The Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers comprise next-generation wireless controllers (referred to as controller in this document) built for intent-based networking. The controllers use Cisco IOS XE software and integrate the radio frequency (RF) capabilities from Cisco Aironet with the intent-based networking capabilities of Cisco IOS XE to create a best-in-class wireless experience for your organization.

The controllers are enterprise ready to power your business-critical operations and transform end-customer experiences:

• The controllers come with high availability and seamless software updates that are enabled by hot and cold patching. This keeps your clients and services up and running always, both during planned and unplanned events.

• The controllers come with built-in security, including secure boot, run-time defenses, image signing, integrity verification, and hardware authenticity.

• The controllers can be deployed anywhere to enable wireless connectivity, for example, on an on-premise device, on cloud (public or private), or embedded on a Cisco Catalyst switch (for SDA deployments) or a Cisco Catalyst access point (AP).

• The controllers can be managed using Cisco Catalyst Center, programmability interfaces, for example, NETCONF and YANG,or web-based GUI or CLI.

• The controllers are built on a modular operating system. Open and programmable APIs enable the automation of your day zero to day n network operations. Model-driven streaming telemetry provides deep insights into your network and client health.

The controllers are available in multiple form factors to cater to your deployment options:

• Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controller Appliance

• Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controller for Cloud

• Catalyst 9800 Embedded Wireless Controller for a Cisco Switch

Note	All the Cisco IOS XE programmability-related topics on the controllers are supported by DevNet, either through community-based support or through DevNet developer support. For more information, go to https://developer.cisco.com.

Table 1. New and Modified Software Features

Feature Name	Description and Documentation Link
AP Power Save	This feature allows a network administrator to force the APs to operate in low-power mode to reduce power consumption. The following commands are introduced: ethernet interface speed lan state radio state shutdown usb 0 state disable action power-saving-mode power-profile wireless profile power For more information, see the chapter AP Power Save.
Base WGB on Indoor 11ax APs	From this release, Workgroup bridge (WGB) is supported on the following Cisco Catalyst 9100 Series Access Points: Cisco Catalyst 9105 Cisco Catalyst 9115 Cisco Catalyst 9120
BLE Management on Cisco Catalyst 9136 Series Access Points	From this release, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) management is supported in Cisco Catalyst 9136 Series Access Points. For more information, see the chapter IoT Services Management.
CLI Boot System	The boot system flash word command is replaced with the boot system flash bootflash: command. The bootflash: keyword allows you to specify a local file system. For more information, see the boot system flash command in the Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controller Command Reference document.
Client Limit and Delete Reason	From this release, client limiting is supported per AP, per radio, and per AP radio per WLAN. Client limiting is supported on the Cisco Catalyst 9136 Series Access Points in FlexConnect mode. The following commands are introduced: association-limit high-density clients count For more information, see the chapter Client Limit.
Configuring XOR Radio Role Sniffer Support in APs	From this release, the XOR radio in APs such as Cisco 2800, 3800, 4800, and the 9100 series, support sniffer role in a single radio interface. For more information, see the chapter Sniffer Mode.
Disabling Device Tracking to Support NAC Devices	This feature provides the capabilities to control the flow of traffic between wireless clients using a network access control (NAC) device. The following command is introduced: show platform software arp broadcast For more information, see the chapter Disabling Device Tracking to Support NAC Devices.
Environmental Sensors Support on Cisco Catalyst 9136 AP	This feature helps you to collect real-time environmental data, such as, air quality, temperature, and humidity, from the environmental sensors that are embedded in the Cisco Catalyst 9136 Series Access Points. The following commands are introduced: sensor environment {air-quality | temperature} sampling ap name ap-name [no] sensor environment {air-quality | temperature} shutdown show ap sensor status For more information, see the chapter Environmental Sensors in Access Points.
Exporting Device Analytics to Cisco DNA Center	From this release, the Controller supports the sending of the following device analytics information to Cisco DNA Center, at an interval of 5 minutes: AP neighbor report of Intel clients (maximum of 10). Latest low RSSI, temporary disconnection, failed AP, and unknown AP reports. Low RSSI BSSID and AP neighbor report of current BSSID.
FlexConnect High Scale Mode	From this release, the flex site site capacity has been scaled up to accommodate 300 APs and 3000 802.1x clients. The following commands are introduced: show wireless stats pmk-propagation pmk propagate For more information, see the chapter FlexConnect Site Scaling.
IPv6 Support: OEAP URL-based ACLs for Split Tunnel	IPv6 addressing is supported on the Cisco OEAP Split Tunneling feature. For more information, see the chapter Cisco OEAP Split Tunneling.
Nearest Wired Service Provider Discovery on mDNS	This feature supports the following functionalities: Nearest mDNS-based wired service filtering. (Supported in centrally-switched local mode.) Custom wired service policy support for FlexConnect mode. VLAN and MAC-based wired service filtering. (Supported in centrally-switched local mode.) For more information, see the chapter Multicast Domain Name System.
New SFP Support	FINISAR Small Form-factor Pluggable (SFP) modules are supported on the built-in (fixed) data ports of the Cisco Catalyst 9800-80 Wireless Controller, the Cisco Catalyst 9800-40 Wireless Controller, and the Cisco Catalyst 9800-L Wireless Controller. The Cisco Catalyst 9800-40 Wireless Controller and Cisco Catalyst 9800-L Wireless Controller do not support in the Ethernet port adapter (EPA) slot. See Table 3for the list of supported SFPs.
Public IP Support for Cisco Catalyst 9800-CL Cloud Wireless Controller Hosted on the Public Cloud (GCP, AWS and Azure)	The Controllers in GCP, AWS environment and Microsoft Azure Cloud Service uses a public IP address to host in public cloud. For more information, see the Cisco Catalyst 9800-CL Cloud Wireless Controller Installation Guide.
RLAN Authentication Fallback	Remote LAN (RLAN) ports on OfficeExtend Access Points (OEAPs) support the fallback mechanism for authentication from 802.1X to MAC authentication bypass (MAB) and vice versa. The following commands are introduced: security dot1x request security dot1x identity-request For more information, see the chapter Remote LANs.
RLAN support for Cisco Catalyst IW6300 Heavy Duty Series and 6300 Series Embedded Services Access Points	RLAN is used for authenticating wired clients using the controller. Once the wired client successfully joins the controller, the LAN ports switch the traffic between central or local switching modes. The traffic from the wired clients is treated as wireless client traffic. The RLAN in Access Point (AP) sends the authentication request to authenticate the wired client. The authentication of the wired clients in RLAN is similar to the central authenticated wireless client. For more information, see the chapter Remote LANs.
Simplifying WGB Configuration	This feature helps to import a running workgroup bridge (WGB) configuration and deploy it in multiple WGBs in a network. The following commands are introduced: copy configuration upload copy configuration download For more information, see the chapter Workgroup Bridges.
Support for Dedicated Scan Radio in Cisco Catalyst 9136 Access Points	This feature supports a non-client-serving auxiliary radio dedicated to the off-channel functionality.
Support for Inline Tagging over Port-Channel	From this release, inline tagging over port-channels is supported. Note   If you downgrade to a Cisco IOS XE release that does not support inline tagging over port-channels, the port-channels may be suspended. For more information, see the chapter Cisco TrustSec.
Support reliable WGB downstream multicast and broadcast on multiple VLANs for Cisco Catalyst IW6300 Heavy Duty Series and 6300 Series Embedded Services Access Points	This feature provides an enhancement for downstream multicast and broadcast targeted for WGB with different VLAN wired clients. Multicast or broadcast packets can be converted to unicast packet with retransmission, which reduces the loss of broadcast and multicast packets. For more information, see the chapter Workgroup Bridges.
Support Universal WGB mode on Cisco Wide Pluggable Form Factor WIFI6 AP Module for Industrial Routers (WP-WIFI6-x)	Universal WGB (uWGB) is a complementary mode of WGB feature that acts as a wireless bridge between the wired client connected to uWGB and wireless infrastructure including Cisco and non-Cisco wireless network. For more information, see the chapter Configuring uWGB.
TrustSec support for Cisco Catalyst IW6300 Heavy Duty Series and 6300 Series Embedded Services Access Points	This feature supports to enable and configure Cisco TrustSec Security Group ACL (SGACL) in Flexconnect and Flex+Bridge mode. SGACL enforcement will be carried out on the controller for local and Bridge mode. Inline Tagging configuration and SXP connections are supported only in Flexconnect mode. For more information, see the chapter Cisco TrustSec.

