Cisco Catalyst 9800-CL Wireless Controller for Cloud Deployment Guide

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Updated:August 1, 2024

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Table of Contents

 

 

Introduction

This document provides installation guidance for the virtual Cisco® Catalyst® 9800-CL Wireless Controller for Cloud with VMware ESXi, Linux KVM, Microsoft Hyper-V, and Cisco 5000 Series Enterprise Network Compute System (ENCS) Network Function Virtualization Infrastructure Software (NFVIS). The document:

      Provides an overview of the virtual deployment options

      Provides instructions for configuring and setting up the virtual wireless controller.

Supported hypervisor versions

For the supported hypervisor versions for the 9800-CL private cloud, please see the release notes for the required Cisco IOS® XE version here: https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/wireless/catalyst-9800-series-wireless-controllers/products-release-notes-list.html

The table below shows an example of the Cisco IOS XE 17.6.x release train.

Table 1.        Supported hypervisor versions for the 9800-CL private cloud running 17.6.x.

Hypervisor

Supported version

VMware ESXi

ESXi vSphere: 6.0, 6.7, and 7.0

ESXi vCenter: 6.0, 6.5, 6.7, and 7.0

KVM

Red Hat Enterprise Linux: 7.6, 7.8, and 8.2

Ubuntu: 16.04 LTS, 18.04 LTS, 20.04.5 LTS

Microsoft Hyper-V1

Microsoft Windows Server: 2016 or 2019 (Standard, Enterprise, and Datacenter)

Hyper-V Manager: 10.0.14393

Cisco NFVIS

Release 3.8.1 and 3.9.1

1 Supported only on Cisco IOS XE Amsterdam 17.1.1 or later

9800-CL virtual machine requirements

Scale and sizing suggest the minimum virtual resource requirements in the table below.

Table 2.        Minimum virtual resource requirements for small, medium, and large configurations

 

Existing supported templates pre Cisco IOS XE Release 17.3

Templates added as part of Cisco IOS XE Release 17.3

Model configuration

Small

(Low throughput)

Medium

(Low throughput)

Large

(Low throughput)

Small

(High throughput)

Medium

(High throughput)

Large

(High throughput)

Minimum number of vCPUs1 (hyperthreading is not supported)

4

6

10

7

9

13

Minimum CPU allocation (MHz)

4000

6000

10,000

4000

6000

10,000

Minimum memory (GB)

8

16

32

8

16

32

Required storage2 (GB)

16

16

16

16

16

16

Virtual NICs (vNICs)

(*) Third NIC is for High Availability

2/(3)*

2/(3)*

2/(3)*

2/(3)*

2/(3)*

2/(3)*

ESXi vNIC

VMXNET3

VMXNET3

VMXNET3

VMXNET3

VMXNET3

VMXNET3

Linux KVM vNIC

OVS

Linux bridge (brctl)

OVS

Linux bridge (brctl)

OVS

Linux bridge (brctl)

OVS

Linux bridge (brctl)

OVS

Linux bridge (brctl)

OVS

Linux bridge (brctl)

KVM NIC virtualization

Virtio

Virtio

Virtio

Virtio

Virtio

Virtio

Hyper-V vNIC

NETVSC

NETVSC

NETVSC

Not supported

Not supported

Not supported

Hyper-V NIC Virtualization

VMBus

VMBus

VMBus

Not supported

Not supported

Not supported

Maximum access points

1000

3000

6000

1000

3000

6000

Maximum clients supported

10,000

32,000

64,000

10,000

32,000

64,000

vMotion, vNIC teaming, Snapshot, DRS3

Supported

Supported

Supported

Supported

Supported

Supported

VMware tools

Not supported

Not supported

Not supported

Not supported

Not supported

Not supported

Layer 2 link aggregation LAG4

Supported

Supported

Supported

Supported

Supported

Supported

1 To avoid stability and performance issues, it’s advisable to fully reserve the vCPU resources needed for the 9800-CL and never oversubscribe them. Hyperthreading is not supported and will need to be disabled on the host machine.
2 Starting from Cisco IOS XE Amsterdam 17.3.1, the required storage has increased from 8 GB to 16 GB. If upgrading to Cisco IOS XE Amsterdam 17.3.x from a previous release, the existing storage can be kept at 8 GB. For all new installations, it is required to go to 16 GB.
3 The VM operations are supported with some design considerations. Please see the section Design considerations with VMware VM operations.
4 Support for Layer 2 LAG starts in Cisco IOS XE Bengaluru 17.5.1 and supports deployments with single-root I/O virtualization (SR-IOV).

9800-CL vCPU allocation

The 9800-CL vCPU allocation for control plane and data plane processes is shown in the table below.

Table 3.        9800-CL vCPU allocation for small, medium, and large configurations

 

 

CPU allocation

OVA template size

Total number of vCPUs

Control plane

Data plane

Small
(Low throughput)

4

2

2

Small
(High throughput)

7

2

5

Medium
(Low throughput)

6

4

2

Medium
(High throughput)

9

4

5

Large
(Low throughput)

10

8

2

Large
(High throughput)

13

8

5

High Availability

High Availability (HA) is supported on the 9800-CL VM hosts using virtual redundant ports, in a stateful switchover (SSO) configuration as well as in an N+1 configuration.

9800-CL file format options

Catalyst 9800-CL deployment OVA template (OVA)

    C9800-CL-universalk9.BLD_V***.ova

Catalyst 9800-CL deployment image

    C9800-CL-universalk9.BLD_V***.iso

Catalyst 9800-CL upgrade and patches (bin)

    C9800-CL-universalk9.upgrade***.bin

9800-CL network interface mappings

The Catalyst 9800-CL maps the GigabitEthernet network interfaces to the logical vNIC name assigned by the VM. The VM in turn maps the logical vNIC name to a physical MAC address.

When the Catalyst 9800-CL is booted for the first time, the router interfaces are mapped to the logical vNIC interfaces that were added when the VM was created. The figure below shows the relationship between the vNICs and the Catalyst 9800-CL interfaces.

By default, the 9800-CL comes with three network interfaces. Below is an example of interface mapping:

      GigabitEthernet1 > Device management interface: Map it to the out-of-band management network. This is the equivalent of the service port on the physical appliance.

      GigabitEthernet2 > Wireless management interface: Map it to the network to reach APs and services. Usually, this interface is a trunk to carry multiple VLANs.

      GigabitEthernet3 > High Availability interface: Map it to a separate network for peer-to-peer communication for HA SSO. This is the equivalent of the RP port. This port is not needed if HA SSO is not going to be configured.

Note:     Do not connect two interfaces to a single network, as that may cause network loops. When a trunk port is used, you must either prune VLANs from vCenter or have the GigabitEthernet interfaces in a different vSwitch.

Mapping the vNICs to the Catalyst 9800-CL interfaces

Figure 1.      

Mapping the vNICs to the Catalyst 9800-CL interfaces

The figure below shows an example of mapping the hypervisor physical port (vmnic2, connected to a switch trunk) to vSwitch0, as intended for the 9800-CL VM management interface, in ESXi. An optional interface intended for use in the redundant HA configuration (vmnic3) is named RP and mapped to vSwitch3.

Note:     When testing two 9800-CL controllers in the same Cisco UCS® server and using RP ports for HA, it is not necessary to connect the physical RP mapped physical adapters at all. However, if active and standby 9800-CL controllers are on separate hypervisors, the RP mapped physical ports need to be connected to the network and must be Layer 2 adjacent and reachable by each other.

Mapping the hypervisor to the VM management interface

Figure 2.      

Mapping the hypervisor to the VM management interface in ESXi

By default, a hypervisor vSwitch is configured to reject promiscuous mode. If the 9800-CL is using tagged traffic (for a management VLAN, AP VLAN, etc.) via the management port, promiscuous mode needs to be set to accept in order for the vSwitch to carry tagged traffic.

Secure Boot

Starting with Cisco IOS XE 17.6.1, Secure Boot deployments of the 9800-CL VM hosts are supported.

For information on enabling Secure Boot, go to https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/wireless/controller/9800/9800-cloud/installation/b-c9800-cl-install-guide/controller_overview.html#concept_z44_fcm_cdb

Deploying the 9800-CL using VMware ESXi

Design considerations with VMware VM operations

When deploying VMware VM operations such as vMotion, DRS, Snapshot and vNIC teaming, there are a few design considerations to take into account.

Using SR-IOV interfaces

If SR-IOV interfaces are deployed with the 9800-CL, none of the VM operations are supported. This is due to how SR-IOV works within ESXi as documented at https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/7.0/com.vmware.vsphere.networking.doc/GUID-E8E8D7B2-FE67-4B4F-921F-C3D6D7223869.html

Snapshot

When taking a snapshot, there is a chance the controller might crash. To avoid this, we recommend configuring RAID0 on the Cisco UCS for both SSD and HDD.

Note:     Cloning from snapshots is not supported.

vMotion

When deploying vMotion on the 9800-CL in standalone mode, vMotion will work without caveats.

