Cisco Catalyst 9800 Next-Generation Wireless (WIFI7) (C98WF7)

This course is destinated to Cisco Partners and customers interested in the Catalyst 9800 wireless controller and wishing to acquire skills to deploy new Wi-Fi 7 networks.

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Describe the evolution on of Wi-Fi standards and Cisco’s unique wireless innovations
• Explain Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) enhancements and their real-world impact
• Deploy and configure Cisco Catalyst 9800 WLCs for enterprise wireless networks
• Implement advanced wireless security, high availability, and guest access solutions
• Utilize Catalyst Center for wireless management, templating, and energy efficiency
• Monitor, optimize, and troubleshoot Catalyst 9800-based wireless deployments

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

Focus: Review the wireless landscape from a standards perspective, explore Cisco’s contributions, gain a technical understanding of the Wi-Fi 7 standard, and establish a foundational understanding of the Catalyst 9800 platform, its architecture, and the tag-based configuration model.

Part 1:  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
  • Hyperlocation
  • Adaptive Wireless Intrusion Prevention System (aWIPS)

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

• 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

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: 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, object-oriented model
• The Three Core Tags: Understanding Policy, Site, and RF Tags
• Catalyst 9800 Profiles:
  • 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 the more advanced capabilities in the Catalyst 9800 platform.

Part 2: 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
• Cisco Catalyst 9800 WLC Mobility

Module 9: Ensuring Uptime: High Availability (HA)

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

Part 3: Operations, Management, Optimization

Focus: Develop the skills to operate, manage, optimize, and troubleshoot a production Catalyst 9800 network.

Part 3: Module Learning Goals:

• Optimize wireless QoS and monitor wireless environments
• 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 WLC CLI Troubleshooting Command Reference

Lab Outline:

• Lab 0: Accessing the EnterOne Lab Devices
• Lab 1: Cisco C9800 WLC Walkthrough
• Lab 2: Create VLAN for Client Access
• Lab 3: Verify and test open WiFi connec on
• Lab 4: Create a Wireless Loca on
• Lab 5:Enable WiFi 7 and OWE
• Lab 6: Create Mpsk SSID
• Lab 7: WLC and ISE Integra on
• Lab 8: Create and Test iPSK SSID
• Lab 9: Implement FlexConnect WLAN Deployment on 9800 WLC
• Lab 10: FlexConnect Group
• Lab 11: Mobility Tunnel Setup
• Lab 12: Guest Anchor Mobility
• Lab 13: QOS and AVC
• Lab 14: Perform 9800 WLC Maintenance
• Lab 15: Catalyst 9800 WLC Troubleshoo ng
• Lab 16: High Availability SSO for Centralized Cisco 9800 WLC
• Lab 17: Perform 9800 WLC Upgrade in HA Pair

Participants should have:

• Basic networking and wireless knowledge
• Experience with Cisco IOS-XE CLI configuration on and operations

• CCNA - Implementing and Administering Cisco Solutions

• None

• None recommended

•  Official course book provided to participants.