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Data sheet

Cisco Wireless CW9179F Access Point Data Sheet

Last updated: June 10, 2025

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Overview

The Cisco Wireless CW9179F is the industry’s first enterprise-grade, Wi-Fi 7 certified high-density access point, made specifically for connecting large public venues. Connect every corner with this convertible indoor-outdoor unit, suitable for stadiums, arenas, festivals, airports, and anywhere where your audience needs reliable and high-performing connectivity. The CW9179F packs a lot of flexibility in an all-in-one integrated unit with software configurable beam patterns and coverage where you need it.

Platform highlights

The industry’s first enterprise grade Wi-Fi 7 large public venue access point is designed to connect every corner, with the high-density wireless coverage your users demand and flexibility in deployment, management, and licensing.

Key features and benefits

Supporting Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be), the CW9179F is designed for incredible performance in the most challenging environments.

With our patented environment pack, convert the CW9179F to be indoor or outdoor depending on your design and deployment needs, with the added benefit of 6 GHz spectrum in your large public venue.

With software-configurable antenna configurations for boresight, wide, and front & back beam coverage, and additional external antennas, get signal where you want it.

Dual Multigigabit Ethernet provides power-redundant and link- redundant uplink ports, each with speeds up to 10 Gbps. Link and power redundancy provides hitless performance during failover.

Note: Cat 6/Cat 6A cabling is required for 10 Gbps port speeds. Cat 5e cable can support speeds up to 5 Gbps.

A built-in GNSS/GPS receiver supports AFC, with the global use AP intelligently selecting regulatory domain and location.

AP power optimizations (AP Power Save mode) allow the access point to reduce its power consumption (for example, by shutting off radios during off-hours and weekends) while still being smart enough to re- engage all features should they be needed. This both saves power and reduces the carbon footprint of running a wireless network.

A built-in accelerometer allows continuous, post-deployment verification of how the AP is installed.

Application hosting helps simplify IoT deployments and ready them for the future by eliminating the need to install and manage overlay networks. Adding Cisco Catalyst Center provides workflows and deployment- wide application lifecycle management.

Container support enables edge computing capabilities for IoT applications on the host access point. 

For more details about Cisco Wireless feature support, see the Feature Matrix.

The industry’s first enterprise grade Wi-Fi 7 large public venue access point is designed to connect every corner, with the high-density wireless coverage your users demand and flexibility in deployment, management, and licensing.

Introducing global use access points and Cisco Networking Subscription

How it works

Unified hardware eliminates the need for regulatory domains and enables either on-premises or cloud management with one license type.

Access point identifies your network management type during onboarding, saving you time and effort.

Convert your deployment and management type as your network scales or your strategy changes without purchasing new hardware or licensing.

Manage your network on premises, through cloud-based monitoring, or entirely within the cloud without the need for different license types.

Simplify your stack with Cisco Networking Subscription

Cisco Networking Subscription offers flexible licensing for on-premises, cloud, or hybrid management using the same licenses, service levels, and hardware. Align renewal dates to your cost-center needs, add licenses, and upgrade entitlements mid-term without changing renewal dates. Unified licenses deliver features from the best of Meraki and Catalyst, aiming to deliver equivalent functionality across all deployment models. Invest now to support your current and future business needs.

Get more info on Cisco Networking Subscription

Models and specifications

CW9179F is an access point for any large venue that requires the best in wireless performance. And with the ultimate flexibility of converting from indoor to outdoor, with multiple beam patterns and configurations, and using either on premises or cloud management, get the coverage you need, where and how you need it.

Table 1. Physical specifications

Label	Description
1 Front and back LED indicator	LED Indicators, visible from either side of the access point, allow for easier installation and testing
2 Console port	Management console port (RJ-45) with default speed of 115200 bps
3 Dual 10 Gbps Ethernet ports	2x 100M/1000M/2.5G/5G/10G Multigigabit Ethernet (RJ-45)
4 External antenna connectors	Four color-coded antenna connectors for external antennas

Specifications

Table 2. Product specifications

Item

Specification

Part numbers

CW9179F

Software

Cisco IOS® XE Software Release 17.18.1 or later

Supported wireless LAN controllers

Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers (physical or virtual)

