6-GHz Band Operations

The following topics describe the features that are specific to 6-GHz band radio:

Feature history for 6-GHz band operations

This table provides release and related information for the feature explained in this module.

Table 1. Feature History for 6-GHz band operations

Feature name

Release information

Feature description

6-GHz radio band support in Cisco Catalyst 9136I APs

Cisco IOS XE Cupertino 17.7.1

Cisco Catalyst 1936I Access Points support the 6-GHz radio band. This topic describes the 6-GHz band operations.

6-GHz client steering support in Cisco Catalyst 9136I APs

Cisco IOS XE Cupertino 17.7.1

6-GHz client steering occurs when the controller receives a periodic client statistics report from a 2.4-GHz band or the 5-GHz band. The client-steering configuration enabled under WLAN applies only to 6-GHz capable clients.

Client steering is triggered if a client in the report is 6-GHz capable, redirecting the client to the 6-GHz band.

Configure preferred scanning channels in the RF profile (GUI)

Complete this task to configure the preferred scanning channels in the RF profile in the WebUI.

Procedure

Step 1

Choose Configuration > Tags & Profiles > RF/Radio.

Step 2

In the RF tab, click Add.

The Add RF Profile page is displayed.

Step 3

Click the RRM tab.

Step 4

Click the DCA tab.

Step 5

In the Dynamic Channel Assignment section, select the required channels in DCA Channels section.

Step 6

In the PSC Bias field, click the toggle button to enable the preferred scanning channel bias for DCA.

Step 7

Click Apply to Device.

The preferred scanning channels in the RF profile are configured.

Configure preferred scanning channels in RF profile (CLI)

Complete this task to configure preferred scanning channels in the RF profile.

Procedure

Step 1

Enter the global configuration mode.

Example:

Device# configure terminal

Step 2

Configure an RF profile and enter RF profile configuration mode.

Example:

Device(config)# ap dot11 6ghz rf-profile rf-profile-name

Step 3

Configure the RF Profile DCA settings and enable the bias for the preferred scanning channel for DCA.

Example:

Device(config-rf-profile)# channel psc

The preferred scanning channels in the RF profile are configured.

Example

Device# configure terminal
Device(config)# ap dot11 6ghz rf-profile rf-profile-name
Device(config-rf-profile)# channel psc

Configure broadcast probe response in RF profile (GUI)

Complete this task to configure broadcast probe response in the RF profile.

Procedure

Step 1

Choose Configuration > Tags & Profiles > RF/Radio.

Step 2

In the RF tab, click Add.

The Add RF Profile page is displayed.

Step 3

Click 802.11ax.

Step 4

In the 6 GHz Discovery Frames section, click Broadcast Probe Response.

Step 5

In the Broadcast Probe Response Interval field, enter the response time interval in milli-seconds (ms). The range is 5 ms to 25 ms. The default value is 20 ms.

Step 6

Click Apply to Device.

The broadcast probe response in the RF profile is configured.

Configure broadcast probe response in RF profile (CLI)

Procedure

Step 1

Enter the global configuration mode.

Example:

Device# configure terminal

Step 2

Configure an RF profile and enter the RF profile configuration mode.

Example:

Device(config)# ap dot11 6ghz rf-profile rf-profile-name

Step 3

Configure the broadcast probe response.

Example:

Device(config-rf-profile)# dot11ax bcast-probe-response

Step 4

Configure the broadcast probe response interval.

Example:

Device(config-rf-profile)# dot11ax bcast-probe-response time-interval time-interval

The RF profile configuration includes the broadcast probe response.

Example

Device# configure terminal
Device(config)# ap dot11 6ghz rf-profile rf-profile-name
Device(config-rf-profile)# dot11ax bcast-probe-response
Device(config-rf-profile)# dot11ax bcast-probe-response time-interval 20

Configure FILS discovery frames in RF profile (GUI)

Complete this task to configure FILS discovery frames in the RF profile.

Procedure

Step 1

Choose Configuration > Tags & Profiles > RF/Radio.

Step 2

In the RF tab, click Add.

The Add RF Profile page is displayed.

Step 3

Click 802.11ax.

Step 4

In the 6 GHz Discovery Frames section, click FILS Discovery.

Note

 

To prevent the transmission of discovery FILS frames when the discovery frames are set to None in the RF profile, ensure that you disable FILS discovery frames by either switching to the 5 GHz or the 2.4 GHz bands on the AP or by selecting the Broadcast Probe Response option.

Step 5

Click Apply to Device.

The FILS discovery frames are configured in the RF profile.

Configure FILS discovery frames in RF profile (CLI)

Complete this task to configure FILS discovery frames in the RF profile.

Procedure

Step 1

Enter the global configuration mode.

Example:

Device# configure terminal

Step 2

Configure an RF profile and enter the RF profile configuration mode.

