Cisco 9124AXE Antenna Options

The Cisco 9124AXE is a versatile access point that supports a variety of antenna configurations to suit different deployment scenarios. However, the official documentation isn’t clear about how the antennas should be cabled. In this blog, we’ll break this down and explore further.

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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:

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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

As a quick sidenote, it 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 atomically set the gain and type of antenna, which is a helpful addition.

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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: The AIR-ANT2588P4M-NS would support a 2x2 operation in the configuration as shown:

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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

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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 

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