However, when the 9800-CL is deployed in HA SSO, there are a few considerations to take into account.

      Do not run vMotion on both the active and standby VMs at the same time. In the time it takes for the active and standby to move to the new hardware resource, the 9800-CL may be seen as going down.

      When using vMotion with 9800-CL in HA SSO, there will be an extended data outage if no packets originate from WLC. This is due to a limitation in ESXi for Virtual Guest Tagging (VGT mode). As a workaround, a continuous ping will need to be initiated from the 9800-CL to update the MAC address in the right port on the physical switch. For more details, see https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/2113783?lang=en_US.

Deploying the 9800-CL using the OVA

The provided OVA file package can be used to deploy the Cisco wireless controller to the VM. The OVA package includes an OVF file that contains a default VM configuration based on the Cisco IOS XE release and the supported hypervisor.

The following considerations apply when deploying the OVA package to the VM:

      The single OVA package creates a VM with options for three types of virtual wireless controllers, small, medium, and large. Selecting a profile specifies the required virtual CPU and memory. The hard disk requirement will be the same—16 GB—for any wireless controller type. We do not recommend changing the virtual CPU and memory configuration after deployment.

      When deploying using the OVA template, the VM will bootstrap with three interfaces: one is for out-of-band management, one is for wireless management (usually mapped to a trunk interface on the switch side), and the third is for HA to connect to the SSO peer.

      The installation process can be monitored using the virtual VGA console or the console on the virtual serial port. A virtual serial port is optional and can be added after deploying the OVA. At first customer shipment (FCS) the serial console port is not supported for large-scale deployments. If the serial port is required, please see Appendix B: Adding a virtual serial port in ESXi.

Using the ESXi embedded web GUI

VMware ESXi provides a direct deployment of the virtual Catalyst 9800-CL wireless controller without bootstrap customization (see Deploying the OVA to ESXi with vCenter Server).

Perform the following steps in the VMware GUI.

Step 1.          Log in to the VMware embedded GUI at https://ESXi_Host_IP.

Step 2.          From the Host page, choose Create/Register VM.

Create/Register VM

Step 3.          In the New virtual machine wizard, select Deploy a virtual machine from an OVF or OVA file. Click Next.

Deploy a virtual machine from an OVF or OVA file

Step 4.          Enter a name for the 9800-CL VM and select the OVA file that will be deployed. Click Next.

Enter a name for the 9800-CL VM and select the OVA file that will be deployed

Step 5.          Select the datastore for the VM’s configuration files and virtual disks. Click Next.

Select the datastore for the VM’s configuration files and virtual disks

Step 6.          In the Network mappings section, allocate one port group for each of the required network interfaces.

In the Network mappings section, allocate one port group for each of the required network interfaces

Note:     Please refer to Appendix A: Creating a port group in ESXi for steps to configure the port groups for the VM.

Note:     SR-IOV interfaces are high-performance interfaces possible in certain Intel® NIC cards. Refer to Appendix C: Enabling and using the SR-IOV NIC in ESXi to see how to enable and attach them to the 9800-CL.

Step 7.          In the Deployment type section, select the desired hardware configuration (AP and client scale) template from the drop-down menu.

Select the desired hardware configuration (AP and client scale) template from the drop-down menu

Step 8.          The rest of the settings in the Disk provisioning and Power on automatically sections can be left at their defaults. Click Next.

Step 8.  The rest of the settings in the Disk provisioning and Power on automatically sections can be left at their defaults

Note:     If using the virtual serial port, uncheck the box for Power on automatically, and refer to Appendix B: Adding a virtual serial port in ESXi (optional).

Step 9.          Confirm the configured settings. Click Finish to deploy the OVA.

Confirm the configured settings. Click Finish to deploy the OVA

 

Recent tasks

Step 10.       Once the VM is finished deploying, select the 9800-CL VM and open the console.

Select the 9800-CL VM

Step 11.       Go to the Configuring the 9800-CL section.

Deploying the OVA to ESXi with vCenter Server

VMware vCenter has a flow similar to that of standalone ESXi, except for the ability to customize and bootstrap the virtual wireless controller with login and network information so that the Command-Line Interface (CLI) is not needed at all.

Step 1.      Log in to vCenter and choose Launch vSphere Web Client (HTML5).

Log in to vCenter, and choose Launch vSphere Web Client (HTML5)

Step 2.          Select Actions à Deploy OVF Template.

Select Actions à Deploy OVF Template

Step 3.          Enter the URL where the OVA file can be downloaded or select Local file and choose a file. Click Next.

Enter the URL where the OVA file can be downloaded or select Local file and choose a file

Step 4.          Enter a name and select a location for the VM. Click Next.

Enter a name and select a location for the VM. Click Next

Step 5.          Select which ESXi host to deploy the 9800-CL on. Click Next.

Select which ESXi host to deploy the 9800-CL on. Click Next

Step 6.          Verify the details of the template. Click Next.

Verify the details of the template. Click Next

Step 7.          Select the configuration (AP and client scale) template. Click Next.

Select the configuration (AP and client scale) template. Click Next

Step 8.          Select the storage. Click Next.

Select the storage. Click Next

Step 9.          Map the virtual network interface(s) and click Next.

Map the virtual network interface(s) and click Next

Step 10.       As was mentioned earlier, vCenter deployment provides an option to customize or bootstrap the Catalyst 9800-CL wireless controller with a hostname, network configuration, and login. Go through the steps to provide any necessary information using the provided template, and click Next.

Catalyst 9800-CL wireless controller

Note:     When specifying the device management interface, choose the interface mapped to the out-of-band management network. It will be configured as a Layer 3 routed interface with the IP address provided in this step. The network entered in step 2.4 is the remote network from which the 9800-CL will be managed. This will create a static route to that specified network.

Note:     When deploying the OVA via vCenter, the configuration bootstrap will always get applied, so “wr erase” and “reload” will not bring the box to the default configuration. If the deployment does not require bootstrapping or if the 9800-CL needs to be reset to the factory default, please do not power on the 9800-CL after deploying, and refer to the steps in Appendix E: Resetting the 9800-CL to the factory default.

Step 11.       Finally, review the configuration data. Click Finish to deploy the 9800-CL in vCenter.

Finally, review the configuration data. Click Finish to deploy the 9800-CL in vCenter

Step 12.       Select Power on after deployment.

Note:     If you are removing the configuration bootstrap, please do not power on the 9800-CL after deploying and refer to the steps in Appendix E: Resetting the 9800-CL to the factory default.

Select Power on after deployment

Step 13.       Go to the Configuring the 9800-CL section.

Deploying the 9800-CL using the ISO

Step 1.          Copy the 9800-CL ISO file into the datastore.

Step 2.          Create a new virtual machine and choose the OS family/version as suggested below.

      Compatibility: Required ESXi version

      Guest OS family: Other

      Guest OS version: Other (64-bit)

Configuring the 9800-CL

Step 3.          Select the datastore for deploying the 9800-CL.

Select the datastore for deploying the 9800-CL

Step 4.          Choose the CPU, memory, and hard disk size depending on the deployment requirements. Refer to the virtual machine requirement and scale shown earlier in Table 2.

Choose the CPU, memory, and hard disk size depending on the deployment requirements

Step 5.          Add the required network adapters and select the port groups needed. Ensure that the network adapter type is VMXNET 3.

Add the required network adapters and select the port groups needed. Ensure that the network adapter type is VMXNET 3

Step 6.          Ensure that the CD/DVD drive is set to Datastore ISO File and that the Status is checked for Connect at power on. Select the ISO file for the 9800-CL. Click Next.

Ensure that  the CD/DVD drive is set to Datastore ISO File and that the Status is checked for Connect at power on -  Graphical user interface, applicationDescription automatically generated

Step 7.          Review the configuration and click Finish. Start the VM.

Review the configuration and click Finish. Start the VM

Step 8.          After ISO installation, walk through the initial setup wizard and configure SVIs, wireless interface, trustpoint, etc. (Review the previous sections, as these will be the same.)

Step 9.          Go to the Configuring the 9800-CL section.

Deploying the 9800-CL on Linux KVM

The virtual Cisco Catalyst 9800-CL Wireless Controller for Cloud can be deployed in Linux KVM using an ISO file (downloaded from the Cisco website), with support for the following distribution:

      Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 7.1 or higher

      Ubuntu 16.04 LTS or higher

This guide will not cover every aspect of Linux or KVM components, only the general set of instructions needed to deploy a virtual wireless controller on KVM.