Note	CAPWAP External Header DSCP ceiling based on QoS metal profile is now supported starting 17.8.1.

Table 2. New and Modified GUI Features

Feature Name	GUI Path
Configuring XOR Radio Role Sniffer Support in APs	Configuration > Wireless > Access Points
AP Power Save	Configuration > Tags & Profiles > Power Profile Configuration > Tags & Profiles > Calendar Configuration > Tags & Profiles > AP Join
Client Limit and Delete Reason	Configuration > Tags & Profiles > AP Join
FlexConnect High Scale Mode	Configuration > Tags & Profiles > Flex
Nearest Wired Service Provider Discovery on mDNS	Configuration > Services > mDNS

MIBs

The following MIBs are newly added or modified:

• AIRESPACE-WIRELESS-MIB

• CISCO-LWAPP-AP-MIB

• CISCO-LWAPP-DOT11-MIB

• CISCO-LWAPP-MESH-MIB

• CISCO-LWAPP-MOBILITY-MIB

• CISCO-LWAPP-QOS-MIB

• CISCO-LWAPP-SI-MIB

• CISCO-LWAPP-WLAN-POLICY-MIB

• The USB port in the AP profile is disabled by default.

  If you are using Cisco IOx application with USB dongles, re-configure the USB port in the AP profile on reload, to ensure that the USB port is enabled before the APs join.

  For more information about the workaround, see the details in CSCvz07021.

The Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controller GUI features an interactive help that walks you through the GUI and guides you through complex configurations.

You can start the interactive help in the following ways:

• By hovering your cursor over the blue flap at the right-hand corner of a window in the GUI and clicking Interactive Help.

• By clicking Walk-me Thru in the left pane of a window in the GUI.

• By clicking Show me How displayed in the GUI. Clicking Show me How triggers a specific interactive help that is relevant to the context you are in.

  For instance, Show me How in Configure > AAA walks you through the various steps for configuring a RADIUS server. Choose Configuration> Wireless Setup > Advanced and click Show me How to trigger the interactive help that walks you through the steps relating to various kinds of authentication.

The following features have an associated interactive help:

• Configuring AAA

• Configuring FlexConnect Authentication

• Configuring 802.1X Authentication

• Configuring Local Web Authentication

• Configuring OpenRoaming

• Configuring Mesh APs

Note

If the WalkMe launcher is unavailable on Safari, modify the settings as follows: Choose Preferences > Privacy. In the Website tracking section, uncheck the Prevent cross-site tracking check box to disable this action. In the Cookies and website data section, uncheck the Block all cookies check box to disable this action.

• To migrate public IP address from 16.12.x to 17.x. ensure that you configure the service internal command. If you do not configure the service internal command, the IP address does not carry forward.

• The Cisco Aironet 2800 and 3800 APs do not reset an interface (to clear any Ethernet interface physical layer issues) if the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) does not resolve the IP address within a certain duration.

The following table lists the supported virtual and hardware platforms. (See Supported PIDs and Ports for the list of supported modules.)

