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

Bridge group names

Updated: April 10, 2026

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Explains how bridge group names organize mesh APs and manage parent-child associations, including procedures for configuring bridge group names through both GUI and CLI interfaces.

A bridge group name (BGN) is a mesh network configuration parameter that

  • controls the association of Mesh Access Points (MAPs) to a parent mesh AP

  • allows logical grouping of radios to isolate different networks on the same channel, and

  • allows MAPs to join networks before you assign a custom BGN.

BGNs can logically group radios to avoid two networks on the same channel from communicating with each other. The setting is useful when your network contains multiple RAPs in the same sector (area). A BGN is a string containing up to 10 characters.

A BGN of NULL VALUE is assigned by default during manufacturing. This value is not visible to you, but it allows a MAP to join the network before you assign a network-specific BGN.

If you have two RAPs in your network in the same sector, we recommend that you configure the two RAPs with the same BGN, on different channels.

When Strict Match BGN is enabled on a MAP, the MAP scans ten times to find a matching BGN parent. If the AP does not find a parent with a matching BGN after ten scans, it connects to a nonmatching BGN and maintains the connection for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, the AP scans ten times again, and this cycle continues. The default BGN functionality does not change when Strict Match BGN is enabled.

In Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controller, the BGN is configured on the mesh profile. When a MAP joins the controller, the system pushes the configured BGN on the mesh profile to the AP.

Preferred parent selection

A preferred parent selection is a mesh network configuration method that

  • enables enforcement of linear topology in a mesh environment

  • allows administrators to override the AWPP-defined (Adaptive Wireless Path Protocol) parent selection algorithm, and

  • supports explicit specification of the uplink path for the MAP in mesh deployments.

For Cisco Wave 1 APs, when you configure a preferred parent, ensure that you specify the MAC address of the actual mesh neighbor for the desired parent. This MAC address is the base radio MAC address that has the letter "f" as the final character. For example, if the base radio MAC address is 00:24:13:0f:92:00, then you must specify 00:24:13:0f:92:0f as the preferred parent.

Device# ap name ap1 mesh parent preferred 00:24:13:0f:92:0f

For Cisco Wave 2 APs, when you configure a preferred parent, the MAC address is the base radio MAC address that has "0x11" added to the last two characters. For example, if the base radio MAC address is 00:24:13:0f:92:00, then you must specify 00:24:13:0f:92:11 as the preferred parent.

Device# ap name ap1 mesh parent preferred 00:24:13:0f:92:11

Configure a bridge group name (GUI)

Configure a bridge group name to organize and manage wireless mesh network profiles efficiently.

Procedure

1.

Choose Configuration > Wireless > Mesh > Profiles.

2.

Click Add.

3.

In the Advanced tab, under the Bridge Group settings, enter the Bridge Group Name.

4.

Under the Bridge Group settings, check the Strict Match check box to enable the feature. The MAP scans ten times to find a matching BGN parent when you enable Strict Match BGN.
5.

Click Apply to Device.

The system assigns and applies a new bridge group name to the mesh profile you selected.

Configure a bridge group name (CLI)

Configure a bridge group name (BGN) for a mesh profile on a wireless LAN controller using CLI commands.

  • If a BGN is configured on a mesh profile, whenever a MAP joins the controller, it pushes the BGN configured on the mesh profile to the AP.

  • Whenever a mesh AP moves from AireOS controller to the Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controller, the BGN configured on the mesh profile is pushed to that AP and stored there.

Procedure

1.

Enter global configuration mode.

Example:

Device# configure terminal
2.

Configure a mesh profile and enter mesh profile configuration mode.

Example:

Device(config)# wireless profile mesh mesh-profile-name
3.

Configure a bridge group name.

Example:

Device(config-wireless-mesh-profile)# bridge-group name bridge-grp-name
4.

Configure bridge group strict matching.

Example:

Device(config-wireless-mesh-profile)# bridge-group strict-match
The bridge group name is assigned to the mesh profile and applied to all associated mesh APs. 
Device# configure terminal
Device(config)# wireless profile mesh mesh-profile-bgn
Device(config-wireless-mesh-profile)# bridge-group name bgn-grp-name
Device(config-wireless-mesh-profile)# bridge-group strict-match