Scale for the virtual 9800-CL on Linux KVM

Table 4.        Minimum virtual resource requirements for small, medium, and large configurations

 

Existing supported templates pre Cisco IOS XE Release 17.3

Templates  added as part of Cisco IOS XE Release 17.3

Model configuration

Small

(Low throughput)

Medium

(Low throughput)

Large1

(Low throughput)

Small

(High throughput)

Medium

(High throughput)

Large1

(High throughput)

Minimum number of vCPUs

4

6

10

7

9

13

Minimum CPU allocation (MHz)

4000

6000

10,000

4000

6000

10,000

Minimum memory (GB)

8

16

32

8

16

32

Required storage (GB)

16

16

16

16

16

16

Virtual NICs (vNICs)

(*) Third  NIC is for High Availability

2/(3)*

2/(3)*

2/(3)*

2/(3)*

2/(3)*

2/(3)*

Linux KVM vNIC

OVS

Linux bridge (brctl)

OVS

Linux bridge (brctl)

OVS

Linux bridge (brctl)

OVS

Linux bridge (brctl)

OVS

Linux bridge (brctl)

OVS

Linux bridge (brctl)

NIC virtualization

Virtio

Virtio

Virtio

Virtio

Virtio

Virtio

Maximum access points

1000

3000

6000

1000

3000

6000

Maximum clients supported

10,000

32,000

64,000

10,000

32,000

64,000

Layer 2 LAG, SR-IOV

Supported

Supported

Supported

Supported

Supported

Supported

1At FCS, the large image will support the full scale with Cisco FlexConnect ® local switching and fabric deployment mode. For local and Cisco Flex ® central switching deployment modes, the scale is 3000 APs and 32,000 clients, the same as for the medium configuration.

Prerequisites before installing KVM

To run KVM, a processor that supports hardware virtualization is required. Intel and AMD both have developed extensions for their processors, deemed, respectively, Intel VT-x (code name Vanderpool) and AMD-V (code name Pacifica).

To see if the processor supports one of these extensions, issue the following command and review the output:  

egrep -c '(vmx|svm)' /proc/cpuinfo 

If the result is 0, it means the CPU doesn't support hardware virtualization.

If it is 1 or more, it does support hardware virtualization, but virtualization needs to be enabled in the BIOS.

Required packages for KVM

The following KVM packages are required for installation:

·       Qemu-kvm

·       Qemu-utils

·       Uml-utilities

·       Bridge-utils

·       Socat

·       Kvm

·       Libvirt-bin

·       Virtinst

The following are Ubuntu sample commands to install the packages:

# apt-get install qemu-kvm qemu-utils uml-utilities bridge-utils socat

# apt-get install kvm libvirt-bin virtinst

Use the following command to install the packages in RHEL:

# yum install kvm libvirt

KVM networking

Networking options vary within Linux. Effectively, KVM supports the following:

Linux bridge

OVS switch

The following are sample network settings, where br0 and br1 can be mapped to the virtual wireless controller interface(s):

[root@localhost ~]# vim /etc/network/interfaces

 

interfaces(5) file used by ifup(8) and ifdown(8)

auto lo

iface lo inet loopback

 

auto br0

iface br0 inet static

        address 10.104.170.99

        netmask 255.255.255.0

        network 10.104.170.0

        broadcast 10.104.170.255

        #gateway 10.104.170.1

        #up route add default gw 10.104.170.1

        # dns-* options are implemented by the resolvconf package, if installed

        bridge_ports eth0

        bridge_stp off

        bridge_fd 0

        bridge_maxwait 0

        dns-nameservers 72.163.128.140

 

auto br1

iface br1 inet static

        address 9.11.124.44

        network 9.11.124.0

        netmask 255.255.255.0

        bridge_ports eth1

        bridge_stp off

        bridge_fd 0

        bridge_maxwait 0

For how to configure the SR-IOV interfaces for KVM, see Appendix D: Enabling and using the SR-IOV NIC in KVM.

Creating and launching a VM

sudo virt-install   --virt-type=kvm   --name C9800_sriov_3-18  --ram 16384  --vcpus=9     --hvm  --cdrom=/home/C9800-CL-universalk9.BLD_POLARIS_DEV_LATEST_20200318_062819-serial.iso    --network none  --host-device=pci_0000_18_06_0 --host-device=pci_0000_18_06_1 --graphics vnc  --disk path=/var/lib/libvirt/images/C9800_sriov_3-18.qcow2,size=8,bus=virtio,format=qcow2

Verify this on the 9800-CL console after launching:

C9800> en

C9800#show platform software vnic-if interface-mapping   

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

 Interface Name        Driver Name         Mac Addr                

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

 GigabitEthernet2       net_i40e_vf        3cfd.fede.ccbd          

 GigabitEthernet1       net_i40e_vf        3cfd.fede.ccbc          

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

Attaching to an existing VM using the CLI

Adding the PCI device number:

Attaching to an existing VM using the CLI

causes the address domain, bus, slot, and function to be derived from the PCI BDF by the script in step 1.

# virsh edit <VM name>

# virsh edit <name of virtual machine>                                                     

# virsh dump <name of virtual machine>                                                  

<domain>                                                                                    

…                                                                                          

<devices>                                                                                  

…                                                                                           

<hostdev mode=’subsystem’ type=’pci’ managed=’yes’>                           

      <source>                                                                              

        <address domain=’0x0000’ bus=’0x18’ slot=’0x06’ function=’0x0’/>

      </source>                                                                              

</hostdev>                                                                                  

…                                                                                           

</devices>                                                                                  

…                                                                                            

</domain>          

Attaching to the 9800-CL using the Virtual Machine Manager

In the Virtual Machine Manager (virt-manager), use the Add Hardware button to add the PCI host device. Navigate to the NIC and choose the VF that needs to be attached to the VM.

Attaching to C9800-CL using virt-manager

Once the PCI is added to the VM, start the VM.

Table 5.        Verified and recommended software versions for SR-IOV

Guest OS

NIC

Driver version

Firmware

KVM RedHat Version 7.5

Intel x710

I40e 2.10.19.82

7.10

KVM RedHat Version 7.4

Ciscoized x710

I40e 2.10.19.82

7.0

Creating the Catalyst 9800-CL VM using the virt-manager GUI tool

Once the Linux KVM requirement is met, the packages have been installed, and networking has been configured, download the ISO from Cisco for use with the virt-manager. This GUI tool is the easiest method for deploying the virtual 9800-CL wireless controller. The following examples are based on Ubuntu/Gnome as a desktop environment.

Step 1.      Start Virtual Machine Manager and choose Create a new virtual machine. Select Local install media (ISO image) and click Forward.

Start Virtual Machine Manager

Step 2.          Browse and select the Catalyst 9800-CL ISO file.

Browse and select the Catalyst 9800-CL ISO file

Step 3.          Using the AP and client scale guide in Table 4, set the CPU and memory requirements. For example, four CPUs and 8 GB RAM are recommended for small deployments with 1000 APs and 6000 clients. Click Forward.

Related image, diagram or screenshot

Step 4.          Create a disk of 8 GB (standard for all deployment sizes). Click Forward.

Related image, diagram or screenshot

Step 5.          Provide a name for the VM and select Customize configuration before install. (Note: This setting is important.) Click Forward.

Related image, diagram or screenshot

The default is a single interface at the time of VM creation. This can be used as any of the functional virtual 9800-CL interfaces, for example, the wireless management interface. However, if an additional interface (or serial port) is needed, use the Add New Virtual Hardware tool.

Step 6.          Go to Add New Virtual Hardware > Network interface. Map each of the vNICs to the target bridge interface defined in the Linux network configuration.

Related image, diagram or screenshot

Step 7.          For each vNIC, set the Device model to virtio. Click Finish.

Related image, diagram or screenshot

Step 8.          A virtual serial console also exists for KVM. Simply add the virtual hardware, select Serial, Host = 127.0.0.1 (local host), and the port number (user-defined), and check Use Telnet. Click Finish.

Related image, diagram or screenshot

Below is an example of a console using Telnet to connect to the KVM hypervisor at a user-defined port.

Telnet to connect to the KVM hypervisor

Step 9.          Next, click Begin Installation. The VM will boot and progress through the installation process.

Next, click Begin Installation

Step 10.       Progress can be monitored through the KVM VM console.

Progress can be monitored through the KVM VM console

Step 11.       Go to the Configuring the 9800-CL section.

Deploying the 9800-CL on Microsoft Hyper-V

Starting with Cisco IOS XE Release 17.1.1, the virtual Cisco Catalyst 9800-CL Wireless Controller for Cloud can be deployed in Microsoft Hyper-V, using an ISO file (downloaded from the Cisco website). Hyper-V is supported on the following Windows installations:

      Windows Server 2016 or later – Standard, Enterprise, and Datacenter edition

      Hyper-V Manager – Version 10.0.14393 or later

This guide will not cover every aspect of Hyper-V and Windows components, only the general set of instructions needed to deploy a virtual wireless controller on Hyper-V.