Table 3. Supported Virtual and Hardware Platforms

Platform	Description
Cisco Catalyst 9800-80 Wireless Controller	A modular wireless controller with up to 100-GE modular uplinks and seamless software updates. The controller occupies a 2-rack unit space and supports multiple module uplinks.
Cisco Catalyst 9800-40 Wireless Controller	A fixed wireless controller with seamless software updates for mid-size to large enterprises. The controller occupies a 1-rack unit space and provides four 1-GE or 10-GE uplink ports.
Cisco Catalyst 9800-L Wireless Controller	The Cisco Catalyst 9800-L Wireless Controller is the first low-end controller that provides a significant boost in performance and features.
Cisco Catalyst 9800 Wireless Controller for Cloud	A virtual form factor of the Catalyst 9800 Wireless Controller that can be deployed in a private cloud (supports VMware ESXi, Kernel-based Virtual Machine [KVM], Microsoft Hyper-V, and Cisco Enterprise NFV Infrastructure Software [NFVIS] on Enterprise Network Compute System [ENCS] hypervisors), or in the public cloud as Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) in Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform (GCP) marketplace, and Microsoft Azure.
Cisco Catalyst 9800 Embedded Wireless Controller for Switch	The Catalyst 9800 Wireless Controller software for the Cisco Catalyst 9000 switches brings the wired and wireless infrastructure together with consistent policy and management. This deployment model supports only Software Defined-Access (SDA), which is a highly secure solution for small campuses and distributed branches.

The following table lists the host environments supported for private and public cloud.

Table 4. Supported Host Environments for Public and Private Cloud

Host Environment	Software Version
VMware ESXi	VMware ESXi vSphere 6.0, 6.5, 6.7, and 7.0 VMware ESXi vCenter 6.0, 6.5, 6.7, and 7.0
KVM	Linux KVM-based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.6, 7.8, and 8.2 Ubuntu 16.04.5 LTS, Ubuntu 18.04.5 LTS, Ubuntu 20.04.5 LTS
AWS	AWS EC2 platform
NFVIS	ENCS 3.8.1 and 3.9.1
GCP	GCP marketplace
Microsoft Hyper-V	Windows 2019 Server and Windows Server 2016 (Version 1607) with Hyper-V Manager (Version 10.0.14393)
Microsoft Azure	Microsoft Azure

The following table lists the supported Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controller hardware models.

The base PIDs are the model numbers of the controller.

The bundled PIDs indicate the orderable part numbers for the base PIDs that are bundled with a particular network module. Running the show version , show module , or show inventory command on such a controller (bundled PID) displays its base PID.

Note that unsupported SFPs will bring down a port. Only Cisco-supported SFPs (GLC-LH-SMD and GLC-SX-MMD) should be used on the route processor (RP) ports of C9800-80-K9 and C9800-40-K9.

Table 5. Supported PIDs and Ports

Controller Model	Description
C9800-CL-K9	Cisco Catalyst Wireless Controller as an infrastructure for cloud.
C9800-80-K9	Eight 1/10-Gigabit Ethernet SFP or SFP+ ports and two power supply slots.
C9800-40-K9	Four 1/10-Gigabit Ethernet SFP or SFP+ ports and two power supply slots.
C9800-L-C-K9	4x2.5/1-Gigabit ports 2x10/5/2.5/1-Gigabit ports
C9800-L-F-K9	4x2.5/1-Gigabit ports 2x10/1-Gigabit ports

The following table lists the supported SFP models.

Table 6. Supported SFPs

SFP Name	C9800-80-K9	C9800-40-K9	C9800-L-C-K9	C9800-L-F-K9
DWDM-SFP10G-30.33	Supported	Supported	—	—
DWDM-SFP10G-61.41	Supported	Supported	—	—
FINISAR-LR – FTLX1471D3BCL 1	Supported	Supported	—	Supported
FINISAR-SR – FTLX8574D3BCL	Supported	Supported	—	Supported
GLC-BX-D	Supported	Supported	Supported	Supported
GLC-BX-U	Supported	Supported	Supported	Supported
GLC-EX-SMD	Supported	Supported	—	—
GLC-LH-SMD	Supported	Supported	Supported	—
GLC-SX-MMD	Supported	Supported	Supported	Supported
GLC-T	Supported	—	Supported	—
GLC-TE	Supported	Supported	Supported	Supported
GLC-ZX-SMD	Supported	Supported	Supported	Supported
QSFP-100G-LR4-S	Supported	—	—	—
QSFP-100G-SR4-S	Supported	—	—	—
QSFP-40G-BD-RX	Supported	—	—	—
QSFP-40G-ER4	Supported	—	—	—
QSFP-40G-LR4	Supported	—	—	—
QSFP-40G-LR4-S	Supported	—	—	—
QSFP-40G-SR4	Supported	—	—	—
QSFP-40G-SR4-S	Supported	—	—	—
QSFP-40GE-LR4	Supported	—	—	—
SFP-10G-AOC10M	Supported	Supported	—	—
SFP-10G-AOC1M	Supported	Supported	—	—
SFP-10G-AOC2M	Supported	Supported	—	—
SFP-10G-AOC3M	Supported	Supported	—	—
SFP-10G-AOC5M	Supported	Supported	—	—
SFP-10G-AOC7M	Supported	Supported	—	—
SFP-10G-ER	Supported	Supported	—	—
SFP-10G-LR	Supported	Supported	—	Supported
SFP-10G-LR-S	Supported	Supported	—	Supported
SFP-10G-LR-X	Supported	Supported	—	Supported
SFP-10G-LRM	Supported	Supported	—	Supported
SFP-10G-SR	Supported	Supported	—	Supported
SFP-10G-SR-S	Supported	Supported	—	Supported
SFP-10G-SR-X	Supported	Supported	—	Supported
SFP-10G-ZR	Supported	Supported	—	—
SFP-H10GB- ACU10M	Supported	Supported	—	Supported
SFP-H10GB- ACU7M	Supported	Supported	—	Supported
SFP-H10GB- CU1.5M	Supported	Supported	—	Supported
SFP-H10GB-CU1M	Supported	Supported	—	Supported
SFP-H10GB-CU2.5M	Supported	Supported	—	Supported
SFP-H10GB-CU2M	Supported	Supported	—	Supported
SFP-H10GB-CU3M	Supported	Supported	—	Supported
SFP-H10GB-CU5M	Supported	Supported	—	Supported

¹ The FINISAR SFPs are not Cisco specific and some of the features, such as DOM, may not work properly.

Optics Modules

The Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controller supports a wide range of optics. The list of supported optics is updated on a regular basis. See the tables at the following location for the latest transceiver module compatibility information:

https://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/hw/modules/ps5455/products_device_support_tables_list.html

The following Cisco APs are supported in this release.

