Cisco Aironet 1252AG Wireless Access Point Teardown

Overview / Main Features

The Cisco Aironet AP1252AG-N-K9 is a dual radio / dual band / multi-mode (802.11 a/b/g/n draft 2.0) indoor wireless access point designed for enterprise environments. Its modular design separates the 2 distinct WLAN radios into their own PCI cards for both dual-mode operation as well as ease of upgrade and deployment. The Cisco access point also features 6 antennas to support both radios (upward of 3 per radio) with 2x3 MIMO antenna arrays. This wireless Cisco networking device represents the first of the Aironet 1250 series of access points to support the new 802.11n Draft 2.0 standard supporting data rates of up to 300 Mbps per radio. Overall, the AP1252AG-N-K9 offers a metal casing with above ceiling mounts, two 100/1000 Ethernet jacks and Power over Ethernet (PoE) capabilities.

Cisco Aironet 1252AG Wireless Access Point Main Image

Enterprise customers

Released

Per press releases, first release on September 4th, 2007.

Cisco Aironet 1252AG Wireless Access Point - Main PCB Top

Pricing - The Aironet AP1252 access point is available (at time of writing - Sept. 2008) for around $870.

Availability - Globally (assumed) through traditional IT sales channels.

Volume Estimations

For the purposes of this teardown analysis, we have assumed a 3 year lifetime production volume of 750K units.

As a reminder, teardown volume production assumptions are primarily used for our cost analysis in terms of amortized NRE and tooling costs, especially for custom components specific to the model being analyzed (mechanical components especially). Unless assumed, volumes increment by an order of magnitude. Minor changes in volume (say 1 million vs. 2) rarely have a large net effect on our final analysis.

Cisco Aironet 1252AG Wireless Access Point - Main PCB Bottom

According to "WLAN: 802.11n Ramp Drives Growth Momentum, an iSuppli Topical Report (Q3 2008), the 802.11n Draft 2.0 is now starting to become mainstream as the technology is embedded into stand alone client access equipments, access point / bridge router equipment and other embedded applications. iSuppli forecasts that this trend will result in a growth of approximately 23 million units in 2007 to over 590 million units in 2012.

Main Cost Drivers Representing ~56% of Total Materials Costs

Freescale - MPC8349E - Microprocessor - 32-Bit e300 Core, 667MHz, Integrated Dual Gigabit Ethernet Controller, Memory & USB Controllers, Embedded Security Engine

Marvell Technology - 88W8363C-BEM - Baseband/MAC Processor - 802.11n

Marvell Technology - 88W8363C-BEM - Baseband/MAC Processor - 802.11n

Foxconn - Enclosure, Main, Bottom - Extruded / Machined Aluminum, Painted, w/ 3 Pressed-In Threaded Inserts & 2 Release Latch

Wus Printed Circuit Co. - PCB - 8-Layer - FR4

RF Adapter - RP-SMA to Subminiature Coaxial Receptacle, Flange Mount (Qty:3)

RF Adapter - RP-SMA to Subminiature Coaxial Receptacle, Flange Mount (Qty:3)

Foxconn - Enclosure, WLAN PCI Card 2.4GHz, Top - Extruded / Machined Aluminum, Painted, Silkscreened

Foxconn - Enclosure, WLAN PCI Card 5GHz, Top - Extruded / Machined Aluminum, Painted, Silkscreened

Marvell Technology - 88W8060-NNR - RF Transceiver - Dual-Band WLAN 2.4/5GHz, MIMO 2x3

Marvell Technology - 88W8060-NNR - RF Transceiver - Dual-Band WLAN 2.4/5GHz, MIMO 2x3

Foxconn - Enclosure, Main, Top - Stamped / Formed Aluminum, Painted, Silkscreened

Numonyx - RC28F256P30B85 - Flash - NOR, 256Mb, 85ns

Multek - PCB - 8-Layer - FR4

Multek - PCB - 8-Layer - FR4

Materials and Manufacturing $172.65

Cisco Aironet 1252AG Wireless Access Point Cost Analysis

The total materials and manufacturing costs reported in this analysis reflect ONLY the direct materials cost (from component vendors and assorted EMS providers), AND manufacturing with basic test. Not included in this analysis are costs above and beyond the material manufacture of the core device itself - cost of intellectual property, royalties and licensing fees (those not already included into the per component price), software, software loading and test, shipping, logistics marketing and other channel costs including not only EMS provider and the OEM's margin, but that of other resellers. Our cost analysis is meant to focus on those costs incurred in the manufacture of the core device and exceptionally in some circumstances the packaging and literature as well.

Cisco Aironet 1252AG Wireless Access Point - Enclosure Disassembly

Manufacturing Notes

OEM/ODM/EMS Relationships / Manufacturing

Like other Cisco network devices previously analyzed, this 802.11n wireless access point appears to be produced by a Chinese EMS provider. Due to the large amount of ""Foxconn" parts as well as ""Foxconn" labeling on the enclosure, it is very likely that Cisco has yet again contracted Hon Hai to produce their device.

Country of Origin / Volume Assumptions

Based on markings, the unit was assembled in China. Furthermore, we have assumed that custom mechanicals (plastics, metals, etc.) were also sourced in China.

Country of origin assumptions relate directly to the associated cost of manufacturing, where calculated by iSuppli. In the cases of 'finished' sub-assemblies (such as metal enclosures), we do not calculate internal manufacturing costs, but rather assess the market price of the finished product in which case country of origin assumptions may or may not have a direct effect on pricing.

Remember also that labor rates are applied directly only to hand inserted components and systems in our bill of materials, and although regional assumptions do, these new rates do not have a direct effect on our modeled calculations of placement costs for automated SMD assembly lines. ""Auto" inserted components (such as SMT components) placement costs are calculated by an iSuppli algorithm which allocates a cost per component based on the size and pin-count of the device. This calculation is affected by country or region of origin as well.

Design for Manufacturing / Device Complexity

The Cisco Aironet 1252 has a total component count of 2699 (excluding box contents), of which, 253 are mechanical in nature.

Component counts have a direct bearing on the overall manufacturing cycle times and costs, and also can increase or decrease overall yields and re-work. Our calculations of manufacturing costs factor counts and more qualitative complexities in the design. The cost of manufacturing is also, to some extent, decreased in this case because of assumed labor rate applied for China.

Note that manual labor has a much smaller effect on auto-insertion assembly lines (for the Main PCB, for example), where manufacturing costs are much more capital equipment intensive and driven by these investment costs.

Design Notes

Here is a summary of the major components used in the Cisco Aironet AP1250 design:

Main PCB

MPU

• Microprocessor - Freescale - MPC8349E

User Interface

• Ethernet Transceiver - Agere Systems - ET1011-84

Memory

• SDRAM - Qimonda - HYI25D256160CT-6 (Quantity 2)
• Flash - Numonyx - RC28F256P30B85

WLAN PCI Card

WLAN

• Baseband/MAC Processor - Marvell Technology - 88W8363C-BEM (Quantity 2)
• SDRAM - ISSI - IS42S32200C1 (Quantity 2)
• RF Transceiver - Marvell Technology - 88W8060-NNR (Quantity 2)

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Cisco Aironet 1252AG Wireless Access Point - Box Contents