Cisco CW9172I-RTG Wireless 9172I Wi-Fi 7 Access Point

An indoor Wi-Fi 7 access point from the Cisco Wireless 9172 Series, with internal omnidirectional antennas. It is a tri-radio design that runs either 2x2 on the 2.4, 5 and 6 GHz bands, or 2x2 at 2.4 GHz plus 4x4 at 5 GHz. Cisco quotes PHY rates up to 9 Gbps using 2x2 320 MHz channels at 6 GHz, or 6.0 Gbps in the 4x4 5 GHz mode. A BLE 6 / 802.15.4 IoT radio and a scanning radio are built in.

Wired connections are one 2.5G Multigigabit uplink and a USB 2.0 port rated at 4.5 W. It takes PoE or DC power. Cisco's power table lists 802.3bt class 5 (up to 32 W) for full operation and 802.3at at 25.5 W, while on 802.3af (12.95 W) only a 1x1 2.4 GHz radio runs. Typical draw is 11.2 to 12.2 W.

It is a global-use access point, so there is no regulatory-domain variant; the country is set through proximity discovery or a regulatory activation file. It needs IOS XE 17.15.2b or later and can be managed by a Catalyst 9800 controller, by the Embedded Wireless Controller on Catalyst 9000 switches in SD-Access, or in Meraki management mode from the Meraki dashboard. Cisco requires a Cisco Networking Subscription at the Wireless Essentials or Advantage tier.

The unit measures 7.8 x 7.8 x 2.1 in, weighs 1.9 lb and is rated 0 to 50°C, with derating from 40 to 50°C. It mounts with the AIR-AP-BRACKET-1 or -2. Cisco's limited lifetime warranty covers the original end user.

The sibling CW9172H is a wall-plate model with three LAN ports. Before buying, confirm the controller release and the subscription tier the site will run.