Same name AP not joining controller

[night143r]

Hi,

We have Catalyst 9800-40 WLC , and we are facing the issue "Two Access Points with same name are not able to join controller "

I tried to add  new access points . Initially APs joined controller and their MAC ID was shown in Access point list.

I went to Configuration ---> Access Points --> Clicked on AP --> changed its name 

Unfortunately I gave few APs same name now they are not joining controller....  Is there any way APs join controller and we can change their name so there is no name conflict ?

[saravlak]

sometimes unavoidable or accidental to have similar AP names for a few APs in new installation or migration.
I've seen APs 9120/9130 with the exact similar names were able to join fine on 17.4. and were able to manually change after joined.
in your case, check the AP drop reason/run capwap debugs on AP side and or try to change the existing AP name to something else.

[usaf_27]

All you gotta do is change the duplicate name of the AP that is currently on the controller. The AP that is not joined that had the same name will join. I just had this scenario and it worked. And of course the AP has to have the controller IP. Assuming it does in your case.  

[night143r]

Yes I did same as you suggested 

Duplicate name APs are renamed to "-111" or like that and those APs have joined controller before that they were unable to join.

Thank you for the solutions 

[night143r]

Yes As of now I did the same 

I found out the list of APs that that have already joined controller to "-111" Duplication APs have joined the controller as the name conflict was removed 

What do you suggest to go for 17.4 version or keep it same ? As of now my work is running smoothly without any issue.

[Rich R]

> What do you suggest to go for 17.4 version or keep it same ? As of now my work is running smoothly without any issue.

You did not say what version you're using?

Anyway you need to assess which release is correct for your environment.  Read the release notes. In general, unless you need specific features in the short-lived releases, then you should stick with the long-lived extended support releases - currently 17.3.x next will be 17.6.x.

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/docs/wireless/catalyst-9800-series-wireless-controllers/214749-tac-recommended-ios-xe-builds-for-wirele.html

At the moment: TAC recommends 17.3.3 for all deployments