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.

Note	For information about the recommended Cisco IOS XE releases for Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers, see the documentation at: https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/docs/wireless/catalyst-9800-series-wireless-controllers/214749-tac-recommended-ios-xe-builds-for-wirele.html

There are no new features in this release.

Note

Cisco recommends that you run the Cisco IOS XE 17.12.4ESW software (ESW13 or later) till the Cisco IOS XE 17.12.5 release is available. For information, see the Download Cisco IOS® XE 17.12.4 ESW Images for 9800. Alternatively, the Cisco Catalyst Advantage users may run the Cisco IOS XE 17.12.4 FCS software, install ASPS4 (or later), and all applicable SMUs to apply fixes for the following issues: CSCwj93876 CSCwm33207 CSCwi78109

Table 1. New and Modified Software Features

Feature Name	Description and Documentation Link
Support for Cisco Catalyst 9163E Access Point and CW-ANT-D1-NS-00 Antenna on Cisco Catalyst 9163E Access Point	From this release, support for Cisco Catalyst 9163 Access Point and CW-ANT-D1-NS-00 Antenna on this access point is introduced. For more information, see Cisco Catalyst 9163E Access Point.
Automated Frequency Coordination (AFC) Support	This release supports the Automated Frequency Coordination (AFC) feature, a coordination system in cloud, that allocates the channels and power levels to APs to operate in standard power mode in the 6-GHz frequency spectrum. To begin with, the feature will be available only in the U.S., subject to final approval from the FCC. Note   The AFC support will be enabled in Cisco Catalyst 9800 Wireless Controllers running IOS-XE 17.12.3, through Cisco cloud-based software service, after a final approval is obtained from the FCC. The feature is supported in the following APs: Cisco Catalyst Wireless 9166D1 Access Point Cisco Catalyst Wireless 9162I Series Access Point Cisco Catalyst Wireless 9164I Series Access Point Cisco Catalyst 9136 Series Access Point Cisco Catalyst Wireless 9163E Access Point Cisco Catalyst Wireless 9166I Access Point For more information, see the chapter Automated Frequency Coordination.
Cloud Monitoring for Catalyst Controllers	The Cloud Monitoring for Catalyst Controllers feature helps to monitor controllers using the Meraki dashboard. Currently, this feature is in a limited customer beta and is not supported by Cisco TAC. For more information about this feature, see Cloud Monitoring for Catalyst. For further help, write to: c9800-dashboard-monitoring@external.cisco.com
Electronic Shelf Label (ESL) Support Through Internal IoT Radio	This release supports Application Hosting (IOx App) on APs to access its internal IoT radio. The IOx App supports the capability to load custom or proprietary firmware onto the internal IoT radio. For example, running third-party proprietary firmware on the AP's IoT radio for ESL.
Support for Automatic Log Deletion for Wireless	The Automatic Log Deletion feature allows you to delete entries from the logging buffer automatically after a configurable time. You must configure the local syslog retention period after which the entries are purged from the device. This feature also allows one buffer clean up per day, which cleans the buffer log based on the configured duration every 24 hours. The following command is introduced as part of this feature: logging purge-log buffer days For more information about the command, see https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/wireless/controller/9800/17-12/cmd-ref/b_wl_17_12_cr/configuration-commands-g-to-z.html#wp1458580136.
Cisco Catalyst 9800 Wireless Controller for Cloud - Ultra-Low Profile	The Cisco Catalyst 9800 Wireless Controller for Private Cloud - Ultra-Low Profile is introduced to cater to the Cisco FlexConnect deployment mode, targeting a maximum of 100 APs and 1000 clients; and compute resource requirements of two virtual Central Processing Units (vCPUs), 6-GB RAM, and 16-GB hard disk. The supported private cloud providers are VMware ESXi, KVM, Hyper-V, and Cisco NFVIS (on ENCS). For more information, see Cisco Catalyst 9800-CL Cloud Wireless Controller Installation Guide.
AP Power Distribution Support for Cisco Catalyst 9162 Series Access Points	From this release, AP power distribution is supported in Cisco Catalyst 9162 Series APs. This allows the network administrator to determine how the AP radios operate when it is powered with less than 30W.