For more information on getting started with Hyper-V, see https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/virtualization/hyper-v-on-windows/about/

Scale for the Virtual 9800-CL on Hyper-V

 

Table 6.        Minimum virtual resource requirements for small, medium, and large configurations on Hyper-V

 

Existing supported templates pre Cisco IOS XE Release 17.3

Model configuration

Small

(Low throughput)

Medium

(Low throughput)

Large

(Low throughput)

Minimum number of vCPUs

4

6

10

Minimum CPU allocation (MHz)

4000

6000

10,000

Minimum memory (GB)

8

16

32

Required storage (GB)

16

16

16

Virtual NICs (vNICs)

(*) Third  NIC is for High Availability

2/(3)*

2/(3)*

2/(3)*

Hyper-V vNIC

NETVSC

NETVSC

NETVSC

NIC virtualization

VMBus

VMBus

VMBus

Maximum access points

1000

3000

6000

Maximum clients supported

10,000

32,000

64,000

9800-CL file format options

Catalyst 9800-CL deployment image – Requires Cisco IOS XE Release 17.1.1 or higher

C9800-CL-universalk9.***.iso

Catalyst 9800-CL upgrade and patches (bin)

    C9800-CL-universalk9.***.bin

Bring up Hyper-V

If Hyper-V is not already installed, follow the steps here to install it: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/virtualization/hyper-v/hyper-v-on-windows-server

Hyper-V networking

Hyper-V supports mapping the physical network interfaces to a virtual switch. The virtual switch is used by the VM network adapter to send traffic to the rest of the network.

The easiest method to create the virtual switch is done using the Hyper-V Manager GUI tool.

Step 1.          Open Hyper-V Manager by going to Control Panel > System & Security > Administrative Tools.

Open Hyper-V Manager by going to Control Panel > System & Security > Administrative Tools

Step 2.          In the Actions pane, click Virtual Switch Manager.

In the Actions pane, click Virtual Switch Manager

Step 3.          In the New virtual network switch section, select an External virtual switch. Click Create Virtual Switch.

In the New virtual network switch section, select an External virtual switch. Click Create Virtual Switch

Step 4.          Set the name of the virtual switch. In the drop-down menu, select the physical NIC that will be connected to the virtual switch, and, if the Windows host uses the NIC to connect to the network, check Allow management operating system to share this network adapter. If the Windows host requires VLAN ID, check Enable virtual LAN identification for management operating system and enter the VLAN ID. Click Apply.

Allow management operating system to share this network adapter

Step 5.          Repeat steps 3 and 4 for any other physical NICs.

Creating the Catalyst 9800-CL VM using the Hyper-V Manager GUI tool

Download the ISO from Cisco for use with the Hyper-V Manager. This GUI tool is the easiest method for deploying the virtual 9800-CL wireless controller.

Step 1.          Open Hyper-V Manager by going to Control Panel > System & Security > Administrative Tools.

Control Panel > System & Security > Administrative Tools

Step 2.          In the Actions pane, click New > Virtual Machine.

In the Actions pane, click New > Virtual Machine

Step 3.          Provide a name for the VM and specify a location to store it. Click Next.

Provide a name for the VM and specify a location to store it. Click Next

Step 4.          Specify either generation of the VM. This can be either Generation 1 or Generation 2. Click Next.

Note:     The generation cannot be changed after the VM has been created.

Specify either generation of the VM. This can be either Generation 1 or Generation 2

Step 5.          Set the memory requirements of the VM based on the AP and client scale in Table 6. The example below is for small deployments with 1000 APs and 6000 clients. Click Next.

Set the memory requirements of the VM based on the AP and client scale in Table 6

Step 6.          Specify the network connection for the included network adapter, or this can be done later. This network adapter will correspond to GigabitEthernet1 within the 9800-CL VM.

Specify the network connection for the included network adapter, or this can be done later

Step 7.          Create a new virtual disk with a size of 16 GB (standard for all deployment sizes). Click Next.

Create a new virtual disk with a size of 16 GB (standard for all deployment sizes). Click Next

Step 8.          To boot from the ISO file for the 9800-CL, select Install an operating system from a bootable CD/DVD-ROM and enter the location for the required ISO file of the 9800-CL image.

Select Install an operating system from a bootable CD/DVD-ROM

Step 9.          Click Finish to complete the VM creation.

Click Finish to complete the VM creation

Step 10.       Navigate to the settings page for the VM. Right-click the 9800-CL VM and select settings.

Navigate to the settings page for the VM. Right-click the 9800-CL VM and select settings

Step 11.       Go to the Processor section. Set the number of processors based on the AP and client scale in Table 6. The example below shows four virtual processors for a small deployment with 1000 APs and 6000 clients.

Set the number of processors based on the AP and client scale in Table 6

Step 12.       The default is a single network adapter at the time of VM creation. This can be used as any of the functional virtual 9800-CL interfaces, such as the wireless management interface.

However, if additional adapters are required, you will need to use either PowerShell or the Hyper-V GUI, depending on whether the traffic for the network adapters will be tagged or untagged or trunked. These options are described below.

The network adapter will have traffic that is untagged or tagged with a single VLAN ID (GigabitEthernet1 and GigabitEthernet3):

Go to Add Hardware and select Network Adapter. Click Add.

The default is a single network adapter at the time of VM creation

Repeat for any additional network adapters.

For each network adapter, go to the required Network Adapter section. Select the required Virtual switch. If VLAN tagging is required, check Enable virtual LAN identification and enter the required VLAN ID. Click OK.

Enable virtual LAN identification

The network adapter needs to be configured as a trunk port (normally for GigabitEthernet2):

Open the PowerShell application as administrator.

Enter the following commands:

Add-VMNetworkAdapter -VMName <VM Name> -SwitchName <Virtual Switch Name> Name <Network Adapter Name>

Set-VMNetworkAdapterVlan -VMName <VM Name> -VMNetworkAdapterName <Network Adapter Name> -Trunk -AllowedVlanIdList <VLAN Range> -NativeVlanId <VLAN ID>

Example: Creating the network adapter for GigabitEthernet2 on the 9800-CL. It is configured as a trunk port with a native VLAN ID of 0 that allows traffic with VLAN IDs between 1 and 4000.

Creating the network adapter for GigabitEthernet2 on the 9800-CL

To verify the VLAN settings for the VM adapters, type the command:

Get-VMNetworkAdapterVlan -VMName <VM Name>

Example:

VLAN settings for the VM adapters

Step 13.       Start the 9800-CL VM by right clicking the VM and selecting Start.

Start the 9800-CL VM by right clicking the VM and selecting Start

Step 14.       The installation progress can be monitored through the Hyper-V console.

The installation progress can be monitored through the Hyper-V console

Step 15.       Go to the Configuring the 9800-CL section.

Creating the Catalyst 9800-CL VM in Hyper-V with the CLI using PowerShell

In addition to the Hyper-V Manager GUI, the 9800-CL can be deployed using PowerShell. This can help in automating the deployment process of 9800-CL VMs.

Step 1.          Open a PowerShell window as Administrator.

Step 2.          Create the VM using the following command:

New-VM -Name <VMName> -Path <VMPath> -MemoryStartupBytes <Startup Memory> -NewVHDPath <VHD Path> -NewVHDSizeBytes <VHD(X) size> -SwitchName <VM Switch Name> -Generation <VM Gen (1 or 2)>

Example:

PS C:\Windows\system32> New-VM -Name C9800-CL-CLI -Path "C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Hyper-V\Virtual Machines" -MemoryStartupBytes 8GB -NewVHDPath "C:\Users\Public\Documents\Hyper-V\Virtual hard disks\C9800-CL-CLI.vhdx" -NewVHDSizeBytes 17179869184 -SwitchName "Lab Switch" -Generation 1

 

Name         State CPUUsage(%) MemoryAssigned(M) Uptime   Status             Version

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

C9800-CL-CLI Off   0           0                 00:00:00 Operating normally 9.0

Step 3.          Set the number of processors required for the VM deployment.

Set-VM -Name <VMName> -ProcessorCount <Number of Processors>

Example:

PS C:\Windows\system32> Set-VM -Name C9800-CL-CLI -ProcessorCount 4

PS C:\Windows\system32>

Step 4.          Map the virtual DVD drive to the ISO image path.

Set-VMDvdDrive -VMName <VMName> -Path <ISO Image Path>

Example:

PS C:\Windows\system32> Set-VMDvdDrive -VMName C9800-CL-CLI -Path "C:\Users\netadmin\Downloads\C9800-CL-universalk9.17.06.02.iso"

PS C:\Windows\system32>

Step 5.          If needed, create additional network interfaces.

Add-VMNetworkAdapter -VMName <VM Name> -SwitchName <Virtual Switch Name> Name <Network Adapter Name>

If the interface needs to be tagged with a single VLAN ID, enter the following command to set the interface as an access port with traffic tagged with the configured VLAN.

