UF × Cisco · Wi-Fi 7 Briefing
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Wi-Fi 7 Briefing · UF × Cisco · 2026 Q1

Arena first.
Campus next.
Facilities last.

A Wi-Fi 7 migration roadmap for the University of Florida — inventory-anchored, decision-oriented, FY2027 → FY2028.

AudienceSaira Hasnain · Dep CIO
VerticalHigher Ed · Athletics · Research
StagePilot → Production
EvidenceInventory-anchored
Audit6e2f-a91 · 2026-05-25
UF × Cisco · Wi-Fi 7 briefing Cover · Briefing 01 / 14
Agenda · 3 Acts · 14 slides

Three acts. One growth path.

Act 01 / 03 Portfolio X-Ray. 04 slides
Act 02 / 03 Arena · O'Connell smoking gun. 04 slides
Act 03 / 03 Growth Path · 3 stages, FY27 → FY28. 03 slides
UF × Cisco · Wi-Fi 7 briefing Agenda · 3 Acts 02 / 14
Act 01 · Composition · code train · controller capacity
01 · Portfolio X-Ray
02 · Arena Smoking Gun
03 · Growth Path

01/03

Portfolio X-Ray.

Composition · Code Train · Controller Capacity

UF × Cisco · Wi-Fi 7 briefing Act I · Portfolio X-Ray 03 / 14
Fleet Evidence · 10,000 APs · Source: UF Catalyst Center

The control plane is already Wi-Fi 7-ready.

CW9800H2 native + single code train. The capex question lives at the access layer — not the head.

Wi-Fi 5 · 11ac Wave 23802 / 2802 / 1852 / 1815 / 1832 / 1562 — EoS 2022 0 21.4%
Wi-Fi 6 · 11axC9105AXW · C9115AXI · C9120AXI 0 78.6%
Wi-Fi 6E · 11ax 6 GHzSKIPPED — leapfrog generation 0 0.0%
Wi-Fi 7 · 11beCW9176I-B / 9172I-B / 9178I / 9163E — TARGET 0 0.0%
0
Total APs
UF × Cisco · Wi-Fi 7 briefing X-Ray · Fleet Composition 04 / 14
Decision Equation · Where FY27 capex actually lives

Already ready + skipped generation = access-layer decision.

Already ready
4× CW9800H2
plus IOS-XE 17.15.5.36

The platform can support the Wi-Fi 7 pilot without a controller purchase.

+
Skipped generation
0 Wi-Fi 6E
APs to amortize

UF can move from Wi-Fi 6 lifecycle to Wi-Fi 7 readiness without protecting a stranded 6E investment.

=
Decision
Access layer
first

APs, switches, cabling, power, and policy enforcement are the true FY27 workstream.

UF × Cisco · Wi-Fi 7 briefing X-Ray · Decision Equation 05 / 14
Controller Capacity · No-Capex-At-The-Head

Four readiness signals. All green at the controller.

Code trainGREEN
0%

IOS-XE 17.15.5.36 — single image, single change window.

Wi-Fi 7-native WLCGREEN
0×

CW9800H2 — capex conversation does not start at the controller.

Headroom multipleGREEN
0×

~48K capacity vs 10K deployed. Zero rip-and-replace.

Upgrade pathGREEN
6 → 7

Direct. 0 Wi-Fi 6E APs — the gap is the lever.

UF × Cisco · Wi-Fi 7 briefing X-Ray · Controller Capacity 06 / 14
Act 02 · Smoking gun · Access blocker
01 · Portfolio X-Ray
02 · Arena Smoking Gun
03 · Growth Path

02/03

Arena · O'Connell.

A 32,000-seat venue · 9 access switches · one ceiling

UF × Cisco · Wi-Fi 7 briefing Act II · Arena Smoking Gun 07 / 14
O'Connell Center · 223 APs Total · UF NetOps · Cisco DNAC
The number

0%

of the floor still running Wi-Fi 5.

O'Connell Center: 223 APs, 95.5% Wi-Fi 5.

A 32,000-seat venue. Mixed workloads — guest streaming, point-of-sale, IoT, broadcast. One ceiling.

Ten APs on Wi-Fi 6 — and they belong to Ticketmaster. Tenant-owned, deferred to Wave 2.

Source · UF NetOps · cisco.com c51-744432 · audit 6e2f-a91

UF × Cisco · Wi-Fi 7 briefing Arena · Mega Stat 08 / 14
Access Blockers · Current vs Wi-Fi 7 Baseline

Three blockers. One layer. The chassis under the floor.

Switches
0

Catalyst 2960-X — all access

Need full refresh
PoE budget
0 W

PoE+ ceiling · Wi-Fi 7 client AP needs more

Wi-Fi 7 baseline · 60 W · 802.3bt
Uplink
0 G

Single-gig — Wi-Fi 7 PHY is 18 Gbps

Wi-Fi 7 baseline · 10 G · mGig
Five topics, one decision. The chassis under the floor is the chassis that decides what Wi-Fi 7 can actually do here. UFIT × Cisco read-in · 2026-05-23
UF × Cisco · Wi-Fi 7 briefing Arena · Access Blockers 09 / 14
Zone Breakdown · 5 zones · 223 APs · Pre-basketball Summer 2026 cutover

Five zones. One ceiling. A/B baseline scoped.