From this release, Layer 2 VRF is also supported with WGB, RADSEC, and TRUSTSEC capabilities. However, RLAN is not supported with VRF. For more information, see Remote LANs.

Table 2. New and Modified Software Features

Feature Name	Description and Documentation Link
Access Point Auto Location Support	This feature enables support for Access Point Auto Location, which helps to effectively self-locate APs on a map by combining various ranging technologies and algorithms. This feature requires the use of Cisco Spaces to interpret the AP location information and place the APs on maps. The following commands are introduced: ap geolocation derivation ranging geolocation ftm initiator burst-size geolocation ftm initiator burst-duration ap name ap-name floor ap geolocation ranging all accurate ap geolocation ranging site ap-site-tag accurate show ap geolocation ranging Note   Fine Timing Measurement (FTM) ranging is a disruptive process and may cause disturbances in radio. We recommend that you run FTM ranging during offpeak or quiet hours. FTM ranging is not supported with FRA (dual 5G) operation. For more information, see AP Management.
Modified Trustpoints for Secure Unique Device Identity (SUDI) Certificates	From Cisco IOS XE Dublin 17.12.1 onwards, the following changes have been introduced for trustpoints: Trustpoint names for existing SUDI certificates If your device supports Cisco Manufacturing CA III certificate and is not disabled, the trustpoint names are as follows: For Cisco Manufacturing CA III certificate, the trustpoint name has changed from CISCO_IDEVID_SUDI to CISCO_IDEVID_CMCA3_SUDI For Cisco Manufacturing CA SHA2 certificate, the trustpoint name has changed from CISCO_IDEVID_SUDI_LEGACY to CISCO_IDEVID_CMCA2_SUDI If your device does not support Cisco Manufacturing CA III certificate or if the certificate is disabled using no platform sudi cmca3 command, the trustpoint names are as follows: For Cisco Manufacturing CA SHA2 certificate, the trustpoint name has changed from CISCO_IDEVID_SUDI to CISCO_IDEVID_CMCA2_SUDI For Cisco Manufacturing CA certificate, the trustpoint name has changed from CISCO_IDEVID_SUDI_LEGACY to CISCO_IDEVID_CMCA_SUDI Hardware SUDI certificates If your device supports High Assurance SUDI CA certificate, this certificate is loaded under CISCO_IDEVID_SUDI trustpoint. If your device does not support High Assurance SUDI CA certificate, ACT2 SUDI CA certificate is loaded under CISCO_IDEVID_SUDI trustpoint. show wireless management trustpoint command output If Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switch is used with a Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controller for wireless deployments, the trustpoint name in the output of show wireless management trustpoint command is updated to the modified trustpoint name as mentioned previously. The following example shows a sample output of show wireless management trustpoint command. Note that if your device does not support Cisco Manufacturing CA III certificate or if the certificate is disabled, the Trustpoint Name in the following output displays CISCO_IDEVID_CMCA2_SUDI. Device# show wireless management trustpoint Trustpoint Name : CISCO_IDEVID_CMCA3_SUDI Certificate Info : Available Certificate Type : MIC Certificate Hash : <SHA1 - hash> Private key Info : Available FIPS suitability : Not Applicable show ip http server status command output If you configure the trustpoint for the HTTP server as CISCO_IDEVID_SUDI, the output of show ip http server status command displays the operating trustpoint along with the configured trustpoint. The following example shows a sample output of show ip http server status command with both the configured and the operating trustpoint names. Note that if your device does not support Cisco Manufacturing CA III certificate or if the certificate is disabled, the operating trustpoint in the following output displays CISCO_IDEVID_CMCA2_SUDI. Device# show ip http server status … HTTP secure server trustpoint: CISCO_IDEVID_SUDI HTTP secure server operating trustpoint: CISCO_IDEVID_CMCA3_SUDI
Archive less than 1 day	The request platform software trace archive last command has been enhanced to archive all the trace logs relevant to all the processes running on a system.
Cisco Catalyst 9166D Series Wi-Fi 6E Access Point	The Cisco Catalyst 9166D Series Wi-Fi 6E Access Point is an enterprise-class tri-band (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz) indoor access point with integrated directional antennas. The AP supports full interoperability with leading 802.11ax and 802.11ac clients and a hybrid deployment with other APs and controllers. For a full listing of the AP's features and specifications, see the Cisco Catalyst 9166D Series Wi-Fi 6E Access Point Data Sheet.
Cisco Catalyst 9800 Wireless Controller for Cloud - Ultra-Low Profile (Beta, No TAC Support)	The ultra-low profile memory variant of the Catalyst 9800 Wireless Controller for Cloud comes with 4GB RAM and 2vCPUs and is deployed in a private cloud (supports ESXi, KVM, and NFVIS on ENCS hypervisors) as Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). This controller can support up to 50 APs and 1000 clients. For more information and technical support, see the Cisco Catalyst 9800 Wireless Controller for Cloud - Ultra-Low Profile Installation Guide.
Cisco Catalyst IW9167I Heavy Duty Access Point	The Cisco Catalyst IW9167I Wi-Fi 6 Access Point is a heavy-duty tri-band (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz ready) outdoor access point with integrated antennas. For a full listing of the AP's features and specifications, see the Cisco Catalyst IW9167 Heavy Duty Series Data Sheet.
