Quickly get your 91xx APs to join a 9800 series controller (and start broadcasting)

I was looking for an easy way to get the 91xx series APs to join a 9800 WLC and start broadcasting the WLAN immediately.

 

Let me just say that I prime the APs.  Or have someone else do it - I want to know the AP works, is labeled, and is properly named so when the low voltage guys install it, the AP just starts working.

 

First, I built a macro spreadsheet to scan the MAC address of the access point, and created columns for my hostnames, IPs, etc.  If you want the spreadsheet, just PM me and I'll send a "working" copy to you.  I'm always trying to improve it...  :)

 

My spreadsheet creates this output, so I simply copy and paste each column into the controller CLI and viola!!! 

 

ap name AP6849.92D1.1C90 name xyz148-011-ap01	ap name xyz148-011-ap01 con pri abc001-011-wc01 10.64.25.5
ap name AP6849.92D1.0A40 name xyz148-011-ap02	ap name xyz148-011-ap02 con pri abc001-011-wc01 10.64.25.5
ap name AP6849.92D1.1490 name xyz148-011-ap03	ap name xyz148-011-ap03 con pri abc001-011-wc01 10.64.25.5
ap name AP6849.92CF.0C10 name xyz148-011-ap04	ap name xyz148-011-ap04 con pri abc001-011-wc01 10.64.25.5
ap name AP6849.92CF.1E70 name xyz148-011-ap05	ap name xyz148-011-ap05 con pri abc001-011-wc01 10.64.25.5
ap name AP6849.92CF.1EB0 name xyz148-011-ap06	ap name xyz148-011-ap06 con pri abc001-011-wc01 10.64.25.5
ap name AP6849.92CF.1DD0 name xyz148-011-ap07	ap name xyz148-011-ap07 con pri abc001-011-wc01 10.64.25.5

 

 

Next,  I joined 7 APs to the controller and renamed them and gave them their primary controller config.  They join the controller, but they won’t start broadcasting because they won’t get the tags. Translation - it's 3am and my phone rings because "the Wi-Fi is DOWN!!!"

 

What's an easy way to avoid this cataclysmic catastrophe?  I don't want to be online, copying and pasting mac addresses into the controller at 3am while low voltage folks are doing their thing.

 

The answer is filters!

 

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/wireless/con/9800/config-guide/newconfigmodel/b_catalyst-9800-configuration-model/m_creating-an-ap-filter.html

 

I built this filter on the controller, since we are going to install 7 access points in small facility and point these APs to the 9800.

 

I added this to the config:

 

ap filter name xyz148

ap name-regex xyz148* <- This is a regular expression, filtering on the first part of the AP name

tag policy abc001_Policy_Tag  <-These are tags configured in the controller

tag rf abc001_RF_Tag <-These are tags configured in the controller

tag site abc001_Site_Tag <-These are tags configured in the controller

 

What this does is match all the AP names from access points to a filter, and automagically sets all three tags.  That translates to the AP starts broadcasting, and your phone doesn't ring!

 

There was only one problem, though.  It didn't work!  I was NOT happy!  Thinking hours of work went down the drain, I started digging.

 

abc001-011-wc01#sho ap summary

Number of APs: 8

 

CC = Country Code

RD = Regulatory Domain

 

AP Name                          Slots AP Model             Ethernet MAC   Radio MAC      CC   RD   IP Address                                State        Location

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

xyz148-011-ap04                  3     CW9166I-B            6849.92cf.0c10 5c64.f1c0.09e0 US   -B   10.64.25.127                              Registered   default location

xyz148-011-ap07                  3     CW9166I-B            6849.92cf.1dd0 5c64.f1c0.2d60 US   -B   10.64.25.124                              Registered   default location

xyz148-011-ap05                  3     CW9166I-B            6849.92cf.1e70 5c64.f1c0.2ea0 US   -B   10.64.25.126                              Registered   default location

xyz148-011-ap06                  3     CW9166I-B            6849.92cf.1eb0 5c64.f1c0.2f20 US   -B   10.64.25.125                              Registered   default location

abc001-011-ap01                  3     CW9166I-B            6849.92cf.f810 5c64.f1c1.6ce0 US   -B   10.64.25.116                              Registered   default location  ß This one another filter and it works.  The others do not bcast.

xyz148-011-ap02                  3     CW9166I-B            6849.92d1.0a40 90e9.5e9a.0640 US   -B   10.64.25.123                              Registered   default location

xyz148-011-ap03                  3     CW9166I-B            6849.92d1.1490 90e9.5e9a.1ae0 US   -B   10.64.25.128                              Registered   default location

xyz148-011-ap01                  3     CW9166I-B            6849.92d1.1c90 90e9.5e9a.2ae0 US   -B   10.64.25.129                              Registered   default location

 

Dig a little more...

 

abc001-011-wc01#sho ap filters all

Filter Name                       regex                               Policy Tag                        RF Tag                            Site Tag

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

abc001                            abc001*                             abc001_Policy_Tag                 abc001_RF_Tag                     abc001_Site_Tag

abc101                            abc101*                             abc101_Policy_Tag                 abc101_RF_Tag                     abc101_Site_Tag

xyz148                            xyz148*                             abc001_Policy_Tag                 abc001_RF_Tag                     abc001_Site_Tag

 

abc001-011-wc01#sho ap filters active

Priority   Filter Name                       regex                               Policy Tag                        RF Tag                            Site Tag

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1          abc001                            abc001*                             abc001_Policy_Tag                 abc001_RF_Tag                     abc001_Site_Tag

2          abc101                            abc101*                             abc101_Policy_Tag                 abc101_RF_Tag                     abc101_Site_Tag

 

My filter for the xyz148 named access points don't work?  I created the filter just like the other one that I configured last week. (via GUI, and am now trying to script things)

 

Turns out, I forgot this one step.  After creating a filter, there is another step, and that is creating a filter priority.  I know, I don't understand it either, but I did it anyway...  because "a filter without a priority is not active".  It's always those little gotchas in the small print!

 

 

There we have it.  Simply put, name your APs on the bench on a WLC running the same code you have in production.  Scan them, label them, and CLI config them and when they hit the WLC, they'll start broadcasting.  You'll have your nights and weekend back.  If you get paid by the hour, pretent you never saw this post.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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