Cisco and Meraki - 6 GHz Access Points

Meraki and Cisco have announced their latest Wi-Fi 6E access points with 6 GHz functionality. They are the Cisco Catalyst 9136 and Meraki MR57 access points.

As the industry braces for the influx of new devices ready to take advantage of the new spectrum, Cisco and Meraki see the industry staggering their upgrades towards 6 GHz.

Meraki MR57

Meraki MR57

The cloud-based version of the 6 GHz access point is a tri-radio. It is little larger than the Catalyst 9136 and incorporates a new look nearly similar to the Cisco counterpart.

Be sure to plan for a switch infrastructure upgrade to support the new Wi-Fi 6E access points.

The Meraki MR57 is a 4x4 with 4 spatial streams and uses a maximum of 40W PoE.

What is clearly laid out in the data sheet is are dual 5 Gbps Ethernet ports with support of link aggregation and power sharing. Both features not listed on the Cisco Catalyst 9136 access point.

Compared to previous access points, Cisco and Meraki’s 6 GHz access points are slightly larger in size and weigh more. We expected this as vendors will maintain support for 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz.

Cisco Catalyst 9136

Cisco Catalyst 9136

An expansion of the next generation Catalyst access point line is a quad-radio access point outfitted with flexible configurations for a transitioning environment.

There appears to be two types of radio configurations - tri-radio or quad-radio.

In a tri-radio configuration, the Cisco Catalyst 9136 can operate with one 6 GHz, one 5 GHz, and one 2.4 GHz radio.

For the quad-radio, the access point can operate with one 6 GHz, two 5 GHz, and one 2.4 GHz radio. This configuration demands a higher Power-over-Ethernet requirement of nearly 40W.

6 GHz radios will have a 4x4 radios. Tri-radio will be the default configuration with an 8x8 5 GHz radio.

The backhaul Ethernet connectivity will be dual-5 Gbps Ethernet ports supporting Cat5e and 802.3bz. Both ports can be connected simultaneously supporting redundant power configurations. It is unclear from the data sheets if link aggregation or power sharing will be supported.

The RF ASIC isn’t indicated on the data sheet but it could appear in a future Wi-Fi 6E access point.

To fully support all radios and the USB port will require 47.3W PoE.

 

 

Meraki MR57

Cisco 9136

Radio Chains

4x4:4

4x4:4, 8x8:8

Radios

Tri-Radio

Quad-Radio

Ethernet

Dual 5 Gbps mGig

Dual 5 Gbps mGig

PoE

40W

47.3W

Dimensions

10.2 x 10.2 x 2.2 in.

9.9 x 9.9 x 2.2 in.

Weight

3.7 lbs

3.6 lbs

 
https://mobileinfoworld.com/meraki-mr57-cisco-catalyst/