It is that time of year again where we kick off another Cisco Live, our 26^thshow happening in San Diego this year. Much like the Cisco events of the past, the evolution of wireless technology and solutions have come a long way.  In the late 1990's, Wi-Fi was a novelty or a toy that we used infrequently, turning to Ethernet connectivity when we needed reliable bandwidth. The first 802.11 Wi-Fi standard, ratified in 1997, offered limited bandwidth support which was barely enough for basic connectivity and seldom reliable.  Flash forward to last week, where we announced our first Access Point to support the latest Wi-Fi standard 802.11ac Wave 2, the Aironet 1850 Series Access Point.

The introduction of 802.11ac Wave 2 is significant from a technology standpoint because it marks the first time that Wi-Fi has the throughput ability to move beyond the 1Gps barrier. The significance in not only because this is a nice large number but as the adoption of Wave 2 devices grows, Wi-Fi bandwidth will exceed the capacity of the wired infrastructure.  

To address the increase in Wi-Fi and infrastructure bandwidth, along with the introduction of the Aironet 1850 Access Point we are also announcing 2 new Wireless Controllers, the 5520 and the 8540 Wireless Controllers which are both highly scalable and are optimized for 802.11ac Wave2 performance.

So, why is Wave 2 especially important now?  It benefits networks by providing more performance needed to address bandwidth hungry applications like voice and video. Much like 802.11ac Wave 1, Wave 2 also handles high client density areas, making it a perfect solution for large conferences, large classrooms and stadiums. This is key not only because of the proliferation of devices via BYOD, but also because of the growing use of IoT devices such as sensors, thermostats, printers, wireless security cameras, etc. that will add more client density and more capacity to your network.

If you are planning to attend Cisco Live and want to hear more, please stop by the Enterprise Mobility booth in the World of Solutions and talk to one of our subject matter experts. We will have the Aironet 1850 Series and the 5520 & 8840 Wireless Controllers on display. I will also have a session in the Booth Theater East on Wednesday at 11:30am calledPreparing for the Next Wave of Mobilityto provide a brief overview of 802.11ac Wave 2.

If you are around on Wednesday night, we are going to Let the Music Do the Talking with Aerosmith live at Petco Park.

If you are not attending this year's Cisco Live and you want to learn more, we have additional information on the web including:

• Cisco 802.11ac Wave 2 At-A-Glance
• Cisco Aironet 1850 Datasheet
• Techwise TV Video on the Fundamentals of 802.11ac Wave 2
• Techwise TV Video on the Aironet 1850

We will see you at Cisco Live San Diego!