Indoor Access Points

• Cisco Catalyst 9105AX (I) Access Points

  • VID 04 or later - supported from 17.6.4

  • VID 03 or earlier

• Cisco Catalyst 9105AX (W) Access Points

  • VID 02 or later - supported from 17.6.4

  • VID 01 or earlier

• Cisco Catalyst 9115AX (I/E) Access Points

• Cisco Catalyst 9117AX (I) Access Points

• Cisco Catalyst 9120AX (I/E) Access Points

  • VID 07 or later - supported from 17.6.4

  • VID 06 or earlier

• Cisco Catalyst 9120AX (P) Access Points

• Cisco Catalyst 9130AX (I/E) Access Points

  • VID 03 or later - supported from 17.6.4

  • VID 02 or earlier

  (For information about Cisco Catalyst 9105, 9120, or 9130 Access Points version support, see the Field Notice 72424.)

• Cisco Catalyst 9136 Access Points

• Cisco Aironet 1815 (I/W), 1830 (I), 1840 (I), and 1852 (I/E) Access Points

• Cisco Aironet 2800 (I/E) Series Access Points

• Cisco Aironet 3800 (I/E/P) Series Access Points

• Cisco Aironet 4800 Series Access Points

• Cisco Catalyst 9120AXP Access Points - supported from 16.12.2s

Outdoor Access Points

• Cisco Aironet 1540 Series Access Points

• Cisco Aironet 1560 Series Access Points

• Cisco Industrial Wireless 3700 Series Access Points

• Cisco Catalyst Industrial Wireless 6300 Heavy Duty Series Access Point

• Cisco 6300 Series Embedded Services Access Point

• Cisco Catalyst 9124AX (I/D) Access Points

Integrated Access Points

• Integrated Access Point on Cisco 1100 ISR (ISR-AP1100AC-x, ISR-AP1101AC-x, and ISR-AP1101AX-x)

Network Sensor

• Cisco Aironet 1800s Active Sensor

Pluggable Modules

• Wi-Fi 6 Pluggable Module for Industrial Routers

Supported Access Point Channels and Maximum Power Settings

Supported access point channels and maximum power settings on Cisco APs are compliant with the regulatory specifications of channels, maximum power levels, and antenna gains of every country in which the access points are sold. For more information about the supported access point transmission values in Cisco IOS XE software releases, see the Detailed Channels and Maximum Power Settings document at https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/ios-nx-os-software/ios-xe-17/products-technical-reference-list.html.

For information about Cisco Wireless software releases that support specific Cisco AP modules, see the "Software Release Support for Specific Access Point Modules" section in the Cisco Wireless Solutions Software Compatibility Matrix document.

The following table provides software compatibility information. For more information, see Cisco Wireless Solutions Software Compatibility Matrix

Table 8. Compatibility Information

Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controller Software	Cisco Identity Services Engine	Cisco Prime Infrastructure	Cisco AireOS-IRCM Interoperability	Cisco Catalyst Center	Cisco CMX
Cupertino 17.8.x	3.0 2.7 2.6 2.4	3.10 MR1	8.10.171.0 8.10.162.0 8.10.151.0 8.10.142.0 8.10.130.0 8.8.130.0 8.5.176.2 8.5.182.104	See Cisco Catalyst Center Compatibility Information	10.6.3

The following subsections list the hardware and software required to access the Cisco Catalyst 9800 Controller GUI.

Table 9. Hardware Requirements

Processor Speed	DRAM	Number of Colors	Resolution	Font Size
233 MHz minimum2	512 MB3	256	1280 x 800 or higher	Small

Software Requirements

Operating Systems:

• Windows 7 or later

• Mac OS X 10.11 or later

Browsers:

• Google Chrome: Version 59 or later (on Windows and Mac)

• Microsoft Edge: Version 40 or later (on Windows)

• Safari: Version 10 or later (on Mac)

• Mozilla Firefox: Version 60 or later (on Windows and Mac)

Note	Firefox Version 63.x is not supported.

The controller GUI uses Virtual Terminal (VTY) lines for processing HTTP requests. At times, when multiple connections are open, the default number of VTY lines of 15 set by the device might get exhausted. Therefore, we recommend that you increase the number of VTY lines to 50.

To increase the VTY lines in a device, run the following commands in the following order:

1. device# configure terminal

2. device(config)# line vty 50

   A best practice is to configure the service tcp-keepalives to monitor the TCP connection to the device.

3. device(config)# service tcp-keepalives-in

4. device(config)# service tcp-keepalives-out

Ensure that you familiarize yourself with the following points before proceeding with the upgrade:

Caution

During controller upgrade or reboot, if route processor ports are connected to any Cisco switch, ensure that the route processor ports are not flapped (shut/no shut process). Otherwise, it may lead to a kernel crash.

Note

ISSU feature is supported only within and between major releases, for example, 17.3.x (within a release) and 17.3.x to 17.6.x (among major releases). Controller upgrade from Cisco IOS XE Bengaluru 17.3.x to Cisco IOS XE Bengaluru 17.6.x or Cisco IOS XE Cupertino 17.9.x or later using ISSU may fail if the domain command is configured. Ensure that you run the no domain command before starting an ISSU upgrade because the domain command has been removed from Cisco IOS XE Bengaluru 17.6.x. Controller upgrade from Cisco IOS XE Bengaluru 17.3.x to any release using ISSU may fail if the snmp-server enable traps hsrp command is configured. Ensure that you remove the snmp-server enable traps hsrp command from the configuration before starting an ISSU upgrade because the snmp-server enable traps hsrp command has been removed from Cisco IOS XE Bengaluru 17.4.x. Controller upgrade to Cisco IOS XE Dublin 17.12.x from any prior release using ISSU may fail if the snmp-server enable traps license command is configured. Ensure that you remove the snmp-server enable traps license command from the configuration before starting an ISSU upgrade because the snmp-server enable traps license command has been removed from Cisco IOS XE Dublin 17.12.x. Ensure that you add Authentication and Key Management (AKM) setting when you configure WPA3. In older releases, this scenario was not mandatory which resulted in an invalid configuration. However, from 17.9 and higher releases, this invalid scenario is detected and prevented.

