The Cisco 1040 Access Point

Today I viewed a pre-recorded webinar put together by Fred Niehaus (TME Cisco Wireless Business Unit) regarding the new Cisco 1040 Access Point.  The link is to the 'MyCiscoCommunity' page which you may or may not have access to, so I'll summarize the best bits of the webinar.


The 1040 is a stripped down low cost offering from Cisco - designed for customers that don't require advanced features like ClientLink, Bandselect and Videostream.  The 1040 is a 2x2 with 2 spatial streams, and its TCP performance is 20-25% lower than the 1140 AP.  It is supported in controller code 7.0.98 and above.  It uses the same mounting hardware as the 1140, 1260, and 3500 series APs.  It cannot be upgraded to an 1140, the differences between the two are in the hardware.


The 1040 has its own VCI string - Cisco AP c1040 for DHCP Option 43 entries.


It was mentioned that the AP should not be opened as there is a conductive RF gasket installed at the factory with a specific torque.


Visually the difference between the 1040, 1140 and 3500 are - the 1040 has a dimpled radome, the 1140 has a silk screened Cisco logo, and the 3500 has an embossed Cisco logo.


New part numbers:
AIR-PWR-B= - Energy Star rated power supply (identical to AIR-PWR-A)
AIR=PWRINJ4 - New power injector for 1040 AP, only draws 12.95 Watts, but is capable of providing higher power to the 1250 AP. Compatible with 1140, 1040, 3500 and 1250 APs
 AIR-PWR-SPLY1 - Power Supply for the AP-1250
114XFLSHMNT= -  Mounting kit to install AP inside the ceiling tile
114XFLSHMNT110= - 10 Pack of Flush Mount Kits
AIR-AP-T-RAIL-F - Ceiling Grid Clip - Flush
AIR-AP-T-RAIL-R - Ceiling Grid Clip - Recessed
AIR-CHNL-ADAPTER - Accessory clip for channel and beam rails
AIR-AP-BRACKET-1 - AP Bracket - Low Profile
AIR-AP-BRACKET-2 - AP Bracket - Universal


A new disclaimer about vertical AP mounts has been added in the Quick Start Guide - The access point's integrated antennas perform best when the access point is mounted on horizontal surfaces such as a table top or ceiling.  For advanced features such as voice, location and rogue access point detection, ceiling mounting is strongly recommended.  However, for smaller areas such as conference rooms, kiosks, transportation environments, or hot-spot usage where data coverage is the primary concern, the unit may be wall mounted.

The different types of ceiling tile structures have been addressed through  a variety of ceiling clips that are available.  Recessed ceiling tiles have a special clip AIR-AP-T-RAIL-R.  Flush ceiling tiles have a different clip AIR-AP-T-RAIL-F.  By default, the 1040 will ship with a low profile bracket AIR-AP-BRACKET-1 unless a different bracket is specified when ordering.  For wall mount, power box and other hard ceiling installations - there is a new bracket with more mounting holes AIR-AP-BRACKET-2.


Sometimes ceiling tile supports are not flat pieces of metal.  There are mounting solutions for channel rails and beam rails.  AIR-CHNL-ADAPTER comes in a quantity of 2 - enough to mount a single access point, and can be attached to the channel rail or beam rail before using the AIR-AP-T-RAIL-R or the AIR-AP-T-RAIL-F clip to mount the AIR-AP-BRACKET-1 or AIR-AP-BRACKET-2