Ease of Debugging	The following commands are introduced on the AP console to enable or disable the client debug bundle and to verify the client debug status: debug client-bundle start show client-bundle status debug client-bundle stop
Embedded Packet Capture Enhancement	In this release, the Embedded Packet Capture (EPC) feature is enhanced to support increased buffer size, continuous capture, and filtering of multiple MAC addresses in one EPC session. The following commands are introduced: monitor capture epc-session-name buffer circular file monitor capture epc-session-name continuous-capture monitor capture epc-session-name inner mac For more information, see Embedded Packet Capture.
FIPS 140-3 compliance	This release enables all Wave 2 APs to achieve FIPS 140-3 compliance, ensuring adherence to security standards. The Cisco Catalyst 9800 controllers, however, are FIPS 140-2 compliant. Caution   Downgrading to versions below 17.12.1 can have a negative impact on Wave 2 APs in the following scenarios: When FIPS or WLANCC security modes are enabled. When the ECDHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256 cipher suite is not selected for AP DTLS (by default it is selected). Note   There is no impact on the Cisco IOS AP models. The show wireless certification config command has been introduced to verify whether downgrade is impacted or not. For more information, see FIPS.
Improve crash datacollection, kernel panics, out of memory	A new command is introduced to limit the number of kernel core dumps collected on the AP: core-dump kernel limit
Indoor deployment support for UK -ROW domain on IW9167I and IW9167E	Indoor deployment for UK -ROW domain is supported on Cisco Catalyst IW9167I and IW9167E Heavy Duty Access Point from this release. For more information, see the Cisco Catalyst IW9167 Heavy Duty Series Software Configuration Guide .
Intelligent Capture (iCAP) Hardening	This feature aims at making troubleshooting for wireless clients and APs easier. In this release, the following enhancements are made to the iCAP feature: Anomaly Detection RF Statistics The following commands are introduced: icap subscription client anomaly-detection report-individual enable icap subscription client anomaly-detection report-individual per-client throttle icap subscription client anomaly-detection report-individual per-type throttle ap name icap subscription client anomaly-detection report-individual enable ap name icap subscription client anomaly-detection report-individual per-client throttle ap name icap subscription client anomaly-detection report-individual per-type throttle For more information, see Intelligent Capture Hardening.
MacBook Analytics	This feature is supported on the controller when the MacBook device sends 11k action frames along with the model information. For more information, see Device Analytics.
Mesh Support in Cisco Catalyst 9130AX Series Access Points	From this release, mesh support is included in the Cisco Catalyst 9130AX Series Access Points. All traditional capabilities of mesh are included in the Cisco Catalyst 9130AX Series APs operating in Cisco IOS XE Dublin 17.12.1. For more information, see Mesh Access Points.
New Countries Supporting 6-GHz Radio Band	From this release, Australia, Brazil, Costa Rica, Honduras, Hong Kong, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Malaysia, Morocco, New Zealand, Peru, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates are added to the list of countries that supports 6-GHz radio band. For more information, see Regulatory Compliance Domain.
RF based Automatic Load Balancing	The RF based Automatic AP Load Balancing feature uses Radio Resource Management (RRM) neighbor report-based AP grouping and load-balancing across WNCd instances. The following commands are introduced: ap neighborhood load-balance ap neighborhood calendar-profile wireless load-balance ap method rf show ap neighborhood summary show ap neighborhood details show ap neighborhood show ap neighborhood mac details show ap neighborhood wncd For more information, see RF based Automatic AP Load Balancing.
Rogue Channel Width	From this release, you can specify the channel width and the band for rogue detection. The following command is introduced: condition chan-width For more information, see Radio Resource Management.
Rogue PMF	From this release, the controller will contain rogue APs with 802.11w Protected Management Frame (PMF) on centrally switched WLANs. The following commands are introduced: rogue detection containment pmf-denial pmf-deauth For more information, see Radio Resource Management.
Software entropy enhancement for FIPS 140-3	From Cisco IOS XE Dublin 17.12.1 onwards, Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 140-3 is supported as a security standard to validate cryptographic modules.
Support for Cisco Wave 1 Access Points	Support for the following Cisco Wave 1 APs are introduced in this release: 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   Feature support is the same as in Release 17.3.x. Features introduced in 17.4.1 or later are not supported on these APs in Release 17.12.1.
VRF Support	From this release, Virtual Routing and Forwarding (VRF) is supported. For more information, see VRF Support.
Wakeup Threshold for AP Power Save Mode	This feature enables you to define the client threshold in the AP power profile configuration to determine when an AP wakes up from the power save mode or enters the power save mode. The following command is introduced: power-save-client-threshold For more information, see AP Management.
Wireless Mesh Support for Cisco Software-Defined Access	From this release, wireless mesh is supported on Cisco Software-Defined Access. The following commands are introduced: show ap name mesh roam history show wireless mesh ap fabric summary