Cisco Wave 2 APs may get into a boot loop when upgrading software over a WAN link. For more information, see: https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/docs/wireless/catalyst-9800-series-wireless-controllers/220443-how-to-avoid-boot-loop-due-to-corrupted.html.

The following Wave 1 APs are not supported from 17.4 to 17.9.2, 17.10.x, 17.11.x, 17.13.x, 17.14.x, and 17.15.x:

• Cisco Aironet 1570 Series Access Point

• Cisco Aironet 1700 Series Access Point

• Cisco Aironet 2700 Series Access Point

• Cisco Aironet 3700 Series Access Point

Note

Support for the above APs was reintroduced from Cisco IOS XE Cupertino 17.9.3. Support for these APs does not extend beyond the normal product lifecycle support. Refer to the individual End-of-Support bulletins on Cisco.com. Feature support is on parity with the 17.3.x release. Features introduced in 17.4.1 or later are not supported on these APs in the 17.9.3 release. You can migrate directly to 17.9.3 from 17.3.x, where x=4c or later.

• From Cisco IOS XE Dublin 17.10.x, Key Exchange and MAC algorithms like diffie-hellman-group14-sha1, hmac-sha1, hmac-sha2-256, and hmac-sha2-512 are not supported by default and it may impact some SSH clients that only support these algorithms. If required, you can add them manually. For information on manually adding these algorithms, see the SSH Algorithms for Common Criteria Certification document available at: https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/routers/ios/config/17-x/sec-vpn/b-security-vpn/m_sec-secure-shell-algorithm-ccc.html

• If APs fail to detect the backup image after running the archive download-sw command, perform the following steps:

  1. Upload the image using the no-reload option of the archive download-sw command:

     Device# archive download-sw /no-reload tftp://<tftp_server_ip>/<image_name>

  2. Restart the CAPWAP process using capwap ap restart command. This allows the AP to use the correct backup image after the restart (reload is not required.)

     Device# capwap ap restart 

     Caution

     The AP will lose connection to the controller during the join process. When the AP joins the new controller, it will see a new image in the backup partition. So, the AP will not download a new image from the controller.

• You might observe a high Confd CPU when full synchronization occurs between NETCONF datastore and Cisco IOS configuration. This behavior is normal and is triggered by the line vty command.

• From Cisco IOS XE Cupertino 17.7.1 onwards, for Cisco Catalyst 9800-CL Wireless Controller, ensure that you complete Resource Utilization Measurement (RUM) reporting and ensure that the ACK is made available on the product instance at least once. This is to ensure that correct and up-to-date usage information is reflected in the Cisco Smart Software Manager (CSSM).

• From Cisco IOS XE Amsterdam 17.3.1 onwards, the Cisco Catalyst 9800-CL Wireless Controller requires 16 GB of disk space for new deployments.

  If you are upgrading to Cisco IOS XE Amsterdam 17.3.x from a previous release, resizing of disk space is not supported. If the current disk space is lesser than 16 GB, you need to redeploy the VM to meet the new disk space requirements.

• Fragmentation lower than 1500 is not supported for the RADIUS packets generated by wireless clients in the Gi0 (OOB) interface.

• Cisco IOS XE allows you to encrypt all the passwords used on the device. This includes user passwords and SSID passwords (PSK). For more information, see the "Password Encryption" section of the Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Configuration Best Practices document.

• While upgrading to Cisco IOS XE 17.3.x and later releases, if the ip http active-session-modules none command is enabled, you will not be able to access the controller GUI using HTTPS. To access the GUI using HTTPS, run the following commands in the order specified below:

  1. ip http session-module-list pkilist OPENRESTY_PKI

  2. ip http active-session-modules pkilist

• Cisco Aironet 1815T OfficeExtend Access Point will be in local mode when connected to the controller. However, when it functions as a standalone AP, it gets converted to FlexConnect mode.

• The Cisco Catalyst 9800-L Wireless Controller may fail to respond to the BREAK signals received on its console port during boot time, preventing users from getting to the ROMMON. This problem is observed on the controllers manufactured until November 2019, with the default config-register setting of 0x2102. This problem can be avoided if you set config-register to 0x2002. This problem is fixed in the 16.12(3r) ROMMON for Cisco Catalyst 9800-L Wireless Controller. For information about how to upgrade the ROMMON, see the Upgrading ROMMON for Cisco Catalyst 9800-L Wireless Controllers section of the Upgrading Field Programmable Hardware Devices for Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers document.

• By default, the controller uses a TFTP block size value of 512, which is the lowest possible value. This default setting is used to ensure interoperability with legacy TFTP servers. If required, you can change the block size value to 8192 to speed up the transfer process, using the ip tftp blocksize command in global configuration mode.

• We recommend that you configure the password encryption aes and the key config-key password-encrypt key commands to encrypt your password.

• If the following error message is displayed after a reboot or system crash, we recommend that you regenerate the trustpoint certificate:

   ERR_SSL_VERSION_OR_CIPHER_MISMATCH

  Use the following commands in the order specified below to generate a new self-signed trustpoint certificate:

  1. device# configure terminal

  2. device(config)# no crypto pki trustpoint trustpoint_name

  3. device(config)# no ip http server

  4. device(config)# no ip http secure-server

  5. device(config)# ip http server

  6. device(config)# ip http secure-server

  7. device(config)# ip http authentication local/aaa

• Do not deploy OVA files directly to VMware ESXi 6.5. We recommend that you use an OVF tool to deploy the OVA files.

• Ensure that you remove the controller from Cisco Prime Infrastructure before disabling or enabling Netconf-YANG. Otherwise, the system may reload unexpectedly.

• Unidirectional Link Detection (UDLD) protocol is not supported.

• SIP media session snooping is not supported on FlexConnect local switching deployments.

