Cisco 9124 Antenna Guide: Omni and Directional

Cisco 9124 Antenna Guide

July 24, 2026

Cisco have released the external 9124 variant access point. This AP has a very handy three radios - one 2.4GHz and dual 5GHz radios.

Why is that useful? Well the key use case is probably Mesh - you can have a dedicated 5GHz backhaul and a separate radio running the client serving 5GHz.

The antenna selection though isn't as simple as you'd think. Let's take a look.

Cisco 9124 Antenna Options

External Wi-Fi is best served with APs designed with the environmental conditions in mind.

It can get pretty hot in almost all regions of Australia, but we can also get a fair bit of weather - so an industrial AP, which is also highly capable, really fits the bill. Enter the Cisco 9124.

What can the 9124 Support?

First up, let's have a quick look at what the Cisco 9124 can actually deliver.

There are three radios:

- - - - 1 x 2.4GHz
        
        2 x 5GHz

These radios are connected to the antennas (of which there are six).

The antennas break down as:

4 x Dual Band 2.4 and 5GHz Antennas:
- Lower ports 1 / 2 and upper ports 3 / 4
2 x dedicated 5GHz only antennas
- Upper ports 5 / 6

The Dual band antennas can support 2.4GHz, 5GHz or a mix of both.

There is a catch though - and it's an important one, which we'll explore later in this blog.

Installation Options

Let's explore an installation option. This relates to the ports above.

Shown below is our drawing of a Cisco 9124 on the pole.

The two lower ports are ports 1 / 2:
- Marked as dual band here "2/5"
The two outermost ports are 3 / 4:
- Also marked as dual band "2/5"
The top two middle ports do not have an antenna connected in our drawing but are 5GHz only:
- Marked as "5" in our drawing

Omni Antenna Option

The setup below shows 4 Cisco AIR-ANT2547VG-N antennas in use. This is in dual band mode, supporting both 2.4GHz and 5GHz on all four antennas:

Cisco 9124 AP

Directional Antenna Option

Patch antennas are an option also:

Cisco 9124 AP Patch Important to note that we have three patches here, across the three radios. It is not recommended to use the third port on two antennas!

Supported Streams

The radios and antennas can support the following options:

- - - - Only 2 Antennas: 1x1
        
        Four Antennas: 2x2 or 4x4
        
        All six Antennas: 4x4 on the dual band antennas (1 - 4) plus 2x2 on the 5GHz only antennas (5 - 6)

The throughput you can achieve is dictated by the number of antennas in use and the number of streams configured over these antennas.

In a nutshell, if you want high performance, you need to install all the antennas.

PoE Power

If you want to enable all those antennas... you need enough PoE power.

Four Antennas:

802.3at:

Enough to get you up and running with 2x2 on all four main antennas:
- Two radios only - 1x 2.4GHz and 1 x 5GHz

802.3bt/UPOE (or DC input):

Enough for all 4x4 (Antennas 1 - 4) + 2x2 (Antennas 5 - 6)
- Full three radios the AP can support

Do yourself a favour and install 60W from the outset for your power.

Antenna Options

Here's the good stuff. You need to be very careful about which antennas you choose to install in which ports.

Unlike earlier APs the Cisco 9124 no longer supports the option of just two antennas and dual band.

If you only install two antennas, they can be installed in ports 1 / 2, but will only support 2.4GHz in this scenario.

If you want dual band, you must install antennas on a minimum of ports 1 - 4.

The table below provides full details:

PoE	Streams	Band	Ant 1	Ant 2	Ant 3	Ant 4	Ant 5	Ant 6
30W	2x2	2.4	X	X
30W	2x2	5			X	X
60W	4x4	2.4	X	X	X	X
60W	4x4	5	X	X	X	X
60W	4x4	2.4	X	X	X	X
	4x4	5	X	X	X	X
	2x2	5					X	X

The AP is also capable of running in 1x1 mode - not shown on the table above (presumably with only two antennas - we've not tested this though).