Cisco Catalyst 9000 switches with Embedded Wireless Controller in SDA mode

802.11be

4x4 + 4x4 uplink/downlink MU-MIMO with 4 spatial streams each (5 GHz)

4x4 uplink/downlink MU-MIMO with four spatial streams (2.4 and 6 GHz)

4096 QAM

Multilink operation

Preamble puncturing

Uplink/downlink OFDMA

TWT

BSS coloring

Maximal Ratio Combining (MRC)

20-, 40-, 80-, 160- and 320-MHz channels (6 GHz)

20-, 40-, 80-, and 160-MHz channels (5 GHz)

20-MHz channels (2.4 GHz)

PHY data rates: in Quad radio mode, up to 24 Gbps (4x4 320 MHz on 6 GHz, 4x4 + 4x4 160 MHz on 5 GHz, and 4x4 20 MHz on 2.4 GHz); in Tri radio mode, up to 18 Gbps (4x4 320 MHz on 6 GHz, 4x4 160 MHz on 5 GHz, and 4x4 20 MHz on 2.4 GHz) or PHY data rates up to 23 Gbps (4x4 320 MHz on 6 GHz, 4x4 160 MHz on 5 GHz and 4x4 160 MHz on 5 GHz)

Packet aggregation: Aggregate MAC Protocol Data Unit (A-MPDU) (transmit and receive), Aggregate MAC Service Data Unit (A-MSDU) (transmit and receive)

802.11 Dynamic Frequency Selection (DFS)

Cyclic Shift Diversity (CSD) support

Wi-Fi Protected Access 3 (WPA3) support

802.11ax

4x4 + 4x4 uplink/downlink MU-MIMO with four spatial streams each (5 GHz)

4x4 uplink/downlink MU-MIMO with four spatial streams (2.4 and 6 GHz)

Uplink/downlink OFDMA 1024 QAM

TWT

BSS coloring MRC

802.11ax beamforming

20, 40, 80, and 160 MHz channels (5 and 6 GHz)

20 MHz channels (2.4 GHz)

PHY data rates up to 10.2 Gbps (4x4 160 MHz on 6 GHz, 4x4 + 4x4 80 MHz on 5 GHz, and 4x4 20 MHz on 2.4 GHz)

Packet aggregation: A-MPDU (transmit and receive), A-MSDU (transmit and receive)

802.11 DFS

CSD support WPA2/WPA3 support

802.11ac

4x4 + 4x4 downlink MU-MIMO with 4x4 spatial streams

MRC

802.11ac beamforming

20, 40, 80, and 160 MHz channels

PHY data rates up to 3.4 Gbps (dual 4x4 160 MHz on 5 GHz)

Packet aggregation: A-MPDU (transmit and receive), A-MSDU (transmit and receive)

802.11 DFS

CSD support WPA2/WPA3 support

802.11n version 2.0 (and related) capabilities

4x4 MIMO with four spatial streams MRC

802.11n and 802.11a/g beamforming 20- and 40-MHz channels

PHY data rates up to 1.5 Gbps (40 MHz with 5 GHz and 20 MHz with 2.4 GHz)

Packet aggregation: A-MPDU (transmit and receive), A-MSDU (transmit and receive)

802.11 DFS

CSD support

Integrated antenna

2.4 directional

5 directional

5 directional

6 directional

IoT omnidirectional

GNSS omnidirectional

Peak Gain

6 dBi

12 dbi

12 dbi

12 dBi (boresight)

7 dBi (wide)

6 dBi

6 dBi (front)

3 dBi (back)

Interfaces

2x 100M/1000M/2.5G/5G/10G Multigigabit Ethernet (RJ-45)

Management console port (RJ-45) with default speed of 115200 bps

LED Indicators

Front and back status LED indicates boot loader status, association status, operating status, boot loader warnings, and boot loader errors

Dimensions
(W x L x H)

Access point (without mounting brackets):

18.7Wx 13.0Lx 2.9H in. (475mm x 330mm x 73mm)

Weight

AP Weight: 10.0 lb (4.54 kg)

Bracket Weight: 3.8 lbs (1.72 kg)

Input power requirements

802.3bt Cisco Universal PoE (Cisco UPOE®), 802.3at Power over Ethernet Plus (PoE+), 802.3af PoE (only for configuring staging, all radios off)