Table 3. New and Modified GUI Features

Feature Name	GUI Path
AP Location	Configuration >Wireless >Wireless Global Configuration > Tags & Profiles > AP Join
Configuring Transition Mode and Pure WPA3 (6-GHz) on the Same WLAN Profile	Configuration > Tags & Profiles > WLANs
Rogue Channel Width	Configuration > Security >Wireless Protection Policies > Rogue AP Rules

MIBs

The following MIBs are newly added or modified:

• AIRESPACE-WIRELESS-CAPABILITY.my

• AIRESPACE-WIRELESS-MIB.my

• CISCO-LWAPP-AP-CAPABILITY.my

• CISCO-LWAPP-CDP-CAPABILITY.my

• CISCO-LWAPP-DOT11-CAPABILITY.my

• CISCO-LWAPP-DOT11-CLIENT-CALIB-CAPABILITY.my

• CISCO-LWAPP-DOT11-CLIENT-CAPABILITY.my

• CISCO-LWAPP-DOWNLOAD-CAPABILITY.my

• CISCO-LWAPP-GUEST-LAN-CAPABILITY.my

• CISCO-LWAP P-IPV6-CAPABILITY.my

• CISCO-LWAPP-MESH-CAPABILITY.my

• CISCO-LWAPP-MESH-LINKTEST-CAPABILITY.my

• CISCO-LWAPP-MFP-CAPABILITY.my

• CISCO-LWAPP-MOBILITY-CAPABILITY.my

• CISCO-LWAPP-MOBILITY-EXT-CAPABILITY.my

• CISCO-LWAPP-QOS-CAPABILITY.my

• CISCO-LWAPP-QOS-MIB.my

• CISCO-LWAPP-REAP-CAPABILITY.my

• CISCO-LWAPP-RF-CAPABILITY.my

• CISCO- LWAPP-ROGUE-CAPABILITY.my

• CISCO-LWAPP-ROGUE-MIB.my

• CISCO-LWAPP-RRM-CAPABILITY.my

• CISCO-LWAPP-SI-CAPABILITY.my

• CISCO-LWAPP-TUNNEL-CAPABILITY.my

• CISCO-LWAPP-WLAN-CAPABILITY.my

• CISCO-LWAPP-WLAN-POLICY-CAPABILITY.my

• CISCO-LWAPP-WLAN-POLICY-MIB.my

• CISCO-LWAPP-WLAN-SECURITY-CAPABILITY.my

• CISCO-WIRELESS-HOTSPOT-CAPABILITY.my

This feature allows for the collection of non-personal usage device systems information for Cisco products, which helps in continuous product improvements. This feature is supported on the Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers (9800-80, 9800-40, 9800-L, 9800-CL, CW9800M, and CW9800H1/H2). You can use the the pae command to enable or disable this feature.

