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WLAN Management

Wireless access point operations, replacement, and troubleshooting

Overview

The WLAN Management module provides a centralized interface for managing Cisco access points connected to Catalyst Center (formerly DNA Center) or WLC controllers. You can monitor AP health, execute common operations, replace hardware, and push configuration changes - all without logging directly into the controller.

Supported controllers

  • Cisco Catalyst Center (DNA Center) 2.x / 2.3+
  • Cisco Catalyst 9800 WLC (IOS-XE based)
  • Cisco AireOS WLC (8.x)

AP Operations and Monitoring

The AP inventory table shows all access points registered to your connected controllers with live status.

Available columns

  • AP Name, MAC, IP Address
  • Model, Software Version
  • Controller / Site
  • Status (Up / Down / Rebooting)
  • Client Count, Channel Utilization
  • Last Seen timestamp

Common operations (per-AP actions menu)

  • Reboot AP - sends a reboot command; AP rejoins controller automatically.
  • Deauthenticate all clients - forces all connected clients to re-associate.
  • Enable/Disable radio - toggles 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz radio independently.
  • Run diagnostics - executes a set of show commands and returns the output.
Tip: Use the Group Actions dropdown to perform operations on multiple APs simultaneously - for example, rebooting all APs in a building after a power event.

AP Replacement Wizard

When an AP is physically replaced with a new unit, the replacement wizard transfers the old AP's configuration to the new hardware without manual reconfiguration.

1
Open the wizard by right-clicking an AP in the inventory and selecting Replace AP, or from the AP detail page.
2
Enter the new AP's MAC address. This can be found on the box or label on the new hardware.
3
Review the configuration that will be transferred: AP name, radio settings, FlexConnect config, and tag assignments.
4
Confirm and submit. NetGUI pushes the swap to the controller. The old AP entry is archived and the new AP takes its identity.
5
Verify that the new AP joins the controller and appears online within a few minutes.
Note: The new AP must be the same model or a supported replacement model. Cross-model replacement is supported when the radio configuration is compatible.

Troubleshooting Tools

AP connectivity test

Pings the AP from the jump server and from the WLC to confirm L3 reachability from both directions.

Client trace

Enter a client MAC address or username to locate which AP and SSID the client is connected to, their assigned IP, VLAN, signal strength (RSSI), and data rates.

Radio diagnostics

Pulls channel utilization, noise floor, interference sources, and neighbor AP scan data for a specific AP radio.

show ap dot11 5ghz summary show ap auto-rf dot11 5ghz {ap-name} show ap wlan summary

Event log viewer

Displays the last 500 events for a selected AP, filterable by severity (Error, Warning, Info).

Batch Configuration Deployment

Push configuration changes to multiple APs or AP groups simultaneously.

Supported batch operations

  • AP name rename (using a CSV mapping file)
  • Tag and profile assignment
  • Radio power level and channel override
  • RRM group membership changes
  • FlexConnect local switching policy

Using the CSV import for bulk rename

  1. Download the rename template from WLAN → Batch Actions → Export Template.
  2. Fill in the current_name and new_name columns.
  3. Upload the CSV and click Preview Changes.
  4. Review the diff table, then click Apply.