst CW9166 Cisco Catalyst CW9166I Cisco Catalyst CW9171 Cisco Catalyst CW9172I Cisco Catalyst CW9174 Cisco Catalyst CW9176 Cisco Catalyst CW9176I Cisco Catalyst CW9178I Cisco Catalyst CW9179F Cisco Cisco Catalyst 9166I Cisco Cisco Wireless 9178I (CW9178I) Cisco CW9176 Fortinet FortiAP 231G Fortinet FortiAP 231K Fortinet FortiAP 241K Fortinet FortiAP 431G Fortinet FortiAP 441K Juniper Networks AP34 Juniper Networks AP36 Juniper Networks AP37 Juniper Networks AP45 Juniper Networks AP47 Juniper Networks AP66 Juniper Networks Mist AP33 Juniper Networks Mist AP37 Juniper Networks Mist AP43 Ubiquiti U6 Pro Ubiquiti U6-Enterprise Ubiquiti U6-Pro Ubiquiti U7 Pro Ubiquiti U7 Pro Max Ubiquiti U7 Pro Outdoor Ubiquiti UniFi Enterprise 7 Ubiquiti UniFi U7 Pro Ubiquiti UniFi U7 Pro Max Ubiquiti UniFi U7 Pro Outdoor Ubiquiti UniFi U7 Pro Wall Ubiquiti UniFi U7 Pro XGS Ubiquiti UniFi6 Mesh (U6 Mesh)

Technical Specifications

• Wi-Fi Standard: 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6)
• Spatial Streams (MIMO): 3x3 (both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz)
• Aggregate Throughput: 3 Gbps
• Radios (Bands): Dual-band (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz)
• Uplink Port Speed: 2x 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet
• Max Clients: 128
• PoE Requirement: 802.3bt High Power PoE (90W)

Curation Review

• ✔ Pros: Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) delivers excellent throughput and multi-device capacity; Dual 2.5G uplink ports provide redundancy and higher backhaul bandwidth; 802.3bt High Power PoE flexibility enables cable runs up to 100m; Cloud-managed via Instant On portal with intuitive SMB-friendly dashboard; Compact form factor with modern industrial design; WPA3 security support and automatic firmware updates
• ✘ Cons: Requires 802.3bt High Power PoE infrastructure which may demand switch upgrades; No Wi-Fi 6E or 6 GHz band support limits future-proofing; Premium pricing compared to lower-tier Instant On models (AP15/AP17); Limited advanced enterprise features versus Aruba AOS/CX access points; High power consumption (90W) may increase cooling costs in dense deployments; Smaller maximum SSID count than enterprise alternatives
• Est. Price: $420 - $580