802.11AC Wave
2, the next phase of Wi-Fi, brings wireless speeds of up to almost 7 Gigs. Wave
2 also brings multi-user MIMO to Wi-Fi, enabling dedicated bandwidth to be
allocated to users. 802.11AC Wave 2 will allow businesses to create new ways of
working, such as being able to do medical imaging over tablets or streaming
videos to mobile devices in school systems.
802.11ac Wave 1 vs. 802.11ac Wave 2
Having
wireless speeds that are that fast, though, does have some big implications on
the wired network. If the air speed is anything greater than a Gig and the
backhaul connection from the AP to the access switch is a Gig, then there’s an
obvious problem, as the wired network becomes a choke point. Also, the Wave 2
solutions will require PoE+ (30W), and many businesses only have PoE (15W) in
the access edge now. Also, with today’s switches, Cat5E has a limit of 1 Gig
for speed.
Cisco founded
the NBASE-T Alliance in October 2014 to promote solutions for more
speed over installed Category 5e and 6 cables. Now we are introducing
innovations that include NBASE-T technology and more across the entire breadth
of our Cisco Catalyst portfolio–from compact switches to the backbone. These
new innovations directly address the challenges we learned from customers.
Cisco
Catalyst Multigigabit Technology can prepare
your access switches for future innovations by delivering speeds beyond 1
Gigabit on existing Category 5e cables. This technology also supports Power
over Ethernet (PoE), PoE+, and Cisco Universal PoE (UPOE) so you don’t need to
install new electrical circuits to power your access points.
And, Cisco
Catalyst Multigigabit Technology can protect your investments in
existing Cisco Catalyst switches. For example, new Cisco Catalyst 3850
Mutigigabit models can be stacked with existing 1-Gb copper and fiber models.
Cisco Catalyst Mutigigabit Technology is available on Cisco Catalyst 4500E,
3850, and 3560-CX switches. Use our new innovations to take advantage of
802.11ac Wave 2 capacity increases and start delivering even better user
experiences.
New Cisco
Catalyst 3560-CX and 2960-CX Compact Switches can
help you increase speeds and agility, and lower costs. These switches offer
Catalyst Instant Access mode, which means no more individual switch
configuration. And they are flexible to support numerous networking
environments and industries, including hospitality, transportation, retail, and
others.
Two Times
More 10-Gb Density for a Faster Backbone
Extend your
existing backbone investments into the future. New, 32-port 10-Gb line
cards on Cisco
Catalyst 6800 and 6500-E Series Switches help you make the transition from
1 Gigabit to 10 Gigabits, and allow for twice the 10-Gb density. They also
provide rich network services that you have come to expect from these
platforms. And flexibility is built in so you can convert to 40-Gigabit speeds
in future.
More Related Cisco Wireless Topics