(Or) Cisco Power Injector – CW-INJ-8

Power Source	2.4 GHz radio	5 GHz radio	6 GHz radio	Link speed	Max PoE power consumption
802.3bt (Class 6) (UPOE)	4x4	4x4(LB) + 4x4(HB)	4x4	2x 10G	47W
802.3at (PoE+) (Quad Radio mode)	2x2	2x2 (LB) + 2x2 (HB)	2x2	2x 2.5 G	25.5W
802.3at (POE+) (Tri Radio Mode)	2x2	4x4 (FB)	2x2	2x 1G	25.5W
802.3af (PoE)	–	–	–	1x 1G	13.95W
Note: Actual power consumption may vary depending on access point usage. It is recommended that you ensure that Link Layer Discovery Protocol (LLDP)/Cisco Discovery Protocol is enabled to allow proper power negotiation. Note: FB is Full Band, LB is Lower UNII Bands (UNII 1 and 2) and HB is Higher UNII Bands (UNII 2E and 3). Note: Above power draw table starting with IOS-XE version 17.18.1

Power consumption

Power Source	Idle	Typical
802.3bt (UPOE)	19.6W ± 2W	25.7W ± 4W
802.3at (PoE+)	19.6W ± 2W	23.6W ± 4W

Environmental

Note: When the ambient operating temperature exceeds 40˚C (104˚F), the access point will shift from 4x4 to 2x2 on the 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz radio(s).

Foreign Body / Water Ingress: IEC60529 IP65 / IP67 (with Outdoor Environment Pack CW-ACC- 9179-B-00 installed)

Wind resistance: up to 100 mph (161 km/h) sustained winds and 165 mph (266 km/h) wind gusts

Icing protection: MIL-STD-810F (0.5 in. (13mm)) Corrosion: NEMA 250 (600 hrs. salt)

Solar radiation: EN 60068-2-5 (753 W/m2)

System memory

4096 MB DRAM

16 GB storage flash

Available transmit power settings

2.4 GHz

17 dBm (50 mW)

-10 dBm (0.1mW)

5 GHz

17 dBm (50 mW)

-10 dBm (0.1 mW)

6 GHz

17 dBm (50 mW)

-10 dBm (0.1 mW)
Note: In countries where use of the 6-GHz band is not allowed or there is no current software support, the 6-GHz radio will be disabled. The radio may be enabled with future software, once the product is certified to operate in 6 GHz for that country.

Compliance standards

Safety:

IEC 60950-1 / IEC 62368-1 Ed.3 (with Ed.2 Deviation annex)

EN 60950-1 / EN 62368-1 Ed.3 (with Ed.2 Deviation annex)

UL 60950-1 / UL62368-1 3rd (with Ed.2 Deviation annex)

CAN/CSA-C22.2 No. 60950-1 / CAN/CSA-C22.2 No. 62368-1 3rd (with Ed.2 Deviation annex)

AS/NZS60950.1 / AS/NZS62368.1 Ed.3 (with Ed.2 Deviation annex)

UL 2043

Class III equipment

Emissions:

CISPR 32 (rev. 2015) +AMD1:2019

EN 55032:2015/A11:2020

EN IEC 61000-3-2:2019/A1:2021

EN 61000-3-3:2013+A1:2019

AS/NZS CISPR32: 2015+AMD1:2020

47 CFR FCC Part 15B

ICES-003 (Issue 7, Class B)

VCCI-CISPR 32:2016

CNS 13438:2006 (95)

KS C 9832:2019

QCVN 118:2018/BTTTT

Immunity:

EN 55035:2017+A11:2020

KS C 9835:2019

Emissions and immunity:

EN 301 489-1 V2.2.3 (2019-11)

EN 301 489-17 V3.2.4 (2020-09)

QCVN (18:2014)

QCVN 112:2017/BTTTT

KS X 3124:2020

KS X 3126:2020

EN 61000-6-1:2019

EN 60601-1-2:2015+A1:2021

Radio:

EN 300 328 (v2.2.2)

EN 301 893 (v2.1.1)

EN 303 687 (v0.0.14, draft)

AS/NZS 4268 (rev. 2017)

47 CFR FCC Part 15C, 15.247, 15.407

RSP-100

RSS-GEN

RSS-247

LP0002 (109)

Japan Std. 66, and Std. 71

RF safety:

EN 50385:2017

AS/NZS 2772 (rev. 2016)

