How many SSID can I have running on a c9800-80

[sandeepsingh3200]

Hello,

I am working on organizing devices that can support WPA3-Enterprise and Devices that can only support WPA2-Enterprise. I don’t want to run a SSID in a mix mode for security but I’m afraid having too many SSID might impact performance. With the two new SSID it will put me total at 5 SSID. We are running WLC9800-80 code 17.9.4 with c9130 Access Points. Any recommendations or suggestions?

[karenr022]

Consolidate SSIDs where possible and consider using VLANs to segregate devices based on security needs. Prioritize security but monitor network performance regularly. Gradually upgrading devices to support WPA3-Enterprise can also reduce the need for multiple SSIDs in the long term. Consulting network experts for tailored advice is advisable.

[ammahend · Accepted solution]

you should try and limit it to 3 max, to see management overhead because increased ssid, refer to this sheet and calculate overhead for your environment.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/vrcpqfdq5s9erp4/Wi-Fi%20SSID%20Overhead%20Calculator.xlsx?dl=0

[David Ritter]

Did I read the OP's question wrong?  How many ssid's on a 9800..  NOT how many ssid's on an AP.

Yes, an AP has indexing support for 16 ssids. xxxx.xxxx.xxxy (y=0-f) and since they all have to squawk in 1000 ms,  the fewer the better.  as in 3.

The WLC can support many more (it was specified somewhere but I can't find it now).  I have 33 wlans, with 18 % memory usage and maybe 2% cpu time.  The next question is client load per ssid/AP..  I've 8k clients spread across 800 ap's.  It will be a long time before those are wpa3.

[JPavonM]

All c9800 do support 4096 wlan profiles.

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/collateral/wireless/catalyst-9800-series-wireless-controllers/nb-06-cat9800-80-wirel-mod-data-sheet-ctp-en.html

[Haydn Andrews]

Whilst I agree that you should limit to 3 SSIDs, if you have a sound Wireless design using 5/6 GHz I have ran 5 SSIDs without any issues.

Now around WPA2/3 Mixed mode, I wouldnt run it and its not due to security reasons, I have see losts of wierd client behaviour and roaming issues when running in mixed mode, make the SSID either WPA2 or WPA3 only and issues go away.

Now if the SSID is for a corporate managed devices, then I would work with the device team to have them advise how many devices dont support WPA3 and get their road map of when they will all support it, and then make a cutover

[Karsten Iwen]

When looking at the referenced calculator, you'll see that the overhead is neglectable from the moment you tune your basic rates. I always use additional SSIDs for WPA3 and move the compatible devices into this SSID. Eventually, the legacy WPA2 SSID gets deleted. But I am not there yet with any customer where the WPA2-SSID can be deleted.