Set-VMNetworkAdapterVlan -VMName <VM Name> -Access -VlanId <VLAN ID>

Example:

Create access port

PS C:\Windows\system32> Set-VMNetworkAdapterVlan -VMName C9800-CL-CLI -VMNetworkAdapterName "Network Adapter" -Access -VlanID 125

If the interface needs to be configured as a trunk port, enter the following command:

Set-VMNetworkAdapterVlan -VMName <VM Name> -VMNetworkAdapterName <Network Adapter Name> -Trunk -AllowedVlanIdList <VLAN Range> -NativeVlanId <VLAN ID>

Example:

PS C:\Windows\system32> Add-VMNetworkAdapter -VMName C9800-CL-CLI -SwitchName "Lab Switch" -Name "Gigabit2"

PS C:\Windows\system32> Set-VMNetworkAdapterVlan -VMName C9800-CL-CLI -VMNetworkAdapterName "Gigabit2" -Trunk -AllowedVlanIdList "1-4000" -NativeVlanID 0

PS C:\Windows\system32> Get-VMNetworkAdapterVlan -VMName C9800-CL-CLI

VMName       VMNetworkAdapterName Mode   VlanList

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

C9800-CL-CLI Network Adapter      Access 125

C9800-CL-CLI Gigabit2             Trunk  0,1-4000

To verify the interfaces, enter the following command:

Get-VMNetworkAdapterVlan -VMName <VM Name>

Example:

PS C:\Windows\system32> Get-VMNetworkAdapterVlan -VMName C9800-CL-CLI

VMName       VMNetworkAdapterName Mode   VlanList

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

C9800-CL-CLI Network Adapter      Access 125

C9800-CL-CLI Gigabit2             Trunk  0,1-4000

Step 6.          Start the 9800-CL VM.

Start-VM <VM Name>

Example:

PS C:\Windows\system32> Start-VM C9800-CL-CLI

PS C:\Windows\system32> Get-VM                                                                                                                          

Name         State   CPUUsage(%) MemoryAssigned(M) Uptime           Status             Version

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

C9800-CL-CLI Running 16          8192              00:00:12.7660000 Operating normally 9.0

Step 7.          Go to the Configuring the 9800-CL section.

Deploying the 9800-CL on the Cisco ENCS NFVIS platform

Overview of Cisco NFVIS software

Cisco Enterprise Network Function Virtualization Infrastructure Software (NFVIS) is Linux-based infrastructure software designed to help service providers and enterprises dynamically deploy virtualized network functions, such as a virtual router, firewall, and WAN acceleration, on a supported Cisco device. The addition of a physical device for every network function is not required; automated provisioning and centralized management can be used.

The Cisco Enterprise NFVIS solution helps convert critical network functions into software, making it possible to deploy network services in minutes across dispersed locations. It provides a fully integrated platform that can run on top of a diverse network of both virtual and physical devices.

The Cisco 5400 Enterprise Network Compute System (ENCS) combines routing, switching, storage, processing, and a host of other computing and networking activities into a compact 1-Rack-Unit (1RU) box. This high-performance unit achieves this goal by providing the infrastructure to deploy virtualized network functions and acting as a server that addresses processing, workload, and storage challenges.

The virtual Catalyst 9800-CL Wireless Controller for Cloud can be deployed on a Cisco ENCS NFVIS platform using an ISO file or tar.gz (download from the Cisco website).

The NFVIS software version should be higher than 3.8. If the NFVIS software version is lower than 3.8, it should be upgraded to any version higher than 3.8. To upgrade the NFVIS software, refer to the “Upgrading Cisco NFVIS” section in the following document:

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/routers/nfvis/config/3-10-1/nfvis-config-guide-3-10-1.html

Scale for the virtual 9800-CL on Cisco ENCS NFVIS

The virtual Catalyst 9800-CL Wireless Controller for Cloud on the ENCS NFVIS platform supports:

      1000 access points

      10,000 wireless clients

It needs four CPUs, 8 GB of RAM, 8 GB of storage space, and three vNICs. (The third vNIC is for HA/SSO.)

Note:     Other sizes (medium and large) for the 9800-CL are not supported on the Cisco ENCS NFVIS platform.

Installation procedure

Log in to the WebUI of NFVIS with the username (admin) and the password that was set up.

Uploading the image on NFVIS

Follow the procedure below to upload an image to NFVIS (a screenshot highlighting the procedure described is given below for reference).

Step 1.          Select VM Life Cycle > Image Repository.

Step 2.          Select the Image Registration tab, click Drop Files or Click, and select the 9800-CL virtual image file for NFVIS from a local machine to be uploaded (for example, C9800-CL-universalk9.16.10.01e.tar.gz).

Step 3.          Click Start to upload the image.

After the image is uploaded, NFVIS creates respective profiles and registers the image. The file can be found listed in the Images section on the same page.

NFVIS

Creating a network

Follow the procedure below to create a network.

Step 1.      Select VM Life Cycle > Networking.

Select VM Life Cycle _ Networking

Step 2.          Click the + (Create) icon next to Networks & Bridges.

Click the + (Create) icon next to Networks & Bridges

Step 3.          Populate the fields with values (Network, Mode, VLAN, Bridge, and Interface).

Populate the fields with values

Note:     Create separate network interfaces for the wireless management network, service interface, and HA, and map them to separate bridge interfaces. Each bridge interface maps to a physical interface.

Example:

      A wireless management network named mgmt-intf with the Mode set to Trunk, carrying multiple VLANs, mapped to a bridge interface named mgmt-br tied to physical interface GE0-0.

      An HA network named ha-intf with the Mode set to access, mapped to a bridge interface named ha-br tied to physical interface GE0-1.

Deploying the 9800-CL virtual controller on NFVIS

Follow the procedure below to deploy the 9800-CL virtual controller on NFVIS.

Step 1.          Select VM Life Cycle > Deploy.

Select VM Life Cycle _ Deploy

Step 2.          From the VM Deployment window, drag and drop the controller icon to the pane below and map it to the desired networks as required. In the VM Details area, enter a name for the 9800-CL controller. Select the image and profile from the drop-down menu.

Note:     Only 1000 APs and 10,000 clients are supported.

From the VM Deployment window

Step 3.          Map the network interfaces and click Deploy.

Map the network interfaces and click Deploy

Step 4.          Once deployed, check the 9800-CL’s status in VM Life Cycle > Manage > VM Status.

Life Cycle _ Manage _VM Status.

Step 5.          Click the console symbol next to the VM name to open the console to the 9800-CL virtual controller that is deployed.

9800-CL virtual controller

Step 6.          Go to the Configuring the 9800-CL section.

Enable serial console access

Step 1.          Issue the following command on the 9800-CL VM:

C9800_SJC_1# configure terminal

C9800-SJC_1(config)# platform console serial

Step 2.          SSH to the management interface of ENCS to access the 9800-CL console.

nfvis# show system deployments

NAME  ID  STATE   

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

  vWLC  2   running 

 

nfvis# vmConsole ?

  Possible completions:

  VM name; "show system deployments" command shows list of VM names.

 

nfvis# vmConsole <VM name >

Viewing VM resource allocation

Follow the procedure below to view the VM resource allocations.

Step 1.          From NFVIS, select VM Life Cycle > Resource Allocation.

This opens up the VM CPU Allocation tab, which displays the overall CPU allocations.

NFVIS, select VM Life Cycle Ò Resource Allocation

Step 2.          Click the VM Memory Allocation tab.

This tab shows the overall memory allocations.

Click the VM Memory Allocation tab

Step 3.          Click the VM Disk Allocation tab.

This tab shows the overall disk allocations.

Click the VM Disk Allocation tab

Viewing VM statistics

Follow the procedure below to view the VM resource utilization.

Step 1.          From NFVIS, select VM Life Cycle > VM Monitoring.

This opens up the VM CPU Utilization tab, which displays the overall CPU utilization per VM. Click the other tabs — Memory Utilization, vNIC Utilization, and Disk Utilization — to view the utilization of the resource.

From NFVIS, select VM Life Cycle _ VM Monitoring

Configuring the 9800-CL

9800-CL DAY 0 CLI configuration setup wizard

For Cisco IOS XE Release 17.4.1 and above, the 9800-CL provides a DAY 0 CLI wizard. To access the CLI, connect to the VGA console. Within the wizard, configurations such as Device Management interface, Wireless Management interface, deployment mode, and self-signed certificate for AP join will be created. After going through the wizard, the controller will generate the new configuration and apply it.

Note:     If the DAY 0 WebUI wizard is preferred, please see the Configure the basic 9800-CL settings section first.

Example of DAY 0 CLI configuration wizard

         --- System Configuration Dialog ---

 

Would you like to enter the initial configuration dialog? [yes/no]: yes

 

At any point you may enter a question mark ‘?’ for help.

Use ctrl-c to abort configuration dialog at any prompt.

Default settings are in square brackets ‘[]’.

 

This is a Wireless LAN Controller (WLC) setup wizard.

This wizard gives the option to configure a

device management interface, aka Service Port.

If a separate Service Port is not desired,

the device can also be managed using the same interface

which is used for wireless management.

For such a case, please select [no] in the prompt below

 

 

Setup device management interface (aka Service Port)? [yes]: yes

  Select interface to be used for device management

   1. GigabitEthernet1 [Up]

   2. GigabitEthernet2 [Up]

   3. GigabitEthernet3 [Up]

  Choose the interface to config [1]: 1

 

... Truncating Output ...

 

[0] Go to the IOS command prompt without saving this config.

