PACKETPERF

Primary Device

Cisco Catalyst 9176I (CW9176I)
Cisco Catalyst 9176I (CW9176I)
★ 4.3 Value Score

Technical Specifications

  • Wi-Fi Standard: 802.11be (Wi-Fi 7), backward compatible with 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax; Wi-Fi Alliance Wi-Fi 7 (R1) certified
  • Spatial Streams (MIMO): 4x4:4SS on each of the three serving radios (12 total); 2.4 GHz drops to 2x2 under 802.3at
  • Aggregate Throughput: Up to 18 Gbps PHY rate (802.11be, 4x4 at 320 MHz on 6 GHz, 160 MHz on 5 GHz, 20 MHz on 2.4 GHz); not a sustained throughput figure. Per-band PHY maximums per Meraki datasheet: 6 GHz 11,520 Mbps, 5 GHz 5,700 Mbps, 2.4 GHz 688 Mbps. Some listings cite 23 Gbps, which Cisco's datasheet appears to have as a typo
  • Radios (bands): Three 4x4 serving radios (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz); dedicated tri-band scanning radio (WIDS/WIPS, spectrum analysis); 2.4 GHz IoT radio; integrated BLE 5.3 (upgradable to BLE 6.0 in software); integrated GNSS/GPS and UWB
  • Uplink Port Speed: 1x RJ-45 multigigabit (100M/1G/2.5G/5G/10G); 10G requires Cat6/Cat6A cabling; plus 1x USB 2.0 (9W) and 1x RJ-45 management console
  • Max Clients: 1,200 total per Cisco scale (400 per radio); Cisco does not state a recommended practical client count
  • PoE Requirement: 802.3bt Class 5 (UPOE), 39W max, required for 10G uplink, 4x4 on all bands and USB; 802.3at (25.5W) gives 2.5G uplink, 2x2 on 2.4 GHz and no USB; 802.3af (13.95W) for staging only with radios off. Cisco recommends CW-INJ-8 injector
  • Antenna / Form Factor: Indoor, internal omnidirectional antennas (5 dBi 2.4 GHz, 6 dBi 5/6 GHz); directional variant is CW9176D1; 9.5 x 9.5 x 2.0 in (24 x 24 x 5.1 cm), 3.4 lb (1.56 kg)
  • Management: Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controller (on-premises) or Meraki cloud management, depending on SKU; Meraki requires a license
  • Price Source: Single reseller only (Aztek Computers, CW9176I-CFG, new, $3,547.97 current, $4,789.76 struck-through reference). No Cisco list price found. Cisco directs buyers to its price list or a partner quote

Curation Review

  • ✔ Pros: Tri-band Wi-Fi 7 with 4x4 on all three client radios, giving high per-client throughput on 2.4, 5 and 6 GHz; Dedicated tri-band scanning radio supports 24/7 WIDS/WIPS and spectrum analysis without taking a client radio out of service; Integrated BLE 5.3, GNSS and UWB radios support asset tracking and location services in one AP; 10G mGig uplink removes the 1G bottleneck for Wi-Fi 7 traffic when 802.3bt PoE is available; Flexible management: Catalyst 9800 controller or Meraki cloud, with 1,200-client scale per Cisco; Wi-Fi 7 (R1), WPA3 and Suite B certifications
  • ✘ Cons: 10G uplink and full 4x4 radio operation need 802.3bt (39W) PoE; 802.3at drops to 2.5G, reduces the 2.4 GHz radio to 2x2 and disables USB, which can force switch upgrades; Advertised 18 to 23 Gbps figures are PHY rates, not real-world throughput, and vendor sources disagree on the 23 Gbps value; Only one 10G uplink port and no second uplink for redundancy; Indoor omnidirectional model only; the directional variant is a separate SKU (CW9176D1); Meraki-managed SKUs require an ongoing license; Pricing data is limited to one reseller, and no official Cisco list price was found; Spec sources conflict on PoE (Cisco says 39W, a Meraki document says 60W Class 6), so verify before purchase
  • Est. Price: $3,548 - $4,790

Compare Against

Aruba (HPE) AP-735
Aruba (HPE) AP-735
★ 3.5 Value Score

Technical Specifications

  • Wi-Fi Standard: Wi-Fi 7 (IEEE 802.11be), backward compatible with 802.11ax/ac/a/b/g/n; Bluetooth 5.4 LE and Zigbee radio
  • Spatial Streams (MIMO): 2x2 MU-MIMO on each of the 3 radios (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz)
  • Aggregate Throughput: 9.3 Gbps tri-radio aggregate (HPE rating)
  • Radios (bands): Tri-radio: 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz (concurrent), plus dedicated BLE/Zigbee radio
  • Uplink Port Speed: 2x 5GBASE-T multigig RJ-45 (auto-negotiating 100 Mbps / 1 / 2.5 / 5 Gbps), 1x USB-C console/USB, 2x USB
  • Max Clients: 512 associated clients per radio; up to 16 BSSIDs per radio
  • PoE Requirement: 802.3bt (Class 5, 40 W) for unrestricted operation; 802.3at (Class 4, 25.5 W) runs in restricted mode; 802.3af (Class 3) supports staging only. Worst-case draw 24 W on PoE (36 W with USB devices); DC power 20 W (31 W with USB)
  • Form Factor: Indoor campus access point, internal antennas, ceiling or wall mount
  • Product Status: End of life per some reseller listings (SHI); verify availability before purchase

Curation Review

  • ✔ Pros: Wi-Fi 7 tri-band radio with 9.3 Gbps aggregate throughput at a lower price than the AP-755; Two 5GBASE-T multigig uplinks support 2.5 and 5 Gbps wired backhaul without a switch upgrade; Supports up to 512 clients per radio, suitable for dense campus or office deployments; Fully managed through HPE Aruba Central or AOS 10 with the same feature set as the 730 Series; Low worst-case power draw (24 W PoE) fits within 802.3bt Class 5 budgets; Dedicated BLE/Zigbee radio enables IoT and location services
  • ✘ Cons: Only 2x2 spatial streams per band, so per-client throughput and capacity lag 4x4 Wi-Fi 7 APs like the AP-755; Uplink is multigig but not 10GbE, which limits throughput on high-density or 6 GHz heavy deployments; Requires 802.3bt Class 5 PoE for unrestricted operation, so older 802.3at switches disable USB and run in restricted mode; Some reseller listings show it as end-of-life, so availability and support may be limited; Pricing varies widely by region and SKU (for example S1G42A vs S0H13A) and sellers may show discounts from the US list price of $1,995
  • Est. Price: $1,250 - $1,995

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