“So I Put the Directional Antenna IN the AP.”

Cisco’s Mobility Field Day 9 saw the unveiling of its 9166D1 directional antenna, which can substitute for traditional external antennas in almost any indoor application. The antenna design proves the company’s RF design skills, with additional features such as easier connectivity for Cat 6A patch cables. Fred Niehaus, TME at Cisco, highlighted the company’s 9166D1 as a simple, feasible solution for 6GHz and Wi-Fi 6 antennae, which eliminates the need for external antennae in most indoor applications and can be an affordable resource to resolve issues of connectivity, capacity and coverage. Read on for Field Day delegate John Kilpatrick’s thoughts on Cisco’s new access point design.


Cloud NAC?

John Kilpatrick is skeptical of cloud NAC or “RADIUS in the cloud” solutions presented by Juniper and Arista at Mobility Field Day 9. These solutions aim to simplify RADIUS authentication, which has traditionally been complex. Kilpatrick wonders why anyone would adopt cloud NAC, as it involves placing a low-level resource farther from the user and reducing the control of platform dependencies, while also complicating learning and retaining one’s environment’s complexity.


Arista’s Campus Networking Story Is Better Than You Think

Check out what John Kilpatrick has to say after watching Arista present at Mobility Field Day in October. You can read his thoughts and check out all of the videos from Mobility Field Day on the Tech Field Day website!


John Kilpatrick

John Kilpatrick, CWNE #414, Senior Network Architect specializing in enterprise networking for technology companies.