APs and WLC use the EXACT SAME IOS ?

[jonathan.maxwell]

Simple question: In the typical suggested configuration, do the APs and the WLC use the SAME EXACT IOS?

Although I've repeatedly read that this is true, to me it seems absurd because the 2 devices are far from the same design or technical solution.

Thank you.

[ammahend]

They use airos or more recently iosxe image, not ios, they don’t use same image, if you login to cisco download center you will see different firmware for AP and WLC.

[jonathan.maxwell]

Thank you for your reply.

Is the firmware the code that runs the chipset, while the IOS runs the platform?

[Flavio Miranda]

Hi

 Yeah, dont make sense, right?  If you take a new WLC 9800,  the IOS is 1230.47 MB (1.2Giga).  This can´t  be added to an AP.

An IOS for 1800 AP is 37.29 MB. 

 But, what happen is that the AP runs the same version but the firmware is for Access Point.  Is not the same IOS or AirOS as the WLC.

The WLC stores the AP´s IOS and the AP download this IOS when joining.  

 Recently I worked with TAC about a very specific bug and they send to me an IOS which was on the same version of my WLC but I had to install on the capwap AP manually.  It was a testing AP´s IOS with some difference on the code. After manually install the IOS, the AP joined to the WLC normally and did not download a new IOS from the WLC because the version was exactly the same.