Cisco Enterprise Executive Connection – Update 1: Multigigabit Wireless and the Campus LAN

While most companies are still considering moving to Gigabit Wireless (802.11ac Wave 1), multigigabit wireless is just around the corner. 802.11ac Wave 2 promises speeds up to 6.8 Gbps. This speed is necessary to support the applications and user density that enterprises need today. There’s just one problem with it: the switches and cables most companies have in place are unable to support those speeds.

Most of the campus switches in use today provide a 1 Gbps link to devices over category 5e cable. Connecting a multi-gigabit access point to this infrastructure would negate the increased wireless speed. Upgrading all switches to 10 Gigabits might be an option but it would be costly and would also require that all cabling be upgraded to category 6a.

Cisco has just announced a solution: Multigigabit Ethernet (mGig). An mGig switch can auto-negotiate speeds of 100 Mbps, 1 Gbps, 2.5 Gbps, and 5 Gbps over standard category 5e cabling (or 10 Gbps on category 6a) while providing up to 60 watts of POE. This technology will allow companies to quickly adopt multigigabit wireless without requiring major investments in new infrastructure.

mGig is being released in the Catalyst 4500, 3850, and 3560-CX product lines in Q2 of 2015. The new releases provide complete investment protection: the 4500 linecard will work with existing 4500 chassis utilizing Supervisor 7 or 8 and the new 3850 models will seamlessly stack with existing 3850’s.

Cisco multigigabit technology is based on the NBase-T technology, and is not yet an industry standard. However, Cisco is collaborating with industry partners to work toward an industry standard.

To learn more about multigigabit wireless and switching, contact your Arraya account manager to schedule a briefing. Additionally you can learn about Cisco Catalyst Multigigabit switching from this video: Watch TechWiseTV

About Cisco’s Enterprise Executive Connection:

The Executive Connection is an exclusive invitation-only event, providing opportunities to network with leading executives and enterprise solution partners. Together with attendees, Cisco discusses its vision for enterprise solutions and how it’s redefining the power of IT to increase customer footprint and accelerate profitability.

During this conference, attendees have opportunities to: