Cost Optimized, Cloud-Managed Wi-Fi 6E: The CW9162I-MR is available to order

[tmastrangelo]

You’ve been hearing about it and now you can finally order the CW9162I-MR, our ultra-high performance 2x2:2 tri-band (2.4/5/6 GHz) Wi-Fi 6E indoor wireless access point.

The CW9162I-MR leverages the 6 GHz band expansion to create a more reliable, highly secure wireless experience that maximizes throughput with less device interference.

In addition to three 2x2 client-serving Wi-Fi radios, the CW9162I-MR features:

• 3.9 Gbps tri-radio aggregate frame rate
• 24x7 real-time WIDS/WIPS and spectrum analytics via dedicated fourth radio
• Integrated Bluetooth® Low Energy Beacon and scanning radio
• 1 x 2.5 Gbps mGig Ethernet port support 
• USB 2.0 host interface (Type A connector) with 4.5W power budget 

Targeted for medium density deployments, the CW9162I-MR is ideal for anyone looking to future-proof their networks today and deliver that optimized, ultra-high performance 6E experience for whatever hybrid work brings tomorrow.

Expected FCS date for the CW9162-MR is November 23, 2022

For more details, check out the CW9162I-MR datasheet.

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[PhilipDAth]

I feel some confusion around the introduction of Cisco Enterprise APs to the Meraki portfolio.

Are the CW9K APs going to replace the Meraki native APs over time?  Should we be quoting these in preference to Meraki native APs now?

When would I choose to quote a Meraki native AP versus a CW9K AP - as there is a lot of feature overlap and the answer is not clear to me.

[tmastrangelo]

Meraki Native APs are here to stay - in fact, we just introduced 2 new Wi-Fi 6 APs today. (MR28 & MR78).

The CW APs are common hardware that offer a choice of management style depending on your network
deployment - cloud or on-premises —the hardware is the same.  The new CW APs (which are all Wi-Fi 6E) offer deployment options for all sizes of networks - from general purpose to mission critical.

Which AP you should choose would be based on your deployment and network requirements.  All Meraki APs (including the CW9162/64/66) are considered Meraki native and all managed with the Meraki Dashboard.

[PhilipDAth]

>The CW APs are common hardware that offer a choice of management style depending on your network
deployment - cloud or on-premises

The APs aren't convertible - are they?  If you order the Meraki version, you can't convert it to on-premise management, and vice versa - correct?  So there isn't really any choice in the matter ...

[AnythingHosted]

As I understand it you can switch between them:

https://documentation.meraki.com/MR/Other_Topics/CW916x_Family_Frequently_Asked_Questions

Quite useful if you plan to move to a full Meraki stack but using WLC at the moment.

[wifijanitor · Accepted solution]

@PhilipDAth yes, you can migrate between the management modes as the needs of your customer change.

So yes if you do order a CW9166i-MR, and your customer needed to make the change to on-premises management, this can be done, and vice versus from being managed via a WLC to being managed by the Meraki Dashboard.

Keep in mind that only the AP that is "CW" is capable of doing the management mode migration.

a C9136 or an MR36 would not be able to do so.