The following commands are introduced as part of this feature:

• pae

• show product-analytics kpi

• show product-analytics report

• show product-analytics stats

Note	Turning off Smart Licensing Device Systems Information does not impact other Systems Information collection including from Cisco Catalyst Center or vManage.

Important: We are constantly striving to advance our products and services. Knowing how you use our products is key to accomplishing this goal. To that end, Cisco will collect device and licensing Systems Information through Cisco Smart Software Manager (CSSM) and other channels for product and customer experience improvement, analytics, and adoption. Cisco processes your data in accordance with the General Terms and Conditions, the Cisco Privacy Statement and any other applicable agreement with Cisco. To modify your organization’s preferences for device and licensing systems information, use the pae command. For more information, see Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controller Command Reference.

For additional information on this feature, see Wireless Product Analytics FAQ.

• From Cisco IOS XE Dublin 17.12.2 onwards, 6-GHz radio band is not supported for Honduras country code (HN) in Cisco Catalyst 9136, 9162, 9164, and 9166 Series APs.

• From Cisco IOS XE Dublin 17.12.x, the Express Wi-Fi by Facebook feature is not supported.

• From Cisco IOS XE Dublin 17.12.2, the show running-config wlan command is modified. The wlan_name variable is removed.

• The following command output is modified for the KPIs for AP Health Via the Controller​ and AP feature:

  • show ap name config general

• The following command outputs are modified for the Configuring Transition Mode and Pure WPA3 (6 GHz) on the Same WLAN Profile feature:

  • show wlan all

  • show wlan id

  • show wlan name

  • show wlan summary

• WPA2 should be disabled while WPA3, PMF and dot11ax are enabled to broadcast WLAN exclusively on 6-GHz band. WPA2 can be enabled when broadcasting on other bands, such as 2.4 and 5-GHz.

• The inner MAC filtering feature of Embedded Packet Capture (EPC), captures CAPWAP data fragments and CAPWAP control not filtered by MAC.

• When wireless interface is not available, the RMI +RP configuration on the Web UI is disabled.

• From this release, the bssid-neighbor-stats interval value has been changed from 1 to180 seconds to 30 to 600 seconds. The default value is 180 seconds.

• From this release, the default console baud rate of the 802.11AX APs is changed from 9600 bps to 115200 bps.

• Both internal and external APs in NAT deployments must use different AP join profiles when CAPWAP Discovery Private and Public are enabled separately. This is applicable to APs upgraded to Cisco IOS XE Dublin 17.12.x and later.

• If you have configured CISCO_IDEVID_SUDI trustpoint in your configuration, you will need to replace it with CISCO_IDEVID_CMCA3_SUDI to avoid client connection and AP join issues. The reason for this change being the CISCO_IDEVID_SUDI changed from SW-SUDI certificate in previous releases to HW-SUDI certificate. The processing of HW-SUDI certificate is much slower than the SW-SUDI. Here, CISCO_IDEVID_CMCA3_SUDI is the new SW-SUDI certificate.

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.

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

Table 4. 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 5. 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 VMware ESXi vSphere 6.0, 6.5, 6.7, 7.0, and 8.0 VMware ESXi vCenter 6.0, 6.5, 6.7, 7.0, and 8.0
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 Server 2019, 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 6. 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 7. Supported SFPs

SFP Name	C9800-80-K9	C9800-40-K9	C9800-L-C-K9	C9800-L-F-K9
COLORCHIP-C040- Q020-CWDM4-03B	Supported	—	—	—
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
FINISAR- FTL4C1QL2L	Supported	—	—	—
FINISAR- FTL4C1QE1C	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-CSR-S	Supported	—	—	—
QSFP-40G-ER4	Supported	—	—	—
QSFP-40G-LR4	Supported	—	—	—
QSFP-40G-LR4-S	Supported	—	—	—
QSFP-40G-SR-BD	Supported	—	—	—
QSFP-40G-SR4	Supported	—	—	—
QSFP-40G-SR4-S	Supported	—	—	—
QSFP-40GE-LR4	Supported	—	—	—
QSFP-H40G-ACU7M	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/W) Access Points

