Networking in 2026: what changed
Two controllers left sale, and first-generation edge parts follow in 2027. Cisco campus, branch and data-center networks: supplied and integrated.
What changed this year for enterprise campus, branch and data-center networks, and what to put in your requirement.¹
Every date comes from the vendor's or publisher's own page. Third-party reports are marked.
1. Two wireless controllers left sale
Cisco ended sale of the Catalyst 9800-40 and 9800-80 controllers on December 31, 2025; support runs to December 31, 2030. The design replaces the 9800-40 with the CW9800M, which handles up to 3,000 access points.
A Cisco access point on the ceiling of Cisco's New York office. From Cisco's own film.
2. First-generation SD-WAN edge leaves sale in 2027
Some first-generation Catalyst 8000 edge parts reach end of sale on January 31, 2027, the rest on July 31, 2027. The design excludes them and takes the edge from Cisco's G2 Secure Router range.
A Cisco 8161-G2 Secure Router, from the G2 range that replaces the first-generation edge. From Cisco's own film.
3. A new software baseline
Switches run IOS XE 17.18.4, a release Cisco recommends. Controllers and Wi-Fi 7 access points run 17.18.4a with APSP2, Cisco TAC's recommendation where Wi-Fi 7 features are on (page updated September 3, 2026). Both are checked again on the day of staging.
Aqua and yellow fiber dressed into a switch rack, the kind of estate a software baseline has to cover. From ServeTheHome's film.
4. What stays
Kept: the Catalyst 9300X, which is not on Cisco's end-of-sale listing; the CW9178I Wi-Fi 7 access point, a current product; and the optical platform that links the two data centers.
Yellow fiber into a rack's switch ports, link lights on.
What this means for a buyer
A network quoted today should not include a controller that left sale in 2025, or an edge router that leaves sale next year. The design names their replacements.
Read the full blueprint, or request a quote for Networking.