Spatial Streams (MIMO): 3x3 MIMO (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz)
Aggregate Throughput: 1.3 Gbps
Radios (bands): Dual-band: 2.4 GHz (up to 450 Mbps) and 5 GHz (up to 1.3 Gbps)
Uplink Port Speed: 1 GbE (Gigabit Ethernet)
Max Clients: 150+ concurrent clients
PoE Requirement: PoE+ (30W)
Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.6 x 1.2 inches
Antenna: Integrated omnidirectional
Curation Review
✔ Pros:Enterprise-grade build quality with proven reliability in large deployments; Advanced features including band steering and airtime fairness for optimized network performance; Excellent range and coverage with 3x3 MIMO antenna arrays; Seamless roaming across multiple APs in Mist OS environments; Strong security features including WPA3 support and encrypted management
✘ Cons:High upfront capital cost compared to SMB-focused competitors; Requires enterprise-grade controller infrastructure (Mist Cloud or on-premise) for full feature set; Overkill for small office or home deployments; Limited PoE power budget (30W) restricts ancillary hardware; Steeper learning curve for configuration and troubleshooting compared to consumer-grade alternatives
Est. Price:
$3,500 - $5,200
Compare Against
Cisco Catalyst 9178i
★ 4.3 Value Score
Technical Specifications
Switching Capacity: 204.8 Tbps (full chassis)
Forwarding Rate: 204.8 Tbps
Ports: Up to 288 u00d7 10/25/40/100 Gbps (via modular line cards)
Layer: L2/L3
Stacking Support: Yes (up to 9 units via Stacking Cables)
Chassis Type: 3-slot modular chassis
PoE Budget: Up to 5.6 kW per module (optional PoE+ modules)
Max Power Consumption: 10.2 kW (full chassis)
Backplane Bandwidth: 204.8 Tbps
Throughput per Port: Up to 100 Gbps per port
Cooling: Redundant, variable-speed fans
Uplinks: Multiple 100 Gbps QSFP28 capable
Curation Review
✔ Pros:Industry-leading 204.8 Tbps switching fabric supports next-generation high-density deployments; Modular architecture allows flexible line-card configurations for different port densities and speeds; Full redundancy support (PSU, fan, uplinks) ensures carrier-grade reliability; Native support for Cisco DNA Center and SD-Access intent-based networking; Excellent in-service upgrade capabilities with no traffic disruption
✘ Cons:Significantly higher capital cost compared to fixed-configuration switches; Requires skilled technical staff for modular line-card installation and configuration; Power and cooling infrastructure overhead for large deployments; Complexity of managing modular chassis in smaller networks may be overkill; Limited flexibility in port mix compared to disaggregated options