• The Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers (C9800-CL, C9800-L, C9800-40, and C9800-80) support a maximum of 14,000 leases with internal DHCP scope.

• Configuring the mobility MAC address using the wireless mobility mac-address command is mandatory for both HA and 802.11r.

• If you have Cisco Catalyst 9120 (E/I/P) and Cisco Catalyst 9130 (E) APs in your network and you want to downgrade, use only Cisco IOS XE Gibraltar 16.12.1t. Do not downgrade to Cisco IOS XE Gibraltar 16.12.1s.

• The following SNMP variables are not supported:

  • CISCO-LWAPP-WLAN-MIB: cLWlanMdnsMode

  • CISCO-LWAPP-AP-MIB.my: cLApDot11IfRptncPresent, cLApDot11IfDartPresent

• If you are upgrading from Cisco IOS XE Gibraltar 16.11.x or an earlier release, ensure that you unconfigure the advipservices boot-level licenses on both the active and standby controllers using the no license boot level advipservices command before the upgrade. Note that the license boot level advipservices command is not available in Cisco IOS XE Gibraltar 16.12.1s and 16.12.2s.

• The Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controller has a service port that is referred to as GigabitEthernet 0 port.

  The following protocols and features are supported through this port:

  • Cisco Catalyst Center

  • Cisco Smart Software Manager

  • Cisco Prime Infrastructure

  • Telnet

  • Controller GUI

  • DNS

  • File transfer

  • GNMI

  • HTTP

  • HTTPS

  • LDAP

  • Licensing for Smart Licensing feature to communicate with CSSM

  • Netconf

  • NetFlow

  • NTP

  • RADIUS (including CoA)

  • Restconf

  • SNMP

  • SSH

  • SYSLOG

  • TACACS+

• During device upgrade using GUI, if a switchover occurs, the session expires and the upgrade process gets terminated. As a result, the GUI cannot display the upgrade state or status.

• From Cisco IOS XE Bengaluru 17.4.1 onwards, the telemetry solution provides a name for the receiver address instead of the IP address for telemetry data. This is an additional option. During the controller downgrade and subsequent upgrade, there is likely to be an issue—the upgrade version uses the newly named receivers, and these are not recognized in the downgrade. The new configuration gets rejected and fails in the subsequent upgrade. Configuration loss can be avoided when the upgrade or downgrade is performed from Cisco Catalyst Center.

• From Cisco IOS XE Bengaluru 17.4.1 onwards, session timeout under the policy profile is supported.

• Communication between Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controller and Cisco Prime Infrastructure uses different ports:

  • All the configurations and templates available in Cisco Prime Infrastructure are pushed through SNMP and CLI, using UDP port 161.

  • Operational data for controller is obtained over SNMP, using UDP port 162.

  • AP and client operational data leverage streaming telemetry:

    • Cisco Prime Infrastructure to controller: TCP port 830 is used by Cisco Prime Infrastructure to push the telemetry configuration to the controller (using NETCONF).

    • Controller to Cisco Prime Infrastructure: TCP port 20828 is used for Cisco IOS XE 16.10.x and 16.11.x, and TCP port 20830 is used for Cisco IOS XE 16.12.x, 17.1.x and later releases.

• To migrate public IP address from 16.12.x to 17.x. ensure that you configure the service internal command. If you do not configure the service internal command, the IP address does not get carried forward.

• RLAN support with Virtual Routing and Forwarding (VRF) is not available.

• When you encounter the SNMP error SNMP_ERRORSTATUS_NOACCESS 6, it means that the specified SNMP variable is not accessible.

• We recommend that you perform a controller reload whenever there is a change in the controller's clock time to reflect an earlier time.

Note

The DTLS version (DTLSv1.0) is deprecated for Cisco Aironet 1800 based on latest security policies. Therefore, any new out-of-box deployments of Cisco Aironet 1800 APs will fail to join the controller and you will get the following error message: %APMGR_TRACE_MESSAGE-3-WLC_GEN_ERR: Chassis 1 R0/2: wncd: Error in AP Join, AP <AP-name>, mac:<MAC-address>Model AIR-AP1815W-D-K9, AP negotiated unexpected DTLS version v1.0 To onboard new Cisco Aironet 1800 APs and to establish a CAPWAP connection, explicitly set the DTLS version to 1.0 in the controller using the following configuration: config terminal ap dtls-version dtls_1_0 end Note that setting the DTLS version to 1.0 affects all the existing AP CAPWAP connections. We recommend that you apply the configuration only during a maintenance window. After the APs download the new image and join the controller, ensure that you remove the configuration.

To upgrade the field programmable hardware devices for Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers, see Upgrading Field Programmable Hardware Devices for Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers.

Important

Before you begin a downgrade process, you must manually remove the configurations which are applicable in the current version but not in older version. Otherwise, you might encounter an unexpected behavior.

• When you downgrade an AP from a higher version to Cisco IOS XE Amsterdam 17.3.x, the AP will not be accessible through SSH or the console due to the denial of the enable password, when the AP has not yet joined a controller. If the AP joins a controller, then the AP becomes accessible without any password denial.

Table 10. Upgrade Path to Cisco IOS XE Cupertino 17.8.x

Current Software	Upgrade Path for Deployments with 9130 or 9124	Upgrade Path for Deployments Without 9130 or 9124
16.10.x	—4	Upgrade first to 16.12.5 or 17.3.x and then to 17.8.x.
16.11.x	—	Upgrade first to 16.12.5 or 17.3.x and then to 17.8.x.
16.12.x	Upgrade first to 17.3.4c or later and then to 17.8.x.	Upgrade directly to 17.8.x.
17.1.x	Upgrade first to 17.3.4c or later and then to 17.8.x.	Upgrade first to 17.3.x and then to 17.8.x.
17.2.x	Upgrade first to 17.3.4c or later and then to 17.8.x.	Upgrade first to 17.3.x and then to 17.8.x.
17.3.1 to 17.3.4	Upgrade first to 17.3.4c or later and then to 17.8.x.	Upgrade directly to 17.8.x.
17.3.4c or later	Upgrade directly to 17.8.x.	Upgrade directly to 17.8.x.
17.4.x	Upgrade first to 17.6.x and then to 17.8.x.	Upgrade first to 17.6.x and then to 17.8.x.
17.5.x	Upgrade first to 17.6.x and then to 17.8.x.	Upgrade first to 17.6.x and then to 17.8.x.
17.6.x	Upgrade directly to 17.8.x.	Upgrade directly to 17.8.x.
17.7.x	Upgrade first to 17.3.5 and then to 17.8.x.	Upgrade directly to 17.8.x.

