Cisco announced its Wi-Fi 7 access points at Cisco Live Melbourne (CLMEL). Three high-end AP models were introduced, with more expected to follow.
These AP models can be managed via Meraki or Cisco 9800 WLCs. These are ‘Global Use AP‘ which means you have a single product that can be deployed anywhere in the world (no hard coded regulatory domain and the ordering process should be simple)
If you like to get more details about Cisco Wi-Fi 7, there was a great presentation (BRKEWN-2024 : Wi-Fi 6E Adoption and Getting Ready with Wi-Fi 7) done by one of my close friend, Anand Gurumurthy. You can watch the recorded session when it is available at ciscolive.com
As you know, Wi-Fi 7 operates across three bands (2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 6GHz), and you can unlock its full potential with the 6GHz spectrum. If you’re already using 6GHz with Wi-Fi 6E, you’re ahead of the curve. Although most enterprise vendors have announced their Wi-Fi 7 access points, it’s still an early stage for Wi-Fi 7 in the enterprise sector.
It is always good to do thorough planning, and here are the key recommendations highlighted in the presentation for Wi-Fi 7 migration. You should have switch infrastructure with mGig and UPoE (IEEE 802.3bt) for optimal performance, and use WPA3 security for Wi-Fi 7 to function properly.
I have been part of the beta testing for these AP models and look forward to sharing what I’ve learned about Wi-Fi 7 with these AP models.
mrn-cciew 
Hi! Thank you for the great overview!
I have a question, though. I did not know WPA3 was mandatory for 11be rates, since I was able to achieve 11be rates using WPA2. I thought WPA3 was only required for 6GHz, like in Wi-Fi 6E.
Does the standard require WPA3 in order to achieve 11be rates?
Or is this specific to the Cisco APs?
Thank you.
Hi Daniel,
Wi-Fi 7 certification point of view it is mandatory to support WPA3 across all bands. Device should use AKM-24 or AKM-25 (WPA3-personal) when they establish MLO connection. If you use WAP2, I would assume they will connect using 802.11ax (MCS 0-11 data rates). Note that there is no difference in 11ax vs 11be data rates when it comes to MCS 0 -11. Only MCS 12 and MCS 13 use 4096-QAM which is introduced in 802.11be.
HTH
Rasika
Hi!
Thank you for the great overview!
I have a question, though. I was able to achieve 11be rates using WPA2 on dual band residential Wi-Fi 7 APs. I did not know that this mode was mandatory for 11be. I only thought that WPA3 was mandatory for the 6GHz band.
Does the new standard refer to that requirement? Or is this specific for these new Cisco APs?
Thank you.
In Wi-Fi 7, if you want to enable MLO, it is required to support WPA3 across all three bands and use GCMP-AES-256 as the encryption method. In the early days, vendors did not enforce this in deployments, but most enterprise vendors are now closely following Wi-Fi Alliance requirements.
However, home-grade AP vendors may not strictly follow these rules, especially if they do not go through Wi-Fi Alliance Wi-Fi 7 certification. Since many consumer devices might not go through the certification process, AP vendors tend to relax these requirements to avoid compatibility issues with legacy devices
HTH
Rasika
Unfortunately Cisco makes the migration towards Wi-Fi 7 very hard by introducing (again) a new licensing scheme. Cisco’s new Wi-Fi 7 access points require Unified Licensing for Wireless. A new subscription model with Spaces Extend (Essential) or Spaces ACT (Advantage) included.
So all customers having DNA Essentials/Advantage licensing, either a-la-carte or an enterprise license agreement cannot migrate towards Wi-Fi 7 unless also buying new licenses. I would advise Wi-Fi 6E access points for these customers or wait with Wi-Fi 7 to the next renewal of their current licensing. 🙂
What are your thoughts about this?
I tend to agree, Cisco licensing is something confusing everyone and most of the scenario customers has to pay for features/licensing they even don’t require.
HTH
Rasika
Great content. Looking forward to your future Wifi-7 posts.
Hi Indika,
After long time, I have posted few Wi-Fi 7 blog posts recently.
You can find them here
https://mrncciew.com/category/wi-fi7/
Rasika