[1] Return back to the setup without saving this config.

[2] Save this configuration to nvram and exit.

 

Enter your selection: 2      

Building configuration...

[OK]

Use the enabled mode 'configure' command to modify this configuration.

 

Building configuration...

[OK]

Configure the basic 9800-CL settings

Let’s create the minimal configuration to connect to the WebUI of the 9800-CL and use the DAY 0 guided flow to get the controller fully operational. This will establish basic IP connectivity and user login on the 9800-CL.

Before 17.4.1, DAY 0 assumes that the box has two separate virtual interfaces (one for device management and one for wireless management and client traffic) and that the first login happens on the device management (out-of-band) interface. The wireless management interface is configured via the DAY 0 guided flow. If using a different setup (for example, if you are using only a single interface), see the previous section or go to Configuring the 9800-CL via the CLI: Skipping the DAY 0 guided flow section.

Connect to the CLI via the VGA console and follow these steps for the basic configuration:

Step 1.      Terminate the configuration wizard (this is the general Cisco IOS CLI wizard, and it’s not specific for wireless).

Would you like to enter the initial configuration dialog? [yes/no]: no

Would you like to terminate autoinstall? [yes]: yes

Step 2.          Optionally, set the hostname:

WLC(config)# hostname C9800

Step 3.          Add login credentials, using the following command:

C9800(config)# username <name> privilege 15 password <yourpwd>

Step 4.          Add an IP address on the device management interface. The example assumes GigabitEthernet1 is mapped to the out-of-band/device management network during VM bootstrap:

C9800(config)# interface GigabitEthernet1

C9800(config-if)# no switchport

C9800(config-if)# ip address <Management IP> <Management Subnet>

Step 5.          Add the route to the remote network from which the 9800-CL will be managed.

C9800(config)# ip route <Remote Network Address> <Remote Network Subnet> <Gateway>

Note:     With an ESXi direct host, no default bootstrap configuration is passed to the instance. If one is desired, you must enter the following configurations manually (these are automatically configured if using vCenter):

netconf-yang

ip http server

ip http secure-server

line vty 0 4

 transport input telnet ssh

 login local

From a computer, verify that the computer can ping the 9800-CL.

9800-CL DAY 0 WebUI configuration setup wizard

Since the box has never been configured, the WebUI will redirect to the DAY 0 page. To skip the DAY 0. WebUI, [lease see the Configuring the 9800-CL via the CLI: Skipping the DAY 0 guided flow section.

To simplify the bootstrap process of the Catalyst 9800-CL wireless controller, the DAY 0 wizard will appear after a virtual instance is deployed, with network connectivity but without any other wireless configuration.

Step 1.          Connect to the DAY 0 GUI using https://< Management IP>.

 Connect to the DAY 0 GUI

To log in, use the username and password credentials given during the 9800-CL instance creation described in the previous sections.

Step 2.          Once you are logged in, the 9800-CL presents a simplified configuration flow to set the basic parameters and have the controller fully operational. On the first page, enter the required information.

Once you are logged in, the 9800-CL

These settings are Deployment Mode, Country, Date, Time, NTP Servers (optional), and AAA Servers (optional).

Note:     For Deployment Mode, the available options are Standalone or Active/Standby if configuring HA SSO.

Step 3.          Enter the wireless management interface configuration.

 Step 3.  Enter the wireless management interface configuration

Note:     Only an interface that is different from the one used to access the GUI can be selected. In the example above, only GigabitEthernet2 or GigabitEthernet3 can be selected, as GigabitEthernet1 is used to access the GUI.

Step 4.          Configure the interface by choosing the VLAN, the IP address, and the default gateway. This will automatically configure the:

      Interface as a trunk port

      Switch Virtual Interface (SVI) for wireless management

      Default gateway.

Click Next.

Step 5.          On the next page, add a WLAN (optional) so that clients can connect. In this example, the PSK dialog is shown.

 On the next page, add a WLAN

Step 6.          On the next page, set some basic RF parameters and the AP certificate.

 On the next page, set some basic RF parameters and the AP certificate

A trustpoint is essentially a certificate authority that is trusted implicitly. A trustpoint certificate is a self-signed certificate, hence the name “trustpoint,” since it does not rely on the trust of anyone else or another party. A trustpoint is needed for an AP to join the 9800-CL. It can be automatically generated during DAY 0. Otherwise, if the Generate Certificate is toggled to No, a certificate authority will have to be configured at DAY 1 for APs to join.

Click Summary to review the configuration, and then click Finish. The configuration and trustpoint will be pushed to the device and the user will be logged out. The 9800-CL controller will not reboot, but it will take about 60 seconds to prompt you to log in again. Enter the same credentials.

 9800-CL controller

This time it will skip the DAY 0 page, since the box already has an initial configuration, and redirect to the main dashboard for the DAY 1 configuration.

Configuring the 9800-CL via the CLI: Skipping the DAY 0 guided flow

If two separate virtual interfaces for device management and wireless management are not needed, create the DAY 0 configuration via the CLI and then access the GUI for the DAY 1 configuration. However, if separate interfaces are necessary, please follow the steps in the “Configure the basic 9800-CL settings” section first.

Follow the steps below to configure the 9800-CL with a wireless management interface and skip the DAY 0 flow.

This example assumes that GigabitEthernet2 is connected to a trunk interface on the switch and multiple VLANs will be configured with a dedicated one for the Wireless Management Interface (WMI). Also, in this example, VLAN 122 will be used for the WMI.

Step 1.          Access the CLI via the VGA/monitor console of ESXi.

Step 2.          Terminate the configuration wizard (this wizard is not specific for the wireless controller).

Would you like to enter the initial configuration dialog? [yes/no]: no

Would you like to terminate autoinstall? [yes]: yes

Step 3.          Optionally, set the hostname:

WLC(config)# hostname C9800

Step 4.          Enter the config mode and add login credentials using the following command:

C9800(config)# username <name> privilege 15 password <yourpwd>

Step 5.          Configure the VLAN for the wireless management interface.

C9800# configure terminal

Enter configuration commands, one per line. End with CNTL/Z.

C9800(config)# vlan 122

C9800(config-vlan)# name wireless_management

Step 6.          Configure the SVI for the wireless management interface; for example:

C9800(config)# interface vlan 122

C9800(config-if)# ip address 172.20.229.21 255.255.255.192

C9800(config-if)# no shutdown

Step 7.          Configure the interface GigabitEthernet2 as the trunk:

C9800(config-if)# interface GigabitEthernet2  

C9800(config-if)# switchport mode trunk

C9800(config-if)# switchport trunk allowed vlan 122

C9800(config-if)# shut

C9800(config-if)# no shut

Step 8.          Configure a default route (or a more specific route) to reach the box:

C9800(config-if)# ip route 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 172.20.229.1

Step 9.          Configure the AP country domain. This configuration is what will trigger the GUI to skip the DAY 0 flow, as the 9800-CL needs a country code to be operational:

C9800(config)# wireless country ?

  AE  United Arab Emirates

  AL  Albania

  AR  Argentina

  ...

  US  United States

  UY  Uruguay

  VE  Venezuela

  VN  Vietnam

  ZA  South Africa

Step 10.       A certificate is needed for the AP to join the virtual 9800-CL. This can be created automatically via the DAY 0 flow or manually using the following commands.

a.     Specify the interface to be the wireless management interface:

C9800(config)# wireless management interface vlan 122

b.     In exec mode, issue the following command:

C9800# wireless config vwlc-ssc key-size 2048 signature-algo sha256 password 0 <pwd>
Configuring vWLC-SSC…
Script is completed

Note:     Ensure that the gateway for the WMI is reachable from the 9800-CL.

Step 11.       Verify certificate installation:

C9800# show wireless management trustpoint
Trustpoint Name  : C9800_WLC_TP
Certificate Info : Available
Certificate Type : SSC
Certificate Hash : e55e61b683181ff0999ef317bb5ec7950ab86c9e
Private key Info : Available

Note:     The certificate/trustpoint configuration can be skipped, but APs will not be able to join. This can be configured via the GUI by importing the desired certificate.

Step 12.       Verify that the WMI can be pinged, and enter https://<Management IP>. Use the credentials entered earlier. Since the box has a country code configured, the GUI will skip the DAY 0 page and go directly to the main dashboard for the DAY 1 configuration.

Accessing the 9800-CL WebUI

Once the 9800-CL can be reached successfully from the network, access the main dashboard to continue the DAY 1 and DAY 2 operations.

Step 1.      Access the 9800-CL WebUI using https://<Management IP>. The username and password will be what was provided either during the initial configuration or during the OVA installation with vCenter.

9800-CL

 

Access the 9800-CL WebUI

 

Appendix A: Creating a port group in ESXi

Embedded web GUI

To create a port group, a virtual switch needs to be created. Follow the steps outlined here to create a virtual switch: https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/6.7/com.vmware.vsphere.html.hostclient.doc/GUID-6BF5281C-F8EF-4F26-8285-52EB5999D687.html

Step 1.          Go to the WebUI of the ESXi host.

Step 2.          Go to Networking > Port groups and click Add port group.

Networking > Port groups and click Add port group

Step 3.          In the Add port group window, set the:

      Name

      VLAN ID

    The VLAN ID should be the same VLAN ID used for rest of the network. This would be the case for the management and redundancy interfaces, which would be on their own respective VLANs.

    For the data port, the port group should be set to be a trunk port. To do this, set the VLAN ID to 4095.

      Virtual switch

      Security

    Both Promiscuous mode and Forged Transmits need to be set to Accept on the port group where the 9800-CL is connected. This is needed for both trunk and nontrunk connections. These security settings can be restricted to the single port group where the 9800-CL is connected, and as long as the VLANs are available only on this port group, the settings will not affect other VMs connected to other port groups. This is recommended, as setting Promiscuous mode to Accept will result in flooding traffic to all the other VMs on the same VLAN.

Add port group window

Step 4.          Click Add to save the settings.

Step 5.          Repeat for all required port groups.

vCenter

To create a port group, a virtual switch needs to be created. Follow the steps outlined here to create a virtual switch:  https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/6.7/com.vmware.vsphere.networking.doc/GUID-DAF824CD-104D-4ED7-8BA3-D769DF688CEB.html

Step 1.          Go to the vSphere Web Client.

Step 2.          Select the required ESXi host.

Select the required ESXi host

Step 3.          Go to the Configure tab and select Networking > Virtual switches. Click ADD NETWORKING.

Networking > Virtual switches. Click ADD NETWORKING

Step 4.          In the Add Networking window, set the connection type as Virtual Machine Port Group for a Standard Switch. Click Next.

Virtual Machine Port Group for a Standard Switch

Step 5.          Select the required vSwitch for the port group. Click Next.

Select the required vSwitch for the port group. Click Next

Step 6.          Set the Network label and VLAN ID for the port group. Click Next.

Set the Network label and VLAN ID for the port group. Click Next

Note:     The VLAN ID should be the same VLAN ID used for rest of the network. This would be the case for the management and redundancy interfaces, which would be on their own respective VLANs. For the data port, the port group should be set to be a trunk port. To do this, set the VLAN ID to 4095.

Step 7.          Review the settings and click Finish.

Review the settings and click Finish

Step 8.          To change the security settings of the port group, click the icon for the newly created port group. Choose Edit Settings.

To change the security settings of the port group, click the … icon

Step 9.          In the Security section, check the override boxes for Promiscuous mode and Forged transmits. Set both values to Accept. Click OK.

Promiscuous mode and Forged transmits

Note:     Both Promiscuous mode and Forged Transmits need to be set to Accept on the port group where the 9800-CL is connected. This is needed both for trunk and nontrunk connections. These security settings can be restricted to the single port group where the 9800-CL is connected, and as long as the VLANs are available only on this port group, the settings will not affect other VMs connected to other port groups. This is recommended, as setting Promiscuous mode to Accept will result in flooding traffic to all the other VMs on the same VLAN.

Step 10.       Repeat for all required port groups.

Appendix B: Adding a virtual serial port in ESXi

Adding a virtual serial port allows an administrator to connect to the virtual wireless controller like accessing a physical appliance’s serial console.

Step 1.          In the Edit settings window for 9800-CL, click Add other device. Select Serial port.

In the Edit settings window for 9800-CL, click Add other device. Select Serial port

Step 2.          In the New Serial Port settings:

a.     Select Use network, as Telnet will be used to connect to the ESXi network address and custom port assignment.

b.     For Direction, select Server.

c.     Enter the port URI to connect to.

d.     Click Save.

telnet://<ESXi IP address>:<port>

Note:     The ESXi IP address can be omitted (for example, telnet://:<port>). In this case, the IP address of the ESXi host the device is hosted on will used.

 In the New Serial Port settings

Step 3.          To allow for computers to access the serial port of the VM, go to Networking > Firewall rules. Select VM serial port connected over network.

Networking > Firewall rules

Step 4.          Click Actions and then click Enable.

Click Actions and then click Enable

Step 5.          Click the Play icon to power on the VM and bring up the VGA console simultaneously.

Click the Play icon to power

Step 6.          If this is the first boot after creating the VM, select the Serial Console boot option to change the default console output to the serial port. This will be a one-time action. Proceed to step 7.

Note:     If this step is missed, the console output can be changed to the serial port via the 9800-CL CLI. Please see step 6.

Creating the VM, select the Serial Console

Step 7.          If vWLC Virtual (VGA) Console was selected, enter the followings commands in the 9800-CL CLI.

C9800> enable

C9800# configure terminal

C9800(config)# platform console serial

The mode will be available on the next reload.

Step 8.          Once the 9800-CL has booted with the serial console option selected (or platform serial mode enabled), connect to the console of the 9800-CL by using Telnet to the ESXi and assigned port.

Related image, diagram or screenshot 

9800-CL by using Telnet to the ESXi and assigned port

Step 9.          To revert back to using the VGA console, enter the following commands and reload the
9800-CL.

C9800> enable

C9800# configure terminal

C9800(config)# no platform console serial

C9800(config)# platform console virtual

The mode will be available on the next reload.

Appendix C: Enabling and using the SR-IOV NIC in ESXi

SR-IOV (single-root I/O virtualization) introduction

SR-IOV provides the ability to partition a single physical PCI resource into virtual PCI functions which can then be injected into a VM. These network Virtual Functions (VFs) of SR-IOV improve north-south network performance by allowing traffic to bypass the host machine’s network stack.

      Each virtual machine is directly assigned and given access to the physical resources (VFs) by the hypervisor (VMM).

      VMs load up specific drivers to support SR-IOV.

      The VM boots up and probes its PCIe config space to see what devices it has.

      VMM tells that it has a VF attached and indicates the HW registers for VFs to the NIC driver in the VM.

Reference: Intel SR-IOV architecture

Figure 3.      

Reference: Intel SR-IOV architecture

Enabling SR-IOV on the C9800-CL on ESXi

Step 1.          Enable SR-IOV on the network adapter.

Enable SR-IOV on the network adapter 

Step 2.          Enable and configure the virtual functions on the adapter.

Note:     Ethernet Server Adapter X710 supports up to 32 VFs per port. Creating one VF per port gives the maximum performance. Each VF would represent a NIC.

Enable and configure the virtual functions on the adapter

Step 3.          Reboot the ESXi host and the SR-IOV configurations will take effect.

Step 4.          Create a new virtual switch without any physical NICs attached to it.

Create a new virtual switch without any physical NICs attached to it

Step 5.          Create a new port group with the settings below and attach it to the newly created vSwitch. The settings below are for the WMI, which will act as a trunk port.

      VLAN ID: 4095

      Promiscuous Mode: Accept

      MAC Address Changes: Accept

      Forged Transmits: Accept

Create a new port group with the settings below and attach to the newly created vSwitch

Step 6.          Edit the VM and reserve all the guest memory for the VM, which is necessary for SR-IOV. For the 9800-CL, this will be 8192 MB.

For the 9800-CL, this will be 8192 MB

Step 7.          Edit the VM, remove the network port already attached, and add a new network adapter with the following settings:

      Port group: Set to the newly created port group

      Adapter Type: SR-IOV passthrough

      Physical function: Required Physical NIC with SR-IOV enabled

      Guest OS MTU Change: Allow

Edit the VM, remove the network port

Step 8.          Save the configuration and reboot the VM.

Step 9.          In the Security settings, verify that the trust settings are updated correctly on the NIC.

https://kb.vmware.com/s/varticle/74909

vSwitch security policy is not persistent when SR-IOV is enabled. To work around this, SSH to ESXi.

Step 10.       Use the following command to verify that the NIC is trusted and spoof check is disabled.

esxcli intnet sriovnic vf get -n <nic>

Example:

esxcli intnet sriovnic vf get -n vmnic2

VF ID           Trusted         Spoof Check

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

0               true            false

If the trust parameters are not set correctly

Step 1.          Stop the C9800-CL VM at the boot prompt.

GNU GRUB version 0.97 (638K lower / 3143552K upper memory

+-------------------------------------------------------------------+

|   vWLC – packages.conf

|   vWLC – GOLDEN IMAGE

Step 2.          Use the CLI to set the trust parameters using the following command:

esxcli intnet sriovnic vf set -t on -s off -v <vf num> -n <nic>

      -t sets the trust mode

      -s sets the spoof check

For firmware and driver versions prior to and including firmware version 7.0 and driver version 1.8.6, the above two steps are always needed on VM reboot.

Verified and recommended software versions

Guest OS

NIC

Driver version

Firmware

Notes

VMware Version 6.5

Intel x710

I40en 1.10.6

Plugin version 1.4.1

7.10

VMware Version 6.5

Ciscoized x710

I40en 1.8.6

Plugin version 1.4.1

7.0

7.0 firmware and 1.8.6 driver have a trust mode persistence issue across VM reload. Issue will be fixed in subsequent firmware and driver versions.