Example:

Device(config)# ap dot11 6ghz rf-profile rf-profile-name

Step 3

Configure the 802.11ax FILS discovery.

Example:

Device(config-rf-profile)# dot11ax fils-discovery

Note

 

To prevent the transmission of discovery FILS frames when the discovery frames are set to none in the RF profile, disable FILS discovery frames by switching to the 5 GHz or 2.4 GHz bands on the AP, or by changing to Broadcast Probe Response.

The configuration of FILS discovery frames in the RF profile has been completed.

Example

Device# configure terminal
Device(config)# ap dot11 6ghz rf-profile rf-profile-name
Device(config-rf-profile)# dot11ax fils-discovery

Configure multi BSSID profile (GUI)

Complete this task by configuring the multi BSSID profile.

Procedure

Step 1

Choose Configuration > Tags & Profiles > Multi BSSID.

Step 2

Click Add.

The Add Multi BSSID Profile page is displayed.

Step 3

Enter the name and the description of the BSSID profile.

Step 4

Enter the following 802.11ax parameters:

  1. Downlink OFDMA

  2. Uplink OFDMA

  3. Downlink MU-MIMO

  4. Uplink MU-MIMO

  5. Target Waketime

  6. TWT Broadcast Support

Step 5

Click Apply to Device.

The multi BSSID profile is configured.

Configure multi BSSID profile (CLI)

Complete this task to configure the multi BSSID profile for 6 GHz band radio.

Procedure

Step 1

Enter global configuration mode.

Example:

Device# configure terminal

Step 2

Configure the multi BSSID profile and enter the multi BSSID profile configuration.

Example:

Device (config)# wireless profile multi-bssid multi-bssid-profile-name

Step 3

Configure the 802.11ax parameters.

Example:

Device (config-wireless-multi-bssid-profile)# dot11ax {downlink-mumimo | downlink-ofdma | target-waketime  | twt-broadcast | uplink-mumimo | uplink-ofdma}

The multi BSSID profile for 6 Ghz band radio is configured.

Example

Device# configure terminal
Device (config)# wireless profile multi-bssid multi-bssid-profile-name
Device (config-wireless-multi-bssid-profile)# dot11ax downlink-mumimo

Configure multi BSSID in RF profile (GUI)

Complete this task to configure multi BSSID in the RF profile.

Procedure

Step 1

Choose Configuration > Tags & Profiles > RF/Radio.

Step 2

In the RF tab, click Add.

The Add RF Profile page is displayed.

Step 3

Click the 802.11ax tab.

Step 4

In the Multi BSSID Profile field, choose the profile from the drop-down list.

Step 5

Click Apply to Device.

Multi BSSID is configured in the RF profile.

Configure multi BSSID in RF profile (CLI)

Complete this task to configure multi BSSID in the RF profile.

Procedure

Step 1

Enter the global configuration mode.

Example:

Device# configure terminal

Step 2

Configure an RF profile and enter RF profile configuration mode.

Example:

Device(config)# ap dot11 6ghz rf-profile rf-profile-name

Step 3

Configure 802.11ax multi BSSID profile name in the RF profile configuration mode.

Example:

Device(config-rf-profile)# dot11ax multi-bssid-profile multi-bssid-profile-name

The multi BSSID configuration in the RF profile is completed.

Example

Device# configure terminal
Device(config)# ap dot11 6ghz rf-profile rf-profile-name
Device(config-rf-profile)# dot11ax multi-bssid-profile multi-bssid-profile-name

Configure dynamic channel assignment freeze (CLI)

Complete this task to disable DCA for 6 GHz after the 6 GHz radios are stabilized with the right channels.

Before you begin

Ensure that Dynamic Channel Assignment (DCA) for 6 GHz is enabled. Wait for the 6 GHz radios to get stabilized with the right set of channel assignments.

Procedure

Disable DCA for 6 GHz bands.

Example:

Device# no ap dot11 6ghz rrm channel dca global auto

DCA for 6 GHz radios is disabled.

6-GHz client steering

6-GHz client steering is a network management feature that

  • enables the steering of clients to the 6-GHz band based on periodic client statistics reports from the 2.4-GHz or 5-GHz bands,

  • is configured under WLAN settings, and

  • applies only to clients that are 6-GHz capable.

The 6-GHz band offers additional channels, increased bandwidth, and reduced network congestion compared to the current 2.4-GHz and 5-GHz bands. Consequently, wireless clients with 6-GHz capability connect to the 6-GHz radio to leverage these advantages.


Note

Client steering to 6-GHz will not work if the SSID is used as OWE transition mode.

Configure 6-GHz client steering in global configuration mode (GUI)

Complete this task to configure 6-GHz client steering in global configuration mode.

Procedure

Step 1

Choose Configuration > Wireless > Advanced.

Step 2

Click the 6 GHz Client Steering tab. Client steering is configurable per WLAN.

