Cisco unveils IoT, Wi-Fi products and developer resources for enterprises

Cisco has announced a new range of Wi-Fi 6 access points for enterprises and a new set of core switches for better networking capabilities.

The networking, security and hardware solutions provider said in a statement on Monday the Wi-Fi 6 (or the 802.11ax) solutions will help power the Internet of Things (IoT) revolution.

The company also extended its campus networking portfolio with the launch of the Catalyst 9600, a core switch that helps companies scale in the cloud faster. 

Cisco said it will work towards combining automation, analytics tools, switches, access points and controllers to enable an end-to-end and wireless-first architecture. 

Wi-Fi 6 is based on the wireless fundamentals of the 5G but can deliver up to 400% greater capacity and better connectivity in high-density environments such as large lecture halls, conference rooms and stadiums. This is because of increased latency and lower usage of connected devices’ batteries, which can provide a better user experience, Cisco said. 

Cisco also said that the new Wi-Fi access points will specifically be released along the Catalyst and Meraki portfolio of products, which are its custom and programmable chipsets. The access points have the ability to talk in multiple languages and communicate with a host of IoT-enabled devices such as BLE and Zigbee. 

"Every leap in connectivity enables the next wave of profound innovation. 5G and Wi-Fi 6 represent a new era of connectivity," said David Goeckeler, executive vice president and general manager for networking and security business at Cisco.

The Catalyst 9600 would serve as a single networking fabric that can help in bringing wired and wireless devices onto a single platform, which Cisco claimed would be the base for the next-generation of intent-based business networks. Catalyst and Meraki would be programmable down to the chipset level, which developers could take advantage of. 

The networking giant also announced the launch of new developer resources and ecosystem partnerships that would complement the hardware launches. 

The DevNet wireless Dev Center would offer Cisco’s developer network resources such as learning labs and sandboxes for creating better wireless applications.

The company also said that prior to the new launches, interoperability testing was conducted with partners such as Broadcom, Intel and Samsung to fix issues that inevitably arise with new product development. Additionally, research firms Boingo, GlobalReach Technology, Presido and others are likely to join the Cisco OpenRoaming project to make hopping between Wi-Fi and LTE networks easier. 

"Developers are already creating the next generation of wireless-first, immersive experiences. With billions of things connecting to the network, this growth will create unprecedented complexity for IT,” added Goeckeler. 

Goeckeler also said that all of the launches would help in building a multi-domain network architecture that would reduce the complexity in IT and allow chief information officers to innovate better.