Cisco Catalyst IW9167E Heavy Duty Access Point Configuration Guide, Release 26.1.x

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Cisco Catalyst IW9167E Heavy Duty Access Point Configuration Guide, Release 26.1.x

802.11ax 1600ns and 3200ns guard interval support

Updated: April 10, 2026

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802.11ax 1600ns and 3200ns Guard Interval Support

802.11ac has two Guard Interval (GI) options: long GI (800ns) and short GI (400ns). 802.11ax introduces new guard interval options, specifically 800ns, 1600ns, and 3200ns. Longer guard intervals provide improved performance in environments with multi-path and delay spread. These intervals improve link reliability for longer-range outdoor deployments and help prevent inter-symbol interference, which improves coverage and performance in outdoor environments.

Table 1. 802.11ax guard interval comparing with previous standards

Capabilities

802.11n

802.11ac

802.11ax

Physical Layer (PHY)

High Throughput (HT)

Very High Throughput (VHT)

High-Efficiency (HE)

Guard Interval

800/400 ns

800/400 ns

800/1600/3200 ns

Configure 802.11ax long guard interval

This procedure describes how to configure the guard interval (GI) for an RF profile.

Procedure

1.

Use the configure terminal command to enter global configuration mode. 

Device# configure terminal
2.

Use the ap dot11 { 24ghz | 5ghz command to configure an RF profile and enter RF profile configuration mode.

Example:

Device(config)# ap dot11 24ghz rf-profile 24G-RF-profile
3.

Use the guard-interval guard-interval command to set the guard interval for the RF profile.

Example:

Device(config-rf-profile)# guard-interval GUARD_INTERVAL_1600NS

  • GUARD_INTERVAL_1600NS: set 1600 ns guard interval (only in HE mode)

  • GUARD_INTERVAL_3200NS: set 3200 ns guard interval (only in HE mode)

  • GUARD_INTERVAL_400NS: set 400 ns guard interval (HT VHT mode)

  • GUARD_INTERVAL_800NS: set 800 ns guard interval

Note

Valid guard interval values are 800, 1600, and 3200 ns for HE mode. By default, GI is 800 ns.
4.

Use the end command to return to privileged EXEC mode.

Example:

Device(config-rf-profile)# end
5.

(Optional) Use the show ap rf-profile name Demo-24G-RF-profile detail | inc Guard command to verify the configuration on the wireless controller.

Example:

Device# show ap rf-profile name Demo-24G-RF-profile detail | inc Guard
Guard Interval        : 1600ns
                        
Device# show ap rf-profile name Demo-5G-RF-profile detail | inc Guard
Guard Interval        : 3200ns

Example: Configure and apply custom Guard Interval settings to an AP using RF profiles and RF tags

This example shows how to configure and apply custom Guard Interval (GI) settings to an access point using RF profiles and RF tags.

  1. Define GI in RF profile

    ap dot11 24ghz rf-profile Demo-24G-RF-profile
                shutdown
                guard-interval GUARD_INTERVAL_1600NS
                no shutdown
                ap dot11 5ghz rf-profile Demo-5G-RF-profile
                shutdown
                guard-interval GUARD_INTERVAL_3200NS
                no shutdown

  2. Associate RF profile to RF tag

    wireless tag rf Demo-Guard-Interval-RF-tag
                24ghz-rf-policy Demo-24G-RF-profile
                5ghz-rf-policy Demo-5G-RF-profile

  3. Associate RF tag to AP

    ap fc58.9a15.c83c
                rf-tag Demo-Guard-Interval-RF-tag