Catalyst 9115Ax Ap Datasheet for a Wi-Fi 6 Access Point with OFDMA

The Cisco Catalyst 9115 Series is an enterprise Wi-Fi 6 access point platform designed for high-density wireless access, IoT connectivity, secure WLAN operations, and multigigabit wired uplinks. The family supports 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax operation, four spatial streams, 2.5-Gbps Ethernet, Bluetooth Low Energy, optional embedded wireless controller capability, and internal or external antenna configurations.

Product family and ordering matrix

The x suffix in each product identifier represents the regulatory domain. Regulatory approval must be verified for the deployment country before ordering. Not all regulatory domains are approved for every market.

The external-antenna models are certified for antenna gains up to 6 dBi on both the 2.4-GHz and 5-GHz bands. Antennas are sold separately.

Wireless capabilities

The Catalyst 9115 Series uses Wi-Fi 6, also identified as IEEE 802.11ax or High-Efficiency Wireless. The platform operates across both the 2.4-GHz and 5-GHz bands and retains compatibility with earlier 802.11 standards.

Key Wi-Fi 6 capabilities include:

• Four spatial streams.
• Downlink 4×4 MU-MIMO.
• Uplink and downlink OFDMA.
• Target Wake Time.
• BSS coloring for spatial reuse.
• 802.11ax beamforming.
• Maximal Ratio Combining.
• 20-, 40-, 80-, and 160-MHz channel widths.
• A-MPDU and A-MSDU packet aggregation for transmit and receive.
• Dynamic Frequency Selection.
• Cyclic Shift Diversity.

OFDMA divides a channel into smaller Resource Units that can be scheduled to individual clients. This is useful in environments with many simultaneous low-bandwidth transmissions, where reducing contention and protocol overhead is more important than serving one client at the highest possible data rate.

Target Wake Time permits compatible clients to remain asleep and wake at scheduled intervals for data exchange. The datasheet specifies potential battery energy savings of up to 3x to 4x compared with 802.11n and 802.11ac, depending on client behavior and operating conditions.

BSS coloring allows access points and clients to differentiate between overlapping Basic Service Sets. This can permit more simultaneous transmissions in environments with substantial co-channel activity.

The platform also supports four-spatial-stream MU-MIMO, allowing spatial streams to be distributed among multiple client devices. Actual aggregate and per-client throughput depends on channel width, client capabilities, RF conditions, protocol overhead, airtime allocation, and wired uplink capacity.

Data rates and RF performance

The maximum PHY rates specified for the platform are:

These are PHY-layer rates and should not be treated as application throughput. Presales designs should not size the wired network by simply adding the maximum radio PHY rates. The access point has a single 2.5-Gbps Ethernet uplink, and usable throughput is constrained by client mix, RF airtime, protocol overhead, encryption, channel reuse, and upstream switching capacity.

The available transmit power settings are:

• 2.4 GHz: 23 dBm, equivalent to 200 mW; and -4 dBm, equivalent to 0.39 mW.
• 5 GHz: 23 dBm, equivalent to 200 mW; and -4 dBm, equivalent to 0.39 mW.

The datasheet provides detailed transmit power and receive sensitivity values by standard, modulation, channel width, and spatial-stream count. Representative limits include:

• 802.11b at 1 Mbps: 23 dBm transmit power and -98 dBm receive sensitivity at 2.4 GHz.
• 802.11b at 11 Mbps: 23 dBm transmit power and -90 dBm receive sensitivity at 2.4 GHz.
• 802.11a/g at 6 Mbps: 23 dBm transmit power, with receive sensitivity of -96 dBm at 5 GHz and -95 dBm at 2.4 GHz.
• 802.11n HT20, MCS0, one spatial stream: -95 dBm at 5 GHz and -94 dBm at 2.4 GHz.
• 802.11ax 20-MHz, MCS0, one spatial stream: -94 dBm at 5 GHz and -93 dBm at 2.4 GHz.
• 802.11ax 20-MHz, MCS11, four spatial streams: -59 dBm at 5 GHz and -57 dBm at 2.4 GHz.
• 802.11ax 160-MHz, MCS11, four spatial streams: -49 dBm at 5 GHz.