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

• Cisco Catalyst 9117AX (I) Access Points

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

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

• Cisco Catalyst 9136AX Access Points

• Cisco Catalyst 9162 (I) Series Access Points

• Cisco Catalyst 9164 (I) Series Access Points

• Cisco Catalyst 9166 (I/D1) Series Access Points

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

• Cisco Aironet 1700 (I) Series Access Point

• Cisco Aironet 1800i Access Point

• Cisco Aironet 2700 (I/E) Series Access Point

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

• Cisco Aironet 3700 (I/E/P) Series Access Point

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

• Cisco Aironet 4800 (I) Series Access Points

Outdoor Access Points

• Cisco Aironet 1540 (I/D) Series Access Points

• Cisco Aironet 1560 (I/D/E) 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/E) Access Points

• Cisco Catalyst 9163 (E) Series Access Points

• Cisco Catalyst Industrial Wireless 9167 (I/E) Heavy Duty Access Points

• Cisco Catalyst Industrial Wireless 9165E Rugged Access Point

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

• Cisco Wi-Fi Interface Module (WIM)

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 9. 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
Dublin 17.12.4	3.3 3.2 3.1 3.0 2.7 * all with latest patches	3.10.5 3.10.4 Update 03 3.10.4 Update 02	8.10.196.0 8.10.190.0 8.10.185.0 8.10.183.0 8.10.182.0 8.10.181.0 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	11.0 10.6.3
Dublin 17.12.3	3.2 3.1 3.0 2.7 * all with latest patches	3.10.5 3.10.4 Update 03 3.10.4 Update 02	8.10.196.0 8.10.190.0 8.10.185.0 8.10.183.0 8.10.182.0 8.10.181.0 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	11.0 10.6.3
Dublin 17.12.2	3.2 3.1 3.0 2.7 * all with latest patches	3.10.5 3.10.4 Update 03 3.10.4 Update 02	8.10.196.0 8.10.190.0 8.10.185.0 8.10.183.0 8.10.182.0 8.10.181.0 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	11.0 10.6.3
Dublin 17.12.1	3.2 3.1 3.0 2.7 * all with latest patches	3.10.6 3.10.5 3.10.4 Update 03 3.10.4 Update 02 (base version) Note   Base release of Cisco Prime Infrastructure that supports corresponding Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controller platform release and its features.	8.10.196.0 8.10.190.0 8.10.185.0 8.10.183.0 8.10.182.0 8.10.181.0 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	11.0 10.6.3

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

Table 10. 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:

• When you upgrade from Cisco IOS XE Dublin 17.12.3 to 17.12.4 or Cisco IOS XE 17.15.1, the Cisco Catalyst Wi-Fi 6 APs fail to upgrade the AP image.

  Workaround:

  • Reboot the impacted APs through the power cycle.

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. Rolling AP upgrade, which is a part of the ISSU feature, is not supported for mesh APs. 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.

• 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.

• The Cisco Centralized Key Management (CCKM) feature is deprecated from Cisco IOS XE Dublin 17.10.x.