This section describes the various aspects of upgrading the controller software.

For information on the upgrade process and the methods to upgrade the Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controller software, see the "Upgrading the Cisco Catalyst 9800 Wireless Controller Software" chapter of the Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controller Software Configuration Guide.

The Smart Licensing Using Policy feature is automatically enabled on the controller. This is also the case when you upgrade to this release. By default, your Smart Account and Virtual Account in Cisco Smart Software Manager (CSSM) are enabled for Smart Licensing Using Policy. For more information, see the "Smart Licensing Using Policy" chapter in the Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controller Software Configuration Guide.

For a more detailed overview on Cisco Licensing, see cisco.com/go/licensingguide.

This section describes the interoperability of the controller software with client devices.

The following table lists the configurations used for testing client devices.

Table 11. Test Configuration for Interoperability

Hardware or Software Parameter	Hardware or Software Type
Release	Cisco IOS XE, Cupertino, 17.8.x
Cisco Wireless Controller	See Supported Hardware.
Access Points	See Supported APs.
Radio	802.11ax 802.11ac 802.11a 802.11g 802.11n 802.11ax in 6GHz (Wi-Fi 6E)
Security	Open, PSK (WPA2-AES), 802.1X (WPA2-AES) (EAP-FAST, EAP-TLS) 802.11ax
RADIUS	See Compatibility Matrix.
Types of tests	Connectivity, traffic (ICMP), and roaming between two APs

The following table lists the client types on which the tests were conducted. Client types included laptops, hand-held devices, phones, and printers.

Table 12. Client Types

Client Type and Name	Driver or Software Version
Laptops
Acer Aspire E 15 E5-573-3870 (Qualcomm Atheros QCA9377)	Windows 10 Pro (12.0.0.832)
Apple Macbook Air 11 inch	OS Sierra 10.12.6
Apple Macbook Air 13 inch	OS High Sierra 10.13.4
Macbook Pro Retina	OS Catalina
Macbook Pro Retina 13 inch early 2015	OS Mojave 10.14.3
Macbook Pro OS X	OS X 10.8.5
Macbook Air	OS Sierra v10.12.2
Macbook Air 11 inch	OS X Yosemite 10.10.5
MacBook M1 Chip	OS Catalina
Dell Inspiron 2020 Chromebook	Chrome OS 75.0.3770.129
Google Pixelbook Go	Chrome OS 97.0.4692.27
HP chromebook 11a	Chrome OS 76.0.3809.136
Samsung Chromebook 4+	Chrome OS 77.0.3865.105
Dell Latitude (Intel AX210)	Windows 11 (22.110.x.x)
Dell Latitude 3480  (Qualcomm DELL wireless 1820)	Win 10 Pro (12.0.0.242)
Dell Inspiron 15-7569 (Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 3165)	Windows 10 Home (21.40.0)
Dell Latitude E5540 (Intel Dual Band Wireless AC7260)	Windows 7 Professional (21.10.1)
Dell Latitude E5430 (Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6205)	Windows 7 Professional (15.18.0.1)
Dell Latitude E6840 (Broadcom Dell Wireless 1540 802.11 a/g/n)	Windows 7 Professional (6.30.223.215)
Dell XPS 12 v9250 (Intel Dual Band Wireless AC 8260 )	Windows 10 Home (21.40.0)
Dell Latitude 5491 (Intel AX200)	Windows 10 Pro (21.20.1.1)
Dell XPS Latitude12 9250 (Intel Dual Band Wireless AC 8260)	Windows 10 Home
Dell Inspiron 13-5368 Signature Edition	Windows 10 Home (18.40.0.12)
FUJITSU Lifebook E556 Intel 8260 (Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 8260 (802.11n))	Windows 8 (19.50.1.6)
Lenovo Yoga C630 Snapdragon 850 (Qualcomm AC 2x2 Svc)	Windows 10 Home
Lenovo Thinkpad Yoga 460 (Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 9260)	Windows 10 Pro (21.40.0)
Note   For clients using Intel wireless cards, we recommend that you to update to the latest Intel wireless drivers if the advertised SSIDs are not visible.
Tablets
Apple iPad 2021	iOS 15.0
Apple iPad 7the Gen 2019	iOS 14.0
Apple iPad MD328LL/A	iOS 9.3.5
Apple iPad 2 MC979LL/A	iOS 11.4.1
Apple iPad Air MD785LL/A	iOS 11.4.1
Apple iPad Air2 MGLW2LL/A	iOS 10.2.1
Apple iPad Mini 4 9.0.1 MK872LL/A	iOS 11.4.1
Apple iPad Mini 2 ME279LL/A	iOS 11.4.1
Apple iPad Mini 4 9.0.1 MK872LL/A	iOS 11.4.1
Microsoft Surface Pro 3 13 inch (Intel AX201)	Windows 10 (21.40.1.3)
Microsoft Surface Pro 3 15 inch (Qualcomm Atheros QCA61x4A)	Windows 10
Microsoft Surface Pro 7 (Intel AX201)	Windows 10
Microsoft Surface Pro 6 (Marvell Wi-Fi chipset 11ac)	Windows 10
Microsoft Surface Pro X (WCN3998 Wi-Fi Chip)	Windows
Mobile Phones
Apple iPhone 5	iOS 12.4.1
Apple iPhone 6s	iOS 13.5
Apple iPhone 7 MN8J2LL/A	iOS 11.2.5
Apple iPhone 8	iOS 13.5
Apple iPhone 8 Plus	iOS 14.1
Apple iPhone 8 Plus MQ8D2LL/A	iOS 12.4.1
Apple iPhone X MQA52LL/A	iOS 13.1
Apple iPhone 11	iOS 15.1
Apple iPhone 12	iOS 15.1
Apple iPhone 12 Pro	iOS 15.1
Apple iPhone 13	iOS 15.1
Apple iPhone 13 Mini	iOS 15.1
Apple iPhone 13 Pro	iOS 15.1
Apple iPhone SE MLY12LL/A	iOS 11.3
Apple iPhone SE	iOS 15.1
ASCOM i63	Build v 3.0.0
ASCOM Myco 3	Android 9
Cisco IP Phone 8821	11.0.6 SR1
Drager Delta	VG9.0.2
Drager M300.3	VG2.4
Drager M300.4	VG2.4
Drager M540	DG6.0.2 (1.2.6)
Google Pixel 3a	Android 11
Google Pixel 4	Android 11
Google Pixel 5	Android 11
Google Pixel 6	Android 11
Huawei Mate 20 pro	Android 9.0
Huawei P20 Pro	Android 10
Huawei P40	Android 10
LG v40 ThinQ	Android 9.0
One Plus 8	Android 11
Oppo Find X2	Android 10
Redmi K20 Pro	Android 10
Samsung Galaxy S9+ - G965U1	Android 10.0
Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus	Android 11.0
Samsung S10 (SM-G973U1)	Android 11.0
Samsung S10e (SM-G970U1)	Android 11.0
Samsung S20 Ultra	Android 10.0
Samsung S21 Ultra 5G	Android 11.0
Samsung Fold 2	Android 10.0
Samsung Note20	Android 10.0
Samsung G Note 10 Plus	Android 11.0
Samsung Galaxy A01	Android 11.0
Samsung Galaxy A21	Android 10.0
Sony Experia 1 ii	Android 11
Sony Experia	Android 11
Xiaomi Mi 9T	Android 9
Xiaomi Mi 10	Android 11
Spectralink 84 Series	7.5.0.x257
Spectralink 87 Series	Android 5.1.1
Spectralink Versity Phones 92/95/96 Series	Android 10.0
Vocera Badges B3000n	4.3.3.18
Vocera Smart Badges V5000	5.0.6.35
Zebra MC40	Android  4.4.4
Zebra MC40N0	Android 4.1.1
Zebra MC92N0	Android  4.4.4
Zebra MC9090	Windows Mobile 6.1
Zebra MC55A	Windows 6.5
Zebra MC75A	OEM ver 02.37.0001
Zebra TC51	Android 6.0.1
Zebra TC52	Android 10.0
Zebra TC55	Android 8.1.0
Zebra TC57	Android 10.0
Zebra TC70	Android 6.1
Zebra TC75	Android 10.0
Zebra TC8000	Android  4.4.3
Printers
Zebra QLn320 Mobile Printer	LINK OS 5.2
Zebra ZT230 IndustrialPrinter	LINK OS 6.4
Zebra ZQ310 Mobile Printer	LINK OS 6.4
Zebra ZD410 Industrial Printer	LINK OS 6.4
Zebra ZT410 Desktop Printer	LINK OS 6.4
Zebra ZQ610 Industrial Printer	LINK OS 6.4
Zebra ZQ620 Mobile Printer	LINK OS 6.4
Wireless Module
Intel 11ax 200	Driver v22.20.0
Intel AC 9260	Driver v21.40.0
Intel Dual Band Wireless AC 8260	Driver v19.50.1.6
Intel AX 210	Driver v22.110.x.x (or above)
Samsung S21 Ultra	Driver v20.80.80
QCA WCN6855	Driver v1.0.0.901
PhoenixContact FL WLAN 2010	Firmware version: 2.71

