The 9800 Wireless Labs are the hands-on companion to the PingLabz Catalyst 9800 YouTube series. Where the other PingLabz series each give you many small labs, this one gives you a single lab that grows: you build a Catalyst 9800-CL wireless LAN controller environment from an empty Cisco Modeling Labs canvas, then configure it up layer by layer - underlay, Day 0, the 9800 config model, SSIDs, AP joins, clients, troubleshooting - one part at a time, exactly as it happens on camera. The series is part of the PingLabz lab library, and like every PingLabz lab, every command output was captured from a real running lab. No fabricated CLI, anywhere.
The articles are free. The videos are free. Members get the importable CML topology and a config snapshot at the end of each part, so you can jump into any episode in minutes instead of replaying everything that came before.
The lab
One small campus with a wireless core: a Catalyst 9800-CL (IOS XE 17.18), an IOL-XE edge router, IOL-L2 core and access switches, CML's simulated wireless AP and client pair, and an external connector in bