Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controller Software Configuration Guide, Cisco IOS XE 26.1.x

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Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controller Software Configuration Guide, Cisco IOS XE 26.1.x

AP height configuration through priming profile

Updated: April 10, 2026

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Describes how to configure AP height through priming profile for AFC 6-GHz channel availability requests.

AP height configuration through priming profile is a provisioning method that

  • enables configuration of the Z coordinate (height) for multiple access points through a centralized profile approach

  • provides pre-provisioning capabilities for seamless addition of new APs to the network, and

  • ensures guaranteed configuration push when APs join the controller, overcoming the limitations of individual AP height configuration in Privileged EXEC mode.

Height configuration methods comparison

Until Cisco IOS XE 17.14.1, Automated Frequency Coordination (AFC) used geolocation attributes (X,Y, and Z) for an AP to be determined, to request for 6 GHz channel availability from the AFC server, for a given location. As per the regulatory requirement, the X and Y coordinates are obtained autonomously through GPS or GNSS directly, or through derivation. The Z coordinate (mandatory parameter), which refers to the height, is configured manually. In case of the controller, the height is programmed per AP, in the Privileged EXEC mode.

In this approach, the AP is joined, in order to configure height, and additional parameters that are configured in the Privileged EXEC mode.

However, following are the restrictions to the current implementation:

  • There is no guarantee that all the APs will be configured with height. APs may flap during configuration, failing to set the height.

  • Provisioning height individually for an AP in a large scale deployment could become cumbersome.

  • The height once configured is persistent. Therefore, if you move an AP across floors, you must reprovision height as well.

  • The AP height should be reprovisioned when a new AP is added to the network.

To overcome these constraints, from Cisco IOS XE 17.15.1 onwards, AP height is configured through priming profile.

These are the advantages when you configure the height of the AP through priming profile:

  • Easy to update the height for a group of APs

  • Pre-Provisioning feature

  • Guaranteed configuration push when AP joins

  • Moving around APs across different floors inherit the consistent configurations based on the filter

  • Seamless addition of new APs

Guidelines for AP height configuration through priming profile

Follow these guidelines when configuring AP height through priming profile:

  • If the height attribute is configured under the priming profile, the Priming Override attribute replaces the already configured height of the AP.

  • The Priming Override attribute is unique for each priming profile, therefore, all the attributes within the priming profile are overwritten.

  • Removal of height related configuration through priming profile has no effect on the configured height, but the configuration attributes are removed. The last configured height is retained.

  • During an upgrade, if the height is not configured in the priming profile, it does not replace the already configured height.

Configure AP height through priming profile (GUI)

Use this task to set the height and height uncertainty values for access points, which are required for geolocation services. The height is measured in relation to the main ground surface (Above Ground Level - AGL).

Procedure

1.

Choose Configuration > Tags & Profiles > AP Priming.
2.

Click Add.

The Add New AP Priming Profile window is displayed.
3.

In the Add New AP Priming Profile window, complete the following steps:

  1. In the Profile Name field, enter the new AP priming profile name.

  2. Enter the Primary Controller Name, Primary Controller IP, Secondary Controller Name, Secondary Controller IP, Tertiary Controller Name, Tertiary Controller IP details.

  3. Check the Geolocation check box to configure the geolocation details.

  4. In the Height field, enter the height of the AP in meters. The default value is 0.

    Note
    Configure Height together with Height Uncertainty.

    The height of the AP is measured in relation to the main ground surface, also known as Above Ground Level (AGL). Remove height and uncertainty values to clear the height configuration.

  5. In the Height Uncertainty field, enter the height uncertainty in meters. The default value is 1.

    Note
    Configure Height Uncertainty together with Height.
4.

Use the Priming Override slider to enable or disable priming override.

Note
When the Priming Override features is enabled, all the attributes configured under priming profile is pushed to AP.
5.

Click Apply to Device.

The AP priming profile with height configuration is created and applied to the device.

Configure AP height through priming profile (CLI)

Set AP height and uncertainty values through a priming profile to enable accurate geolocation tracking.
Use priming profiles to configure AP height parameters when you need to establish geolocation coordinates for access points in your wireless network deployment.

Procedure

1.

Enter global configuration mode.

Example:

Device# configure terminal
2.

Configure a profile to prime APs and enter priming configuration mode.

Example:

Device(config)# wireless profile ap priming priming-profile-name
3.

Configure the AP geolocation height and uncertainty, in meters.

Example:

Device(config-priming)# geolocation height ap-geolocation-height uncertainty height-uncertainty

Example:

Device(config-priming)# geolocation height 372 uncertainty 64
4.

Override the existing priming configuration.

Example:

Device(config-priming)# priming-override
Note

The height and uncertainty for an AP is updated only if priming-override is enabled.
The AP priming profile is configured with height parameters and can be applied to access points to set their geolocation coordinates.

Apply priming profile using filters (GUI)

Configure and apply a priming profile to selected access points efficiently.

Procedure

1.

Choose Configuration > Tags & Profiles > Tags.
2.

Click the AP tab and then click the Filter tab.
3.

Click Add.

The Associate Tags to AP window is displayed.
4.