Cisco 9124AXE Port Overview

Before we get into the detail of how and where each antenna plugs into the 9124AXE, let’s start with a quick overview of the usage for each port on the AP:

Cisco 9124AXE Port Overview

Cisco 9124AXE Antenna Port Overview

Antenna Ports 1 to 4:

To enable both 2.4GHz and 5GHz (Dual Band) on ports 1 to 4, all 4 ports must be connected to a dual-band antenna:
- i.e. With only 2 ports connected to an antenna, it will not run in dual band
To enable both 2.4GHz and 5GHz (Dual Band) on ports 1 to 4, the Access Point must be powered by UPoE (60W / 802.3bt)

Antenna Ports 5 and 6:

When ports 5 and 6 are also connected to an antenna, ports 1 to 4 will not operate in dual-band mode. Instead, they will default to:
- Ports 1 & 2 will be 2.4GHz only
- Ports 3 & 4 will be 5GHz only

Cisco 9124AXE Antenna Port Overview

As a quick sidenote, if you're able to buy the Cisco SIA Antennas, these are preferred. The SIA stands for Self Identifying Antennas - these plug in and communicate with the AP to automatically set the gain and type of antenna, which is a helpful addition.

Real World Examples

Example 1: Client Serving Only, 4x4 Dual-Band

This is an AIR-ANT2588P4M-NS antenna. This example can support dual-band operation:

(2.4GHz and 5GHz) on all 4 ports in 4x4
However, this would require UPoE (802.3bt)

If UPoE is not available, this would default to 2x2 operation:

Ports 1 & 2 will be 2.4GHz only
Ports 3 & 4 will be 5GHz only

Note: Without UPoE, the AIR-ANT2588P4M-NS will still work in this configuration, but in 2x2 operation rather than 4x4. The cabling is shown below:

Example 1: Client Serving Only, 4x4 Dual-Band

Example 2: MESH Wireless Backhaul with Client-serving Wi-Fi

AIR-ANT2513P4M-NS for Mesh Backhaul
AIR-ANT2588P4M-NS for Client Serving Wi-Fi

UPoE (802.3bt) is required, if UPoE is not available:

The 5GHz mesh backhaul radio will not be activated

Example 2: MESH Wireless Backhaul with Client-serving Wi-Fi

Example 3: MESH Wireless Backhaul with Omni-Directional Client Serving Wi-Fi

AIR-ANT2513P4M-NS (or AIR-ANT2588P4M-NS) for Mesh Backhaul
Omni-Directional Dipole antennas for Client Serving Wi-Fi

Again, UPoE (802.3bt) is required, if UPoE is not available:

The 5GHz mesh backhaul radio will not be activated

Example 3: MESH Wireless Backhaul with Omni-Directional Client Serving Wi-Fi

Cisco 9124 Antennas: FAQs

What Is the Cisco 9124AXE?

The external-antenna version of Cisco's 9124 outdoor access point, which lets you choose omni or directional antennas to suit the site.

How Many Radios Does the 9124 Have?

Three — one 2.4 GHz and two 5 GHz radios — which is useful for mesh, as one 5 GHz radio can be dedicated to backhaul.

When Should I Use Directional Antennas?

For long, narrow areas, perimeter coverage, point-to-point links and anywhere you need to focus coverage and reduce interference.

What Power Does the 9124 Need?

It needs a PoE source that supports its full feature set. Check the Cisco datasheet for the PoE class required for your configuration.

Cisco 9124 Antenna Guide: Summary

Cisco 9124: Highly capable, multiple radios, built for external.

If you have a large area to cover, the designs in this blog will help.

The AP is ruggedised and built for external installation - you just need to ensure that you install enough antennas for your use case - and importantly enough PoE power to support your use case.

Mesh is another complexity level again - since this AP has dual 5GHz radios, it is an ideal AP to support Mesh - but the design does become a lot more complicated.

If you need help with your wireless, external or mesh install, drop us a line at sales@iptel.com.au

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