Issues describe unexpected behavior in Cisco IOS releases in a product. Issues that are listed as Open in a prior release are carried forward to the next release as either Open or Resolved.

Note	All incremental releases contain fixes from the current release.

For the most up-to-date, detailed troubleshooting information, see Troubleshooting TechNotes.

• Information about Cisco IOS XE

• Cisco Validated Design documents

• MIB Locator to locate and download MIBs for selected platforms, Cisco IOS releases, and feature sets

Cisco Wireless Controller

For more information about the Cisco wireless controller, lightweight APs, and mesh APs, see these documents:

• Cisco Wireless Solutions Software Compatibility Matrix

• Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controller Software Configuration Guide

• Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controller Command Reference

• Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Configuration Best Practices

• In-Service Software Upgrade Matrix

• Upgrading Field Programmable Hardware Devices for Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers

The installation guide for your controller is available at:

• Hardware Installation Guides

All Cisco Wireless Controller software-related documentation

Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controller Data Sheets

• Cisco Catalyst 9800-CL Wireless Controller for Cloud Data Sheet

• Cisco Catalyst 9800-80 Wireless Controller Data Sheet

• Cisco Catalyst 9800-40 Wireless Controller Data Sheet

• Cisco Catalyst 9800-L Wireless Controller Data Sheet

Cisco Embedded Wireless Controller on Catalyst Access Points

For more information about the Cisco Embedded Wireless Controller on Catalyst Access Points, see:

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/wireless/embedded-wireless-controller-catalyst-access-points/tsd-products-support-series-home.html

Wireless Product Comparison

• Compare specifications of Cisco wireless APs and controllers

• Wireless LAN Compliance Lookup

• Cisco AireOS to Cisco Catalyst 9800 Wireless Controller Feature Comparison Matrix

Cisco Access Points–Statement of Volatility

The STATEMENT OF VOLATILITY is an engineering document that provides information about the device, the location of its memory components, and the methods for clearing device memory. Refer to the data security policies and practices of your organization and take the necessary steps required to protect your devices or network environment.

The Cisco Aironet and Catalyst AP Statement of Volatility (SoV) documents are available on the Cisco Trust Portal.

You can search by the AP model to view the SoV document.

Cisco Prime Infrastructure

Cisco Prime Infrastructure Documentation

Cisco Connected Mobile Experiences

Cisco Connected Mobile Experiences Documentation

Cisco Catalyst Center

Cisco Catalyst Center Documentation

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