In the Associate Tags to AP window, complete the following steps:

  1. In the Rule Name field, enter the rule name.

  2. Use the Active slider to indicate if the rule is active or not.

  3. In the Priority field, set a priority for the active rule. The valid range is between 0 and 1023.

  4. From the Tag drop-down list, choose Priming.

  5. From the Priming Profile drop-down list, choose the priming profile, or, search by navigating to the Priming Profile configuration window.
5.

Click Apply to Device.
The priming profile is applied to access points matching the filter criteria.

Apply priming profile using filter (CLI)

Apply priming profiles to APs using filters to automate the provisioning process based on AP naming patterns.
Priming profiles allow you to pre-configure access points with specific settings before they join the network. Using filters based on AP names enables automatic application of these profiles to matching access points.

Procedure

1.

Enter global configuration mode.

Example:

Device# configure terminal
2.

Configure a filter to prime APs and enter the AP priming filter configuration mode.

Example:

Device(config)# ap filter name ap-filter-name type priming

Priming filter is always persistent on the AP.

Note

Assign filter priority after filter creation.
3.

Configure a filter based on the AP name regular expression match.

Example:

Device(config-ap-pr-filter)# ap name-regex ap-filter-string
4.

Map the priming profile to the filter.

Example:

Device(config-ap-pr-filter)# profile priming-profile-name
5.

Return to global configuration.

Example:

Device(config-ap-pr-filter)# exit
6.

Configure priority for the named AP filter.

Example:

Device(config)# ap filter priority priority-value filter-name filter-name

Example:

Device(config)# ap filter priority 2 filter-name height_filter
The priming profile is now applied using the filter configuration, and matching access points will automatically receive the specified profile settings when they join the network.

Apply priming profile statically (GUI)

Establish static associations between access points and priming profiles using the graphical user interface.

Procedure

1.

Choose Configuration > Tags & Profiles > Tags.
2.

Click the AP tab and then click the Static tab.
3.

Click Add.

The Associate Tags to AP window is displayed.
4.

In the Associate Tags to AP window, complete the following steps:

  1. In the AP MAC Address field, enter the AP MAC address.

  2. From the Policy Tag Name drop-down list, choose the required tag name or search by navigating to the Policy Tag Configuration window.

  3. From the Site Tag Name drop-down list, choose the required tag name or search by navigating to the Site Tag Configuration window.

  4. From the RF Tag Name drop-down list, choose the required tag name or search by navigating to the RF Tag Configuration window.

  5. From the Priming Profile drop-down list, choose the priming profile, or, search by navigating to the Priming Profile Configuration window.
5.

Click Apply to Device.
The static priming profile association is now configured for the selected access point.

Apply priming profile statically (CLI)

Apply a priming profile to an AP to configure its initial settings and behavior.
Priming profiles allow you to statically configure APs with specific settings before deployment. This is useful for standardizing AP configurations across your network infrastructure.

Procedure

1.

Enter global configuration mode.

Example:

Device# configure terminal
2.

Configure the Ethernet MAC address of the AP.

Example:

Device(config)# ap H.H.H

Example:

Device(config)# ap CC-XX-3E-XX-FC-XX
3.

Map a priming profile to the AP.

Example:

Device(config-ap-tag)# priming priming-profile-name

Example:

Device(config-ap-tag)# priming priming-profile-height
The priming profile is now statically applied to the specified AP, configuring it with the predefined settings from the profile.

AP priming profile verification

Verify AP priming profile configurations, including all profiles overview, detailed profile information, AP configuration details, and geolocation data.

Verify all priming AP profiles

To verify all AP priming profiles, use this command:

Device# show wireless profile ap priming all
Profile Name                  Primary Controller Name        Primary Controller IP     Secondary Controller Name    Secondary Controller IP      Tertiary Controller Name     Tertiary Controller IP          Height       Uncertainty        Type        Override
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
priming_profile_height        8GBXXX                         9.9.XX.XX                                              0.0.0.0                                                   0.0.0.0                         372           64                AGL          Enabled

Verify AP priming profile details

To verify the details of an AP priming profile, use this command:

Device# show wireless profile ap priming detailed priming_profile_height
Profile Name                         : priming_profile_height
Primary Controller Name              : 8GBXXX
Primary Controller IP                : 9.9.XX.XX
Secondary Controller Name            :
Secondary Controller IP              : 0.0.0.0
Tertiary Controller Name             :
Tertiary Controller IP               : 0.0.0.0
Height                               : 372
Uncertainty                          : 64
Type                                 : AGL
Override                             : Enabled

Verify AP information

To verify information of a Cisco AP, which includes the AP priming details, use this command:

Device# show ap name Cisco-AP conf general | sec Prim
Priming Profile                                 : priming_profile_height
Priming Override                                : Enabled
Priming Source                                  : Filter
Priming Filter name                             : height_filter

Verify AP geolocation information

To verify the detailed information of the AP geolocation, use this command:

Device# show ap name Cisco-AP geolocation detail
AP Name                          : Cisco-AP
GNSS present                     : No
Location                         : NA
Height type                      : AGL
 Source                          : Manual
 Height (meters)                 : 372
 Uncertainty (meters)            : 64
 Last update                     : 05/22/2024 08:54:34