802.11ac Wave 2 support

Provides a theoretical connection rate of up to 2.6 Gbps per radio—roughly double the rates offered by today’s high-end 802.11ac access points.

High Density Experience (HDX)

Best-in-class RF architecture, which provides high-performance coverage for a high density of client devices, giving the end user a seamless wireless experience. HDX includes features such as custom hardware in 802.11ac Wave 2 radios, Cisco CleanAir^®, ClientLink 4.0, cross-access point noise reduction, and an optimized client roaming experience.

Multiuser Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MU‑MIMO) technology

Supporting three spatial streams, MU-MIMO enables access points to split spatial streams between client devices, to maximize throughput.

Flexible Radio Assignment

Allows the access points to intelligently determine the operating mode of serving radios based on the RF environment. The access points can operate in the following modes:

Dual 5-GHz radio support

Enables both radios to operate in 5-GHz client serving mode, allowing an industry-leading 5.2 Gbps (2 x 2.6 Gbps) over-the-air speeds while increasing client capacity.

Smart antenna connector

An intelligent second physical antenna connector is included on 2800 Series models with an external antenna. This connector provides advanced network design flexibility for high-density and large open-area environments such as auditoriums, convention centers, libraries, cafeterias, and arenas/stadiums, allowing two sets of antennas to be connected and active on a single access point.

160-MHz channel support

Supporting channels up to 160 MHz wide, Dynamic Bandwidth Selection allows the access point to dynamically switch between 20-, 40-, 80-, and 160-MHz channels, depending on the RF channel conditions, providing the industry’s best-performing wireless network.

Optimized access point roaming

Helps ensure that client devices associate with the access point in their coverage range that offers the fastest data rate available.

Zero Impact Application Visibility and Control^*

Uses dedicated hardware acceleration to improve the performance of line-speed applications such as Application Visibility and Control.

Auto Link Aggregation (LAG) support

802.3ad (LACP) compliant, allowing both Gigabit Ethernet interfaces to automatically LAG, increasing overall throughput to the access point.

ClientLink 4.0

Cisco ClientLink 4.0 technology to improve downlink performance to all mobile devices, including one-, two-, and three-spatial-stream devices on 802.11a/b/g/n/ac while improving battery life on mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets.

CleanAir 160 MHz^*

Cisco CleanAir technology, enhanced with 160-MHz channel support, provides proactive, high-speed spectrum intelligence across 20-, 40-, 80-, or 160-MHz-wide channels to combat performance problems due to wireless interference.

Cisco Mobility Express

Flexible deployment mode through the Cisco Mobility Express Solution is ideal for small to medium-sized deployments that that require 25 or fewer access points. Easy setup allows the 2800 Series Access Points to be deployed on networks without a physical controller.