Appendix D: Enabling and using the SR-IOV NIC in KVM

Step 1.          Install the latest drivers for the NIC.

The Ethernet and driver versions can be verified using the following command:

# ethtool -i <interface name>

Example output:

Install the latest drivers for the NIC

The script below can print all the Ethernet information followed by the driver versions and the SR-IOV VF names.

SRIO VF names

Example output from script below:

#!/bin/bash

# Copy this script to a .sh file and execute

echo "Listing all the PCI NIC Interfaces "

echo --------------------------------------------------------

lspci | grep -i eth

 

NIC_DIR="/sys/class/net"

for i in $( ls $NIC_DIR) ;

do

        if [ -d "${NIC_DIR}/$i/device" -a ! -L "${NIC_DIR}/$i/device/physfn" ]; then

                declare -a VF_PCI_BDF

                declare -a VF_INTERFACE

                k=0

                for j in $( ls "${NIC_DIR}/$i/device" ) ;

                do

                        if [[ "$j" == "virtfn"* ]]; then

                                VF_PCI=$( readlink "${NIC_DIR}/$i/device/$j" | cut -d '/' -f2 )

                                VF_PCI_BDF[$k]=$VF_PCI

                                #get the interface name for the VF at this PCI Address

                                for iface in $( ls $NIC_DIR );

                                do

                                        link_dir=$( readlink ${NIC_DIR}/$iface )

                                        if [[ "$link_dir" == *"$VF_PCI"* ]]; then

                                                VF_INTERFACE[$k]=$iface

                                        fi

                                done

                                ((k++))

                        fi

                done

                NUM_VFs=${#VF_PCI_BDF[@]}

                if [[ $NUM_VFs -gt 0 ]]; then

                    echo +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

                    echo "Driver Versions"

                        ethtool -i $i

                    echo --------------------------------------------------------------------

                        #get the PF Device Description

                        PF_PCI=$( readlink "${NIC_DIR}/$i/device" | cut -d '/' -f4 )

                        PF_VENDOR=$( lspci -vmmks $PF_PCI | grep ^Vendor | cut -f2)

                        PF_NAME=$( lspci -vmmks $PF_PCI | grep ^Device | cut -f2).

                        echo "Virtual Functions on $PF_VENDOR $PF_NAME ($i):"

                        echo -e "PCI BDF\t\tInterface"

                        echo -e "=======\t\t========="

                        for (( l = 0; l < $NUM_VFs; l++ )) ;

                        do

                                echo -e "${VF_PCI_BDF[$l]}\t${VF_INTERFACE[$l]}"

                        done

                        unset VF_PCI_BDF

                        unset VF_INTERFACE

                        echo " "

                fi

        fi

done

References for the firmware downloads can be found in the links below.

Firmware for Intel NIC

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/product/82947/Intel-Ethernet-Controller-X710-Series

Driver for Intel and Cisco NIC

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/24411/Intel-Network-Adapter-Driver-for-PCIe-40-Gigabit-Ethernet-Network-Connections-Under-Linux-?product=82947

Firmware for Cisco NIC

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/unified_computing/ucs/c/sw/fwp/user/guide/Firmware_Upgrade_Utility/Using.html

Step 2.          Verify that the Intel VT-D support is enabled on the Linux Kernel.

Do this by running the command dmesg | grep -e DMAR -e IOMMU

The output should show that the IOMMU is enabled, as shown in the example below

IOMMU

If the VT-D support is not enabled:

1.     Activate Intel VT-d in the kernel by adding the intel_iommu=on and iommu=pt parameters to the end of the GRUB_CMDLINX_LINUX line, within the quotes, in the /etc/sysconfig/grub file.

2.  Regenerate /etc/grub2.cfg by running:

grub2-mkconfig -o /etc/grub2.cfg

3.     Reboot the system to enable the changes. The system is now capable of PCI device assignment.

Step 3.          Configure SR-IOV VFs on the NIC.

In step 1, if the VF is not seen in the output of the script, enable it using the following commands:

Configure VF on the NIC:

# echo 1 > /sys/class/net/enp129s0f0/device/sriov_numvfs

Create one VF per port for maximum performance.

Configure spoofcheck, trust mode, and MAC using the commands below:

# ip link set dev enp129s0f0 vf 0 trust on

# ip link set enp129s0f0 vf 0 spoofchk off

# ip link set enp129s0f0 vf 0 mac 3c:fd:fe:de:cc:bc

Verify the settings using the command below:

# ip link show <nic name>

Example:

[root@localhost ~]# ip link show enp129s0f0

6: enp129s0f0: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST> mtu 1500 qdisc noop state DOWN mode DEFAULT group default qlen 1000

    link/ether 3c:fd:fe:de:01:bc brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff

    vf 0 MAC 3c:fd:fe:de:cc:bc, spoof checking off, link-state auto, trust on

Step 4.          SR-IOV setting persistence:

SR-IOV configurations configured in the above way are not persistent across the reboots. To fix this, the above configuration can be run as a service that is auto enabled on host reboots.

1.     Create a bash script with the commands to be persisted, for example, in /usr/bin/sriov-config. Write the script in /usr/bin/sriov-config : 

#!/bin/sh

echo 1 > /sys/class/net/enp129s0f0/device/sriov_numvfs

ip link set dev enp129s0f0 vf 0 trust on

ip link set enp129s0f0 vf 0 spoofchk off

ip link set enp129s0f0 vf 0 mac 3c:fd:fe:de:cc:bc

2.     Repeat the above for all VFs.

3.     Provide execute permission for the script:

# chmod 777 /usr/bin/sriov-config

4.     Create the system service: Define a new systemd service to be executed at the end of boot. This service executes the bash script which has the required SR-IOV commands, as shown in step 1.

Note:     "ExecStart=/usr/bin/sriov-config" given below executes the script.

To create the system service, make a new file "sriov.service" in /usr/lib/systemd/system with the following content:

[Unit]

Description=SR-IOV configuration

After=rc-local.service

Before=getty.target

[Service]

Type=oneshot

ExecStart=/usr/bin/sriov-config

[Install]

WantedBy=multi-user.target

Step 5.          Enable and start the service using:

# systemctl --now enable sriov.service

This command will start the service immediately and also ensures that the service runs every time the host reboots.

Reference: The SR-IOV configuration for KVM is explained at:

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/embedded/products/networking/xl710-sr-iov-config-guide-gbe-linux-brief.html

Step 6.          Attach the SR-IOV to the C9800-CL:

Attaching to a new VM using the command line

Add the PCI VF devices using the host device command. Using the script from step 1, note the PCI BDF number and use that to attach the devices.

Attaching to a new VM using the command line

Appendix E: Resetting the 9800-CL to the factory default

All 9800-CL deployments except those using the OVA file with vCenter

Step 1.  To reset the 9800-CL instance to the factory default, use the following commands:

C9800-CL# wr erase

Erasing the nvram filesystem will remove all configuration files! Continue? [confirm]

[OK]

Erase of nvram: complete

Step 2.          Reload the box and enter no at the Save configuration prompt.

C9800-CL# reload

System configuration has been modified. Save? [yes/no]: no

Reload command is being issued on Active unit, this will reload the whole stack

Proceed with reload? [confirm]

Step 3.          Then press Enter at the second prompt. The box will reload and come up with the default configuration.

9800-CL deployments using the OVA file with vCenter

If the 9800-CL was deployed using the OVA file via ESXi vCenter, there is a configuration bootstrap that will always get applied, so “wr erase” and “reload” will not bring the box to the default configuration.

Step 1.          Power off the 9800-CL VM.

Step 2.          Go to Edit Settings.

Go to Edit Settings

Step 3.          Under CD/DVD drive 2, click the X icon to delete. This stores the bootstrap configuration configured during deployment. Deleting it enables the 9800-CL to reset to the factory defaults.

Under CD/DVD drive 2

Step 4.          Click OK to save the changes.

Step 5.          Follow the steps outlined at the beginning of this appendix to reset the 9800-CL to factory defaults.

Appendix F: 9800-CL CLI reference

C9800-CL# show platform software vnic-if interface-mapping

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

 Interface Name        Driver Name         Mac Addr

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

 GigabitEthernet1       net_vmxnet3        0050.5693.1d6e

 

C9800-CL# show int gig 1

GigabitEthernet1 is up, line protocol is up

 Hardware is CSR vNIC, address is 0050.5693.1d6e (bia 0050.5693.1d6e)

 

C9800-CL# show ip int brief

Interface              IP-Address      OK? Method Status                Protocol

GigabitEthernet1       unassigned      YES unset  up                    up     

Capwap1                unassigned      YES unset  up                    up     

Capwap2                unassigned      YES unset  up                    up     

Capwap3                unassigned      YES unset  up                    up     

Vlan1                  unassigned      YES NVRAM  administratively down down   

Vlan10                 10.10.1.2       YES NVRAM  up                    up     

Vlan118                172.20.228.41   YES NVRAM  up                    up     

 

 

 

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