RF planning should use the required application modulation, target cell edge, client transmit capability, wall and ceiling attenuation, co-channel interference, and regulatory constraints. Maximum transmit power and receive sensitivity values are not substitutes for a site survey.

Antennas and physical interfaces

The internal-antenna model provides omnidirectional radiation in azimuth with the following peak gains:

The external-antenna model supports separately purchased antennas and is certified for antenna gains up to 6 dBi on both supported bands. The external model should be selected when the RF design requires directional, sectorized, ceiling-mounted, wall-mounted, or otherwise specialized antenna coverage.

Interfaces include:

• One RJ-45 multigigabit Ethernet port supporting 100 Mbps, 1 Gbps, and 2.5 Gbps through IEEE 802.3bz.
• RJ-45 management console port.
• USB 2.0 interface.
• Status LED indicating boot loader status, association status, operating status, boot loader warnings, and boot loader errors.

The multigigabit interface supports 2.5 Gbps over Category 5e cabling, as well as 100 Mbps and 1 Gbps operation. It also supports 10GBASE-T cabling under IEEE 802.3bz. Switch selection must account for 2.5-Gbps negotiation, PoE class and budget, LLDP or CDP operation, and the total number of access points connected to the switch.

Bluetooth Low Energy 5.0 is integrated for IoT applications including location tracking and wayfinding.

Power planning and feature behavior

Supported power sources include:

• IEEE 802.3at PoE+.
• IEEE 802.3bt Cisco Universal PoE, including Cisco UPOE+ and Cisco UPOE.
• Cisco power injector AIR-PWRINJ6=.
• IEEE 802.3af PoE.
• Cisco power injector AIR-PWRINJ5=, which supports only 802.3af.

The power profile must be treated as a design input rather than a secondary detail.

When 802.3af supplies power, both radios are reduced from 4×4 to 2×2, Ethernet is reduced from 2.5 Gbps to 1 Gbps, and the USB interface is disabled. This reduction affects capacity, application hosting, and uplink performance.

The datasheet states that actual power consumption can vary with access point usage. LLDP or CDP should be enabled so the access point and switch can negotiate the available power correctly. For full-feature deployment, the switch port must provide the required PoE class and the switch must have sufficient aggregate PoE budget for all connected access points.

A presales design should therefore verify:

1. PoE standard available on every planned access-point port.
2. Per-port PoE allocation.
3. Aggregate switch PoE budget.
4. LLDP or CDP configuration.
5. Whether USB-based application hosting is required.
6. Whether 2.5-Gbps operation is required.
7. Whether reduced 802.3af behavior is acceptable.

Controller and management options

The Catalyst 9115 Series supports Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers. It also supports Cisco 3500, 5520, and 8540 Series Wireless Controllers and Cisco Virtual Wireless Controller, using the software levels specified in the datasheet.

Supported software includes:

• Cisco Unified Wireless Network Software Release 8.9 or later.
• Cisco IOS XE Software Release 16.11 or later.

The EWC variants include Cisco Embedded Wireless Controller functionality. The controller function resides on the access point and does not require a separate physical controller appliance. The embedded controller uses Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series code, providing a path toward controller-based deployments as requirements expand.

Cisco DNA Software support includes:

• Cisco Spaces.
• Cisco Identity Services Engine.
• Cisco DNA Analytics and Assurance.
• Software-defined access support.

User Defined Network is identified as a Cisco DNA Center feature for creating user-controlled wireless network partitions on a shared network. The stated use cases include university dormitories and extended hospital stays.

Application Hosting on Catalyst 9100 access points uses the USB interface for containerized applications and hardware modules. This can support IoT deployments without separate overlay infrastructure. Cisco DNA Center can provide deployment-wide application lifecycle workflows.

Any design using EWC, Cisco DNA Center, Cisco Spaces, application hosting, or SD-Access must validate the required software release, licensing package, controller architecture, and operational model before equipment is quoted.

