topic Re: Lab with 9800 VM and Cisco 9166cw possible? in Wireless

Lab with 9800 VM and Cisco 9166cw possible?

netspot — Mon, 12 Jan 2026 19:15:08 GMT

Trying to lab a few scenarios with a 9800 WLC vm, wondering if anyone can confirm if we add two or three 9166CW-B AP (wifi 6e) to the lab if Cisco will require a license? anyone try this?

Re: Lab with 9800 VM and Cisco 9166cw possible?

Mark Elsen — Mon, 12 Jan 2026 19:26:29 GMT

- @netspot It will work without a license

Re: Lab with 9800 VM and Cisco 9166cw possible?

netspot — Mon, 12 Jan 2026 19:32:50 GMT

Thank you and does this mean the 9166cw will not need a license after 1yr yes? where can we download the latest 9166cw software ?

Re: Lab with 9800 VM and Cisco 9166cw possible?

Mark Elsen — Mon, 12 Jan 2026 19:40:08 GMT

- @netspot Ref : https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/collateral/wireless/catalyst-9800-series-wireless-controllers/nb-06-cat9800-ser-wirel-faq-ctp-en.html#CiscoCatalyst9800SeriesWirelessControllerlicensing
You will need a license for the access point, if it is used outside the lab environment,
normally those are included automatically when ordered , through official cisco channels that is

Software can be found at : https://software.cisco.com/download/home/286329939/type

Re: Lab with 9800 VM and Cisco 9166cw possible?

Karsten Iwen — Mon, 12 Jan 2026 20:32:38 GMT

@Mark Elsen already answered all your questions (any yes, my 9800-CL also runs without licenses and a couple of 9160 and 9170 APs).

For the setup of the 9800-CL with actual software, I recently wrote a little guide as all others I found were quite outdated: https://cyber-fi.net/index.php/2025/07/12/basic-setup-of-a-cisco-catalyst-9800-cl/

Re: Lab with 9800 VM and Cisco 9166cw possible?

Rich R — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 02:47:44 GMT

The AP will normally download the software from the WLC automatically when it joins the WLC.

The WLC software can be downloaded from https://software.cisco.com/download/home/286322605/type/282046477/release/IOSXE-17.15.4b
Also refer to the TAC recommended code link below.

Re: Lab with 9800 VM and Cisco 9166cw possible?

netspot — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 14:52:03 GMT

Can the 9800 controller run on a Cisco 9130 as a EWC, i.e. 1 ewc and 2 9166i for lab?

Re: Lab with 9800 VM and Cisco 9166cw possible?

Karsten Iwen — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 15:05:43 GMT

The 9130 can run the EWC, but only for the older APs. You can't add 917x or 916x APs:

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/wireless/compatibility/matrix/compatibility-matrix.html#c9800-embed-ctr-ap_support

The 9800-CL, perhaps running on something small like an Intel NUC, is the way to go for the Lab.

Re: Lab with 9800 VM and Cisco 9166cw possible?

netspot — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 15:58:06 GMT

Thank you for that clarification. So I have a VMware esxi available in lab which is in a flat network work(no vlans), I suppose if I use the cisco 9800 OVA download and install that first, then powering on one of the 9166 to see if I can "join" or locate the controller just to test and see if it will work.

btw just curious to know - can the WiFi7 AP (9176i) be joined for lab use without a license (similarly how I will use the 9166).

Re: Lab with 9800 VM and Cisco 9166cw possible?

Mark Elsen — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 16:33:52 GMT

- @netspot Well at least you need a minimal and correct configuration on your lab controller to make any
AP capable of joining. 9176i won't need a license neither but you need at least 17.15.2

Re: Lab with 9800 VM and Cisco 9166cw possible?

Karsten Iwen — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 17:34:15 GMT

There is no license activated on my lab controller. But I get the message "Non Compliant APs : 1" for the 9178 which I just ignore. And I am running 17.18.2.

Re: Lab with 9800 VM and Cisco 9166cw possible?

netspot — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 19:28:35 GMT

were able to get your 9166i to work with standard 30w PoE or does it require more power than that?

Re: Lab with 9800 VM and Cisco 9166cw possible?

Mark Elsen — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 20:50:04 GMT

- @netspot You need to check the POE requirements in the datasheet of the access point :
https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/collateral/wireless/catalyst-9166-series-access-points/catalyst-9166-series-access-points-ds.html

Re: Lab with 9800 VM and Cisco 9166cw possible?

Karsten Iwen — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 21:10:46 GMT

The most important part is that you don't have functionality on the USB-port with "only" PoE+. But you likely don't need that.

Re: Lab with 9800 VM and Cisco 9166cw possible?

netspot — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 21:17:42 GMT

right It will just be used straight up for WiFi only access ..lab use purpose,,, (no zigbee, sensors which I assume what that usb is for etc). I think from the specs the PoE+ 30W is fine off the switch port.

Re: Lab with 9800 VM and Cisco 9166cw possible?

Rich R — Thu, 15 Jan 2026 16:21:08 GMT

> can the WiFi7 AP (9176i) be joined for lab use without a license (similarly how I will use the 9166).
Right now, today, it will work with only a license compliance warning. But ... the wireless business unit are still discussing what non-compliance will look like... The initial proposal was to disable all radios except 2.4GHz until the AP is in license compliance but that has not been implemented in the WLC software, yet. So be aware that this (or some variation of this) is likely to be coming.

In fact the WiFi 7 licensing FAQ still says:
https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/collateral/wireless/wi-fi-7-products-licensing-faq.html#WiFi7licensing

Q. What are the license enforcement scenarios? A. With Cisco Networking Subscription, there are two enforcement scenarios that apply: ● Never licensed: ◦ Full device functionality is restricted until licensed. ◦ For Cisco Wireless: 2.4 GHz only until licensed.

Re: Lab with 9800 VM and Cisco 9166cw possible?

Hafthor Hilmarsson O'Connor — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 10:59:33 GMT

This will work fine lab wise up to 50 AP's if I am not incorrect, the ui will give you a notfication on that this is allowed only for lab purposes, I am running a lab with 10 aps from wave 2 to 9176i, which I use for all kinds of roaming and client tests and work fine.

I even have the 9800CL hooked up to Meraki and it all works fine.

Wrote this Software also if you would like to see presence detection on clients in lab and prope Temp sensors on 9166 for example

https://github.com/haffi78/Cisco9800Wlc-HA-PresenceDetector

Re: Lab with 9800 VM and Cisco 9166cw possible?

netspot — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 16:01:40 GMT

Hi thanks for the info. I'm looking at adding a single WiFi 7 AP for the lab too(not seeing any Wifi7 use in commercial yet) - I was between the 9176i and the 9178i . I noticed some have RTG and CFG, they both appear to be the same. Any thoughts on those models?

Re: Lab with 9800 VM and Cisco 9166cw possible?

Karsten Iwen — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 16:08:00 GMT

The difference is just how you order them. RTG (Ready to go) is what you want for single APs. CFG (Configurable) lets you choose to have multiple units in one box, if you want to have brackets or not, and so on.

Re: Lab with 9800 VM and Cisco 9166cw possible?

Mark Elsen — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 16:08:41 GMT

- @netspot Ref : https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/collateral/wireless/catalyst-9800-series-wireless-controllers/nb-06-wrles-dna-sub-lic-og-cte-en.html
>...RTG: Ready to go – fastest shipment with default choices
CFG: Configurable – customizable accessories and packaging
Special Handling (CFG++) – use for TAA compliant orders