• 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 11. Upgrade Path to Cisco IOS XE Dublin 17.12.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 17.12.x.
16.11.x	—	Upgrade first to 16.12.5 or 17.3.x and then to 17.12.x.
16.12.x	Upgrade first to 17.3.5 or later or 17.6.x or later, and then to 17.12.x.	Upgrade first to 17.3.5 or later or 17.6.x or later, and then to 17.12.x.
17.1.x	Upgrade first to 17.3.5 or later and then to 17.12.x.	Upgrade first to 17.3.5 or later and then to 17.12.x.
17.2.x	Upgrade first to 17.3.5 or later and then to 17.12.x.	Upgrade first to 17.3.5 or later and then to 17.12.x.
17.3.1 to 17.3.4	Upgrade first to 17.3.5 or later or 17.6.x or later, and then to 17.12.x.	Upgrade directly to 17.12.x.
17.3.4c or later	Upgrade directly to 17.12.x.	Upgrade directly to 17.12.x.
17.4.x	Upgrade first to 17.6.x and then to 17.12.x.	Upgrade directly to 17.12.x.
17.5.x	Upgrade first to 17.6.x and then to 17.12.x.	Upgrade directly to 17.12.x.
17.6.x	Upgrade directly to 17.12.x.	Upgrade directly to 17.12.x.
17.7.x	Upgrade directly to 17.12.x.	Upgrade directly to 17.12.x.
17.8.x	Upgrade directly to 17.12.x.	Upgrade directly to 17.12.x.
17.9.x	Upgrade directly to 17.12.x	Upgrade directly to 17.12.x
17.10.x	Upgrade directly to 17.12.x	Upgrade directly to 17.12.x
17.11.x	Upgrade directly to 17.12.x	Upgrade directly to 17.12.x
8.9.x or any 8.10.x version prior to 8.10.171.0	Upgrade first to 8.10.171.0 or later, 17.3.5 or later, or 17.6.x or later, and then to 17.12.x	Upgrade directly to 17.12.x.
8.10.171.0 and above	Upgrade directly to 17.12.x	Upgrade directly to 17.12.x.

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

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 Smart Licensing Using Policy.

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 12. Test Configuration for Interoperability

Hardware or Software Parameter	Hardware or Software Type
Release	Cisco IOS XE Dublin 17.12.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) WPA3 AKM 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 13. 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	macOS Sierra 10.12.6
Apple Macbook Air 13 inch	macOS High Sierra 10.13.4
Macbook Pro Retina	macOS Catalina
Macbook Pro Retina 13 inch early 2015	macOS Mojave 10.14.3
Macbook Pro OS X	macOS X 10.8.5
Macbook Air	macOS Sierra v10.12.2
Macbook Air 11 inch	macOS Yosemite 10.10.5
MacBook M1 Chip	macOS Catalina
MacBook M1 Chip	macOS Ventura 13.2.1
MacBook Pro M2 Chip	macOS Ventura 13.3 beta
MacBook Pro M2 Chip	macOS Ventura 13.1
MacBook Pro M2 Chip (6Ghz Supported client)	macOS Sonoma 14.0
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)
Webex Room Bar Pro	RoomOS 11.5.2.4
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 Pro (12 inch) 6th Gen	iOS 17 (beta)
Apple iPad Pro (12.9 inch) 6th Gen	iOS 16.4
Apple iPad Pro (11 inch) 4th Gen	iOS 16.4
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 Air 11 4th Gen	iOS 16.4
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 16.0
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 14 Pro	iOS 17 (beta)
Apple iPhone 14	iOS 16.6
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 SR4
Cisco CP-840S	Android 10 (Version 16.0.34190)
Cisco CP-860S	Android 10 (Version 16.0.34190)
Drager Delta	VG9.0.2
Drager M300.3	VG3.0
Drager M300.4	VG3.0
Drager M540	VG4.2
Google Pixel 3a	Android 11
Google Pixel 4	Android 11
Google Pixel 5	Android 11
Google Pixel 6	Android 12
Google Pixel 7	Android 13
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 Galaxy S20 Ultra	Android 10.0
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G	Android 13.0
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra	Android 13.0
Samsung Fold 2	Android 10.0
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3	Android 13.0
Samsung Note20	Android 12.0
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
Spectralink Versity Phones 9540 Series	Android 8.1.0
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 TC53	Android 11.0
Zebra TC55	Android 8.1.0
Zebra TC57	Android 10.0
Zebra TC58	Android 11.0
Zebra TC70	Android 6.1
Zebra TC75	Android 10.0
Zebra TC520K	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 6.2
Zebra ZQ610 Industrial Printer	LINK OS 6.4
Zebra ZQ620 Mobile Printer	LINK OS 6.4
Wireless Module
Intel AX 411	Driver v22.230.0.8
Intel AX 211	Driver v22.230.0.8, v22.190.0.4
Intel AX 210	Driver v22.230.0.8, v22.190.0.4, v22.170.2.1
Intel AX 200	Driver v22.130.0.5
Intel 11AC	Driver v22.30.0.11
Intel AC 9260	Driver v21.40.0
Intel Dual Band Wireless AC 8260	Driver v19.50.1.6
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