Security and infrastructure integrity

The platform includes Cisco Trust Anchor Technologies. The stated trust capabilities are:

• Image signing.
• Secure Boot.
• Cisco Trust Anchor module.

These mechanisms provide hardware and software authenticity assurance and help mitigate software tampering and man-in-the-middle attacks affecting firmware or boot processes.

Wireless security capabilities include:

• WPA3.
• WPA2.
• WPA.
• 802.1X.
• AES.
• EAP-TLS.
• EAP-TTLS with MSCHAPv2.
• PEAP with EAP-MSCHAPv2.
• EAP-FAST.
• PEAP with EAP-GTC.
• EAP-SIM.

Security design should align authentication methods with the existing identity infrastructure. The presence of a supported EAP type does not by itself define the required certificate, directory, identity services, or endpoint configuration.

Environmental and physical specifications

The two hardware variants have different operating-temperature ranges.

For the Catalyst 9115AXI, when ambient operating temperature exceeds 40 C, the access point shifts from 4×4 to 2×2 on both radios, the Ethernet uplink drops to 1 Gbps, and the USB interface is disabled. The datasheet does not state an equivalent temperature-triggered behavior note for the Catalyst 9115AXE, although both models have a maximum specified operating temperature of 50 C.

Physical dimensions exclude mounting brackets:

The platform contains 2048 MB of DRAM and 1024 MB of flash.

MTBF is not specified in the supplied product specifications. Acoustic noise, fan operating characteristics, and sound-power or sound-pressure ratings are also not specified. The access point should therefore not be assigned an acoustic compliance value or MTBF figure in a proposal unless a separate engineering document provides those values.

Compliance and regulatory planning

The datasheet lists safety, emissions, immunity, radio, RF safety, and IEEE compliance standards. Listed wireless standards include IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax, IEEE 802.11h, and IEEE 802.11d. Listed wired standards include IEEE 802.3, IEEE 802.3ab, and IEEE 802.3af/at.

Regulatory-domain selection is mandatory. The customer is responsible for verifying approval in the intended country and selecting the corresponding x suffix. Transmit power, available channels, DFS behavior, antenna gain, and permitted operating parameters can depend on the regulatory domain.

Warranty and service considerations

The access points include a limited lifetime hardware warranty. The warranty provides full hardware coverage for as long as the original end user continues to own or use the product. It includes advance hardware replacement with a ten-day advance replacement provision. Software media are warranted to be defect-free for ninety days.

Cisco Wireless LAN service identifiers listed in the datasheet include:

• AS-WLAN-CNSLT for Cisco Wireless LAN Network Planning and Design Service.
• AS-WLAN-CNSLT for Cisco Wireless LAN 802.11n Migration Service.
• AS-WLAN-CNSLT for Cisco Wireless LAN Performance and Security Assessment Service.

The same identifier is shown for each listed service in the source specification and should be checked during quotation.

Service planning should cover RF design, switch and PoE readiness, controller migration, software licensing, identity integration, installation, validation, and operational handover. Smart Account support is identified for centralized ordering and management of devices and licensing packages through Cisco Smart Software Manager.

Presales sizing rules

Use the following rules when preparing a Catalyst 9115 Series design:

• Select AXI for conventional indoor coverage with integrated antennas.
• Select AXE when the RF plan requires external antennas or challenging indoor coverage.
• Select the EWC variant when a local embedded controller is required and a separate physical controller is not part of the design.
• Do not quote full 4×4, 2.5-Gbps, or USB capability when the access point will be powered only by 802.3af.
• Reserve 802.3at or higher where full radio capability, 2.5-Gbps uplink, and USB operation are required.
• Validate both per-port PoE and aggregate switch PoE capacity.
• Enable LLDP or CDP for power negotiation.
• Treat 5.38 Gbps as a maximum PHY rate, not an application throughput guarantee.
• Use the external model’s antenna gain limit of 6 dBi when reviewing antenna selections.
• Account for the AXI high-temperature behavior above 40 C.
• Confirm the regulatory-domain suffix before finalizing the bill of materials.
• Include controller, Cisco DNA Software, identity, assurance, and support requirements as separate design and commercial workstreams.