Step 3

In the 6 GHz Transition Minimum Client Count field, enter a value to set the minimum number of clients for client steering. The default value is three clients. The range is from 0 to 200 clients.

Step 4

In the 6 GHz Transition Minimum Window Size field, enter a value to set the minimum window size of client steering. The default value is three. The range is from 0 to 200.

Step 5

In the 6 GHz Transition Maximum Utilization Difference field, enter a value to set the maximum utilization difference for steering. The range is from 0 to 100 percent. The default value is 20.

Step 6

In the 6 GHz Transition Minimum 2.4 GHz RSSI Threshold field, enter a value to set the minimum value for client steering 2.4-GHz RSSI threshold.

Step 7

In the 6 GHz Transition Minimum 5 GHz RSSI Threshold field, enter a value to set the minimum value for client steering 5-GHz RSSI threshold.

Step 8

Click Apply.

The 6-GHz client steering is configured in the global configuration mode.

Configure 6-GHz client steering in global configuration mode (CLI)

Complete this task to configure 6-GHz client steering in the global configuration mode.

Procedure

Step 1

Enter global configuration mode.

Example:

Device# configure terminal

Step 2

Set the minimum number of clients for client steering.

Example:

Device(config)# client-steering client-count min-num-clients

The range is from 0 to 200.

Step 3

Set the minimum window size of client steering.

Example:

Device(config)# client-steering window-size window-size

The range is from 0 to 200.

Step 4

Set the maximum channel utilization difference (2.4-GHz or 5-GHz to 6-GHz) for steering.

Example:

Device(config)# wireless client client-steering util-threshold threshold

The range is from 0 to 100 percent.

Step 5

Set the minimum value for the 2.4-GHz RSSI threshold for client steering.

Example:

Device(config)# wireless client client-steering min-rssi-24ghz -70

Step 6

Set the minimum value for the 5-GHz RSSI threshold for client steering.

Example:

Device(config)# wireless client client-steering min-rssi-5ghz -75

The 6-GHz client steering is configured in the global configuration mode.

Example

Device# configure terminal
Device(config)# client-steering client-count 3
Device(config)# client-steering window-size 5
Device(config)# wireless client client-steering util-threshold 25
Device(config)# wireless client client-steering min-rssi-24ghz -70
Device(config)# wireless client client-steering min-rssi-5ghz -75

Configure 6-GHz client steering on WLAN (GUI)

Complete this task to configure 6 GHz client steering on WLAN.

Procedure

Step 1

Choose Configuration > Tags & Profiles > WLANs.

Step 2

Click Add.

The Add WLAN page is displayed.

Step 3

Click Advanced.

Step 4

Check the 6 GHz Client Steering check box to enable client steering on the WLAN.

Step 5

Click Apply to Device.

The 6 GHz client steering on WLAN is configured.

Configure 6-GHz client steering on WLAN (CLI)

Complete this task to configure 6 GHz client steering on WLAN.

Procedure

Step 1

Enter the global configuration mode.

Example:

Device# configure terminal

Step 2

Enter the WLAN configuration submode.

Example:

Device(config)# wlan wlan-name wlan-id ssid-name

Step 3

Configure 6-GHz client steering on the WLAN.

Example:

Device(config-wlan)# client-steering

The 6-GHz client steering on WLAN is configured.

Example

Device# configure terminal
Device(config)# wlan wlan-name 18 ssid-name
Device(config-wlan)# client-steering

Verify 6-GHz client steering

To verify client steering, run the following commands:

Device# show wlan wlan-id
                WLAN Profile Name     : wlan1
                ================================================
                Identifier                                     : 1
                Description                                    :
                Network Name (SSID)                            : ssid-demo
                Status                                         : Disabled
                Broadcast SSID                                 : Enabled
                .
                .
                .
                6Ghz Client Steering                           : Enabled
                .
                .
                .
            

Device# show wireless client steering
                Client Steering Configuration Information
                Macro to micro transition threshold                  : -55 dBm
                Micro to Macro transition threshold                  : -65 dBm
                Micro-Macro transition minimum client count          : 3
                Micro-Macro transition client balancing window       : 3
                Probe suppression mode                               : Disabled
                Probe suppression transition aggressiveness          : 3
                Probe suppression hysteresis                         : -6 dB
                6Ghz transition minimum client count                 : 3
                6Ghz transition minimum window size                  : 3
                6Ghz transition maximum channel util difference      : 20%
                6Ghz transition minimum 2.4Ghz RSSI threshold        : -60 dBm
                6Ghz transition minimum 5Ghz RSSI threshold          : -65 dBm
                
                WLAN Configuration Information
                
                WLAN Profile Name                     11k Neighbor Report       11v BSS Transition
                -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                12   test1                            Enabled                   Enabled
                8    test                             Enabled                   Enabled