Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers At-a-Glance
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The Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers are based on an open, programmable architecture with built-in security, streaming telemetry, and rich analytics.
The controllers are always on, are secure, and can be deployed anywhere—three pillars of network excellence that strengthen the network by providing the best wireless experience without compromise, while saving time and money.
● Always on: High availability and seamless software updates, enabled by hot patching, keep your clients and services always on in planned and unplanned events. Bug fixes, access point deployment at multiple sites, network updates, and more can be handled without rebooting the controller or impacting the operation of the networks
● Secure: Wireless infrastructure becomes the strongest first line of defense with Encrypted Traffic Analytics and Cisco Software-Defined Access. The controllers come with built-in security to secure the controller and the network: Secure Boot, runtime defenses, image signing, integrity verification, and hardware authenticity
● Deploy anywhere: Whether your deployment choice is an on-premises solution or a cloud deployment solution, the Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers allow for management and deployment of the controller anywhere
The Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers support open and programmable APIs that enable flexible management and automation of your day-0 to day-N network operations. Model-driven streaming telemetry provides deep insights into your network and client health.
And when you manage your network with Cisco Catalyst Center, you can begin to take advantage of some truly cutting-edge Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning features. Unfolding AI/ML over your wireless deployment, Cisco Catalyst Center provides your next step in terms of increased performance, better efficiency and greater cost savings. This allows for considerable network improvements in visibility, including troubleshooting and security. AI/ML turns data into intuition, resulting in time savings and greater efficiency.
Table 1. Wireless controller comparison
| Cisco Catalyst CW9800H1 and CW9800H2 |
Cisco Catalyst CW9800M |
Cisco Catalyst 9800-80 |
Cisco Catalyst 9800-40 |
| CW9800H1 CW9800H2
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| The Cisco Catalyst CW9800H1 and CW9800H2 are designed for large-scale deployments supporting up to 6,000 access points and 64,000 clients |
The Cisco Catalyst CW9800M is designed for mid-sized deployments supporting up to 3,000 APs and 32,000 clients |
The Cisco Catalyst 9800-80 is a modular wireless controller, supporting up to 6000 access points and 64,000 clients. |
The Cisco Catalyst 9800-40 is ideal for midsize organizations and campus deployments. It supports up to 2000 access points and 32,000 clients. |
| Supports up to 100 Gbps throughput in a 1RU design |
Supports up to 50 Gbps throughput in a 1RU design |
Supports up to 80 Gbps throughput and occupies 2RU rack space. |
Supports up to 40 Gbps throughput and occupies 1RU rack space. |
| Powerful and efficient. The CW9800H1 and CW9800H2 boast up to a 36% increase in performance and consume up to 40% less power compared to the Catalyst 9800-80. |
Powerful and efficient. The CW9800M supports 1000 more access points and delivers up to a 53% increase in performance while consuming up to 18% less power than the Catalyst 9800-40 |
Investment protection with a variety of optional modular uplink choices: 1GE, 10GE, 40GE, and 100GE to scale with your enterprise. |
A highly scalable, service-rich, resilient, and flexible platform that runs the Cisco IOS XE operating system, supporting a rich set of open, programmable APIs to provide a standard and easy way to orchestrate its functions. |
| Built on the Cisco IOS XE operating system, which offers a rich set of open standards-based programmable APIs and model-driven telemetry. |
Built on the Cisco IOS XE operating system, which offers a rich set of open standards-based programmable APIs and model-driven telemetry. |
Built on the Cisco IOS XE operating system, which offers a rich set of open standards-based programmable APIs and model-driven telemetry. Fully interoperable with AireOS controllers and 802.11ac Wave 1 and Wave 2 access points. |
Built on the Cisco IOS XE operating system, which offers a rich set of open standards-based programmable APIs and model-driven telemetry. Fully interoperable with AireOS controllers and 802.11ac Wave 1 and Wave 2 access points. |
Table 2.
| Cisco Catalyst 9800-L |
Cisco Catalyst 9800-CL for Cloud |
Cisco Embedded Wireless Controller on Catalyst Access Points |
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| The Cisco Catalyst 9800-L is created for small to medium-sized campus deployments and distributed branches. It supports up to 250 access points and 5000 clients. |
The Cisco Catalyst 9800-CL is the next generation of enterprise-class virtual wireless controllers, built for high availability and security. |
The Cisco Embedded Wireless Controller on Catalyst Access Point puts control right on the AP, delivering a cost-effective Wi-Fi 6 network that is easy-to-deploy and manage without a dedicated physical appliance. It is best for distributed enterprises or organizations that want to upgrade to Wi-Fi 6 with minimal IT resources. Just answer a few simple questions using the web UI or mobile application and your wireless network is up and running. Powered by IOS XE, the embedded wireless controller adds another choice to the Catalyst 9800 wireless controller family’s deployment options and provides a clear upgrade path as your network needs grow. |
| Supports 5 Gbps throughput and occupies only 1RU. |
Multiple scale options to meet the needs of your branch and campus network deployments. |
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| Employing many of the same features that the other Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series controllers provide, but in a smaller footprint, the 9800-L offers the same resilience, security, and intelligence. It runs the Cisco IOS XE operating system and supports a rich set of open, programmable interfaces. |
The Cisco Catalyst 9800-CL for Private Cloud is available in VMware ESXi, KVM, and Cisco Enterprise Network Compute System (ENCS) and supports up to 6000 access points and 64,000 clients. |
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| Built on the Cisco IOS XE operating system, which offers a rich set of open standards-based programmable APIs and model-driven telemetry. Fully interoperable with AireOS controllers and 802.11ac Wave 1 and Wave 2 access points. |
The Cisco Catalyst 9800-CL for Public Cloud is available on Amazon Web Services (AWS) and supports Cisco FlexConnect® with up to 6000 access points and 64,000 clients. Built on the Cisco IOS XE operating system, which offers a rich set of open standards-based programmable APIs and model-driven telemetry. |
The EWC supports up to 100 access points and 2,000 wireless clients. Since the EWC uses Catalyst 9800 code, it’s easy to migrate your network as your needs grow. |
Next generation of infrastructure products
The Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series wireless controllers are built from the ground up to support today’s most demaning wireless networking requirements. They are designed with an open and programmable operating system to provide flexibility of management and automation. The Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series also offers flexible deployment and unprecedented scale options to meet the needs of your growing organization.
Effectively migrate, adopt, securely manage, and accelerate deployment of Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers with Cisco Services. Our experts and full lifecycle of advisory, implementation, optimization, technical, managed, and training services help you transition to advanced mobility solutions while helping ensure the reliability and security of your wireless network for desired business outcomes.
Learn more about Cisco Services at https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/wireless/service-listing.html.
To learn more about the Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers, https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/wireless/catalyst-9800-series-wireless-controllers/index.html.