47 CFR Part 2.1091

RSS-102

IEEE standards:

IEEE 802.3

IEEE 802.3ab

IEEE 802.3af/at

IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be

IEEE 802.11h, 802.11d

Security:

802.11i (WPA2, WPA3)

802.1x/802.1x - SHA256

Enhanced Open/OWE

Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) - GCMP128, GCMP256 and CCMP256

Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) types:

EAP-Transport Layer Security (TLS)

EAP-Tunneled TLS (TTLS) or Microsoft Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol (MSCHAP) v2

Protected EAP (PEAP) v0 or EAP-MSCHAP v2

EAP-Flexible Authentication via Secure Tunneling (EAP-FAST)

PEAP v1 or EAP-Generic Token Card (GTC)

EAP-Subscriber Identity Module (SIM)

Certifications

Wi-Fi Alliance: Wi-Fi 7 (R1), Wi-Fi 6 (R2), Wi-Fi 6E, WPA3-R3, WPA3-Suite B, Enhanced Open Security

Bluetooth SIG: Bluetooth Low Energy

Licensing

Required licensing

Cisco Wi-Fi 7 access points, including the CW9179 Series, require a Cisco Networking Subscription for wireless, either Essentials or Advantage licenses.

For more information on licensing feature and support, refer to
https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/collateral/networking/software/networking-subscription-ds.html

Cisco Enterprise Agreement

The Cisco Enterprise Agreement (EA) is a flexible licensing solution that simplifies the purchase, management, and deployment of Cisco technologies.

By combining multiple Cisco software and services into one agreement, the EA provides easy access to a wide range of products, including networking, security, collaboration, and data center solutions.

This approach reduces administrative tasks, offers predictable costs, and allows for scalability and adaptability. With the flexibility of the Cisco EA, organizations can drive digital transformation and innovation while maintaining control over their IT investments. For more information, go to Cisco Enterprise Agreement.

Offers

To connect with a Cisco sales expert, build your own estimate, or find a partner, visit our How to Buy hub.

Ordering information

Table 3. Ordering information

Product number	Description
CW9179F	CW9179F access point
CW-ACC-9179-B-00	CW9179F environment pack for outdoor deployment

The following table provides information about the E-LLW.

Table 4.  Enhanced Limited Lifetime Warranty (E-LLW) details

Description	Cisco E-LLW
Devices covered	Applies to Cisco Wireless CW9179F access points.
Warranty duration	As long as the original customer owns the product.
End-of-Life Policy	In the event of discontinuance of product manufacture, Cisco warranty support is limited to 5 years from the announcement of discontinuance.
Hardware replacement	Cisco or its service center will use commercially reasonable efforts to ship a replacement for NBD delivery, where available. Otherwise, a replacement will be shipped within 10 working days after receipt of the Return Materials Authorization (RMA) request. Actual delivery times might vary depending on customer location.
Effective date	Hardware warranty commences from the date of shipment to customer (and in case of resale by a Cisco reseller, not more than 90 days after original shipment by Cisco).
TAC support	Cisco will provide during business hours, 8 hours per day, 5 days per week, basic configuration, diagnosis, and troubleshooting of device-level problems for up to a 90-day period from the date of shipment of the originally purchased Cisco product. This support does not include solution or network level support beyond the specific device under consideration.
Cisco.com access	Warranty allows guest access only to Cisco.com.

Sustainability profile

Cisco is embedding sustainability into the product lifecycle—from manufacturing to end of use. Designed with consideration for Cisco's Circular Design Principles, our products feature both individual and portfolio-wide programs and innovations, including those that address efficient architecture design, power consumption, energy management, packaging sustainability, and takeback. These elements are pivotal in reducing operational costs and advancing net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions targets, and other sustainability-related ambitions.

Information about Cisco's environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives and performance is available in Cisco's Purpose Reporting Hub

Next steps

Bias-free language

The documentation set for this product strives to use bias-free language. For the purposes of this documentation set, bias-free is defined as language that does not imply discrimination based on age, disability, gender, racial identity, ethnic identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and intersectionality. Exceptions may be present in the documentation due to language that is hardcoded in the user interfaces of the product software, language used based on RFP documentation, or language that is used by a referenced third-party product. Learn more about how Cisco is using inclusive language.