The Cisco Catalyst 9800-L is a fixed wireless controller with seamless software updates for small and midsize enterprises.

Built from the ground up for intent-based networking, the Cisco Catalyst 9800-L brings together Cisco IOS XE Software and Cisco RF excellence to create a best-in-class wireless experience for your evolving and growing organization.

The Cisco Catalyst 9800-L is feature rich and enterprise ready to power your business-critical operations and transform end-user experiences:

? Choose between copper and fiber uplinks. This choice gives you flexibility in your network.

? High availability and seamless software updates, enabled by hot and cold patching, keep your clients and services always on in planned and unplanned events.

? Secure the air, devices, and users with the Cisco Catalyst 9800-L. The wireless infrastructure becomes the strongest first line of defense, with Encrypted Traffic Analytics (ETA) and Software-Defined Access (SD-Access). The controller comes with built-in security: Secure Boot, runtime defenses, image signing, integrity verification, and hardware authenticity.

? Built on a modular operating system, the controller features open and programmable APIs that enable automation of day-0 to day-N network operations. Model-driven streaming telemetry provides deep insights into your network and client health.

? Cisco User Defined Network, a feature available in Cisco DNA Center, allows IT to give end users control of their very own wireless network partition on a shared network. End users can then remotely and securely deploy their devices on this network. Perfect for university dormitories or extended hospital stays, Cisco User Defined Network grants both device security and control, allowing each user to choose who can connect to their network. (Available second half of calendar year 2020.)

? The Wi-Fi 6 readiness dashboard is a new dashboard in the Assurance menu of Cisco DNA Center. It will look through the inventory of all devices on the network and verify device, software, and client compatibility with the new Wi-Fi 6 standard. After upgrading, advanced wireless analytics will indicate performance and capacity gains as a result of the Wi-Fi 6 deployment. This is an incredible tool that will help your team define where and how the wireless network should be upgraded. It will also give you insights into the access point distribution by protocol (802.11 ac/n/abg), wireless airtime efficiency by protocol, and granular performance metrics.

? With Cisco In Service Software Upgrade (ISSU), network downtime during a software update or upgrade is a thing of the past. ISSU is a complete image upgrade and update while the network is still running. The software image—or patch—is pushed onto the wireless controller while traffic forwarding continues uninterrupted. All access point and client sessions are retained during the upgrade process. With just a click, your network automatically upgrades to the newest software.

Product overview

Table 1. Key features

Feature

Description

Maximum number of access points

250, 500 (with Performance license)

Maximum number of clients

5000, 10,000 (with Performance license)

Maximum throughput

5 Gbps, 10 Gbps **(with Performance license)

Maximum WLANs

4096

Maximum VLANs

4096

Fixed uplinks

2x 10G/Multigigabit copper or 2x 10G/Multigigabit fiber

Power supply

110W, 12V DC, AC/DC adapter

Maximum power consumption

9800-L-C: 86.9W (with 4.5W USB load)

9800-L-F: 84.5W (assumes 2pc 2.5W SFP and with 4.5W USB load)

Deployment modes

Centralized, Cisco FlexConnect, and fabric

Form factor

1RU; half-width chassis allows side-by-side installation in standard 19-in. rack

License

Smart License enabled

Software

Cisco IOS XE

Management

Cisco DNA Center, Cisco Prime Infrastructure, and third party (open standards APIs)

Interoperability

AireOS-based controllers

Access points

Cisco Aironet 802.11ac Wave 1 and Wave 2 access points, Cisco Catalyst 9100 802.11ax access points