Zone Role · AP family APs Wi-Fi 5 %
Bowl Seating, court, lower concourse — AIR-AP3802 0 100%
Concourse Public circulation · 97% Wi-Fi 5 0 97%
Office Back-of-house, admin, gameday ops 0 100%
Press Broadcast tier — uplink-sensitive 0 100%
Ticketmaster Tenant-owned · already Wi-Fi 6 · defer Wave 2 0 0% (W6)
Exit Window · Discipline Cisco EOS c51-744432 retires the 2960-X family. Pre-basketball Summer 2026 is the only no-blackout window. BOM lock 31–90 days prior. cisco.com
c51-744432
UF × Cisco · Wi-Fi 7 briefing Arena · Zone Breakdown 10 / 14
Act 03 · Three stages · One growth path · FY27 → FY28
01 · Portfolio X-Ray
02 · Arena Smoking Gun
03 · Growth Path

03/03

Growth Path.

Arena · Campus · Facilities — three stages, one trajectory

UF × Cisco · Wi-Fi 7 briefing Act III · Growth Path 11 / 14
Growth Path · 3 Stages · FY2027 → FY2028

Arena first. Campus next. Facilities last.

1
Active
Stage 01 · FY2027

Arena.

O'Connell Center + Florida Gymnasium — the first venue UF will run on Wi-Fi 7.

0APs
HardwareCW9176I-B + 9172I-B + 9163E
Switching~25× C9300X-48HX
CutoverPre-basketball Summer 2026
Trade-in301 APs · TMP credit

DriverGame-day concurrency on 2017 Wi-Fi 5 hardware. 9 × 2960-X feed every floor — PoE+ 30W ceiling forces the refresh.

2
Next
Stage 02 · FY2027

Campus.

Academic main campus — high-density classrooms + research labs come online behind the Arena.

0APs
ScopeAcademic main · classrooms ≥150 cap.
AP familyCW91xx Wi-Fi 7 mix
SequenceBehind Arena · same fiscal year
Coverage90.5% AP↔switch matched

Driver2960-X LDoS October 2027 · AIR-AP3802 LDoS April 2027. The forcing function lives inside the same fiscal year.

3
Horizon
Stage 03 · FY2028

Facilities.

Dorms · Ben Hill Griffin Stadium · extension offices — lifecycle-driven, not urgency-driven.

0+ APs
Dorms~3,055 C9105AXW lifecycle
StadiumCurrently 9 APs · scope expansion
Prereq.Housing IT · 2,563 AP gap
PostureNormal 5-yr lifecycle

DriverNormal AP lifecycle cadence. No emergency-EOS pressure — Stage 01 + 02 absorbed the FY27 forcing functions.

UF × Cisco · Wi-Fi 7 briefing Growth Path · 3 Stages 12 / 14
Open Dependencies · 6 items · 1 critical · 5 manageable · 0 pilot blockers

Surface now. Close before Wave 2.

Severity composition · 6 open items 1 critical · 5 manageable · 0 pilot blockers
DEP 06 · RED · CRITICAL RED
Owner · UFIT Security · TMP trade-in absorbs

AIR-AP1852I past LDoS since May 2025.

390 units in unsupported territory. No bug fixes, no CVE remediation. Flag to UFIT security as near-term risk — but the TMP trade-in pool absorbs the refresh cost.

Units affected
0
AIR-AP1852I · 18.2% of TMP pool
Days past LDoS
0
since May 2025 · today 2026-05-25
DEP 01

Cabling audit at O'Connell IDFs

Cat6A required for 10G mGig at full reach. O'Connell vintage likely Cat5e / Cat6. Audit before Phase 3.

UFIT Facilities
· Cisco PS
DEP 02

IDF power budget per closet

Wi-Fi 7 at 60W/AP = 4–5× per-port draw. UPS / PDU resizing in some IDFs.

UFIT Facilities
DEP 03

Pathway re-pulls (Bowl)

Older Bowl AP runs may not terminate at new switch-closet locations. Site survey confirms.

UFIT Facilities
· Cabling vendor
DEP 04

UF Housing IT switching domain

2,563-AP coverage gap — Housing IT separate Catalyst Center domain. Reconcile before Wave 2.

UFIT × UF Housing IT
DEP 05

ISE SGT coverage scope

Confirm SGT enforcement parity across wired + wireless + physical security. Required for cyber-physical convergence.

UFIT Security
· Cisco PS
UF × Cisco · Wi-Fi 7 briefing Growth Path · Open Dependencies 13 / 14
Next Decision · Joint Readiness Assessment

Arena Pilot.
Summer 2026.

BOM lock 31–90 days prior. Pre-basketball cutover window. UF + Cisco joint Readiness Assessment unlocks Phase 1.

Brief · UF × Cisco · 2026-05-25 Audit · 6e2f-a91 Next step · Wi-Fi 7 Readiness Assessment · 90 days
UF × Cisco · Wi-Fi 7 briefing Close · Next Decision 14 / 14