Built from the ground up for intent-based networking and Cisco DNA, Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers are Cisco IOS XE based and integrate the RF excellence of Cisco Aironet access points, creating a best-in-class wireless experience for your evolving and growing organization. The 9800 Series is built on an open and programmable architecture with built-in security, streaming telemetry, and rich analytics.

The Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers are built on the three pillars of network excellence-always on, secure, and deployed anywhere-which strengthen the network by providing the best wireless experience without compromise while saving time and money.

The Cisco Catalyst 9800-80 is a modular wireless controller with optional 100 Gigabit Ethernet (G) modular uplinks and seamless software updates for large enterprises and campuses. It is feature rich and enterprise ready to power your business-critical operations and transform end-customer experiences:

• High availability and seamless software updates, enabled by hot patching, keep your clients and services always on in planned and unplanned events.
• Secure air, devices, and users with the Cisco Catalyst 9800-80. Wireless infrastructure becomes the strongest first line of defense with Cisco Encrypted Traffic Analytics (ETA) and Software-Defined Access (SD-Access). The controller comes with built-in security: Secure Boot, runtime defenses, image signing, integrity verification, and hardware authenticity.
• Built on a modular operating system, the 9800-80 features open and programmable APIs that enable automation of day-0 to day-N network operations. Model-driven streaming telemetry provides deep insights into the health of your network and clients.
• Cisco User Defined Network, a feature available in Cisco DNA Center, allows IT to give end users control of their very own wireless network partition on a shared network. End users can then remotely and securely deploy their devices on this network. Perfect for university dormitories or extended hospital stays, Cisco User Defined Network grants both device security and control, allowing each user to choose who can connect to their network.
• The Wi-Fi 6 readiness dashboard is a new dashboard in the Assurance menu of Cisco DNA Center. It will look through the inventory of all devices on the network and verify device, software, and client compatibility with the new Wi-Fi 6 standard. After upgrading, advanced wireless analytics will indicate performance and capacity gains as a result of the Wi-Fi 6 deployment. This is an incredible tool that will help your team define where and how the wireless network should be upgraded. It will also give you insights into the access point distribution by protocol (802.11 ac/n/abg), wireless airtime efficiency by protocol, and granular performance metrics.