Cisco Catalyst 9800, Next-Generation Wireless (WIFI7), & Catalyst Center Management (C98WF7)

Part 1: Foundations – Evolution, Wi-Fi 7, and Catalyst 9800 Core Architecture

Focus: Review the Wireless Landscape from Standards perspective, explore Cisco’s Contribution, gain a technical understanding of the Wi-Fi 7 standard. Establish a foundational understanding of the Catalyst 9800 platform, its architecture, and the tag based configuration model.

Module Learning Goals:

•  Understand Wi-Fi evolution and nomenclature.
• Identify Cisco’s wireless technology milestones.
• Deep-dive into Wi-Fi 7 features and their implications.
• Articulate Catalyst 9800 architecture and configuration models.

Module 1: Wi-Fi Standards Timeline

• The Indispensable Utility of Wi-Fi
• The Duality of Naming: IEEE 802.11 vs. Wi-Fi Generations
• Comparative Summary of Major Wi-Fi Generations

Module 2: Cisco Wireless Evolution

• Pioneering RF Intelligence: Cisco’s Proprietary Enhancements
  •   -Cisco CleanAir
  •   -Cisco ClientLink
• Innovations for High-Density and Advanced Services
  •   Flexible Radio Assignment (FRA)
  •   Hyperlocation
  •   Adaptive Wireless Intrusion Prevention System (aWIPS)

Module 3: Wi-Fi 7 (IEEE 802.11be) Technology Deep Dive

• The “Extremely High Throughput” (EHT) Standard.
  • Pillar 1: 320 MHz Channels for increased bandwidth.
  • Pillar 2: 4096-QAM for denser data transmission.
  • Pillar 3: Multi-Link Operation (MLO) – The true game-changer for throughput, latency, and reliability.
• Other Key Enhancements: Preamble Puncturing and Multi-RU.
• WPA3 Security Deep Dive.

• Module 4: The Catalyst 9800 Architecture: A Paradigm Shift

• Platform Overview: Transitioning from AireOS to the modern IOS-XE.
• Core Design Tenets: “Always On,” “Secure,” and “Deployed Anywhere.”
• Hardware Deep Dive: Physical (9800-L, 9800-40/80) and Virtual (9800-CL)
• appliances.
• IOS-XE Software Architecture: Modularity, programmability, and the Wireless
• Network Controller Daemon (WNCd).

• Module 5: The New Configuration Model: Profiles and Tags

• From Monolithic to Modular: Replacing AP Groups with a flexible, objectoriented
• model.
• The Three Core Tags: Understanding Policy, Site, and RF Tags.
• Profile Deep Dive:
  • WLAN Profile: Defines SSID and Layer 2 security (WPA3/EAP).
  • Policy Profile: Defines client policies like VLAN, QoS, and timeouts.
  • AP Join & Flex Profiles: Manages AP-specific and FlexConnect settings.
  • RF Profiles: Governs Radio Resource Management (RRM).
• Concept Mapping: Translating key AireOS concepts to the C9800 model.

Part 2: Advanced Configuration – Deployment, Security, and High Availability

Focus: Understanding of the more advanced capabilities in Catalyst 9800 platform.

Module Learning Goals:

• Understand Wi-Fi evolution and nomenclature.
• Identify Cisco’s wireless technology milestones.
• Deep-dive into Wi-Fi 7 features and their implications.
• Articulate Catalyst 9800 architecture and configuration models.

Module 6: Deployment Modes

• Centralized Deployment.
• Distributed Deployment.
• • FlexConnect Configuration.
  • Configuring FlexConnect Local Switching.
  • VLAN Mapping for Locally Switched WLANs.

Module 7: Advanced Security Configuration

• Secure Corporate Access with 802.1X and Cisco ISE
• Configuring a WPA3-Enterprise Corporate WLAN
• Wireless Intrusion Prevention System (wIPS)

• Module 8: Guest Wireless

• Guest Access Architectures: Local Web Authentication (LWA) vs. Central Web Authentication (CWA).
• Configuring CWA with Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE): A step-by-step look at the authentication flow.

• Module 9: Ensuring Uptime: High Availability (HA)

• HA Architectures: N+1 Redundancy vs. Stateful Switchover (SSO).
• SSO Deep Dive: Configuration, Redundancy Port (RP), and Redundancy
• Management Interface (RMI).
• In-Service Software Upgrades (ISSU) for zero-downtime maintenance.

Part 3: Operations, Management, Optimization – C9800 and Catalyst Center

Focus: Develop the skills to operate, manage, optimize, and troubleshoot a production Catalyst 9800 network. Introduction to Catalyst Center for Configuring a non-Fabric WLC and monitoring Energy Management Functionalities.

Learning Goals:

• Optimize wireless QoS and monitor wireless environments.
• Use Catalyst Center for provisioning, assurance, and automation.
• Implement template-based configuration and energy management.

Module 10: Quality of Service (QoS) for Modern Applications

• C9800 QoS Architecture: Using the Modular QoS CLI (MQC) framework.
• AutoQoS Profiles: Simplified best-practice policies (Fastlane, Voice, Guest).
• Custom QoS Policies with Application Visibility and Control (AVC) and NBAR2.

Module 11: Operations, Monitoring, and Management

• On-Box Monitoring using the controller’s web interface.
• Centralized Management with Cisco Catalyst Center for provisioning and assurance.
• Cloud-Managed Hybrid Mode with the Cisco Meraki dashboard.
• Essential CLI Troubleshooting Command Reference.

 Module 12: Managing C9800 with Catalyst Center – Provisioning, Monitoring, and Troubleshooting

• Overview of Catalyst Center.
• • Key features.
  • Architecture for wireless management.
• Wireless Device Discovery and Onboarding.
• Provisioning Wireless Networks using workflows.
• Real-time health monitoring, client and AP analytics, and proactive issue detection.
• Wireless Client and network path analysis, event correlation, and suggested remediation.
• Auditing, versioning, and configuration rollback.

Module 13: Catalyst Center Configuration Templates and Energy Management for C9800

• Structure and benefits of Templates Hub for C9800 configuration management.
• Automating initial deployment and ongoing changes for C9800 controllers and
• APs with Day-0 and Day_N Templates.
• Dynamic Variables and Syntax: Using Velocity/Jinja2 for scalable, repeatable configurations.
• Wireless Use Cases for C9800 via Templates.
  • Bulk WLAN creation.
  • Tag assignment.
  • Policy updates.
• Energy Management Features for Wireless Infrastructure.
  • Monitoring PoE usage
  • AP power policies.
  • Sustainability dashboards for wireless infrastructure.

Lab Outline

• Cisco C9800 WLC Walkthrough
• Create VLAN for Client Access
• Create a Wireless Location
• Create Mpsk SSID
• WLC and ISE Integration
• Create and Test iPSK SSID
• Implement FlexConnect WLAN Deployment on 9800 WLC
• FlexConnect Group
•  Mobility Tunnel Setup
•  Guest Anchor Mobility
• QOS and AVC
• Perform 9800 WLC Maintenance
•  9800 WLC Troubleshooting
•  High Availability SSO for Centralized Cisco 9800 WLC
•  Perform 9800 WLC Upgrade in HA Pair
•  C9800 Non-Fabric Provisioning using Catalyst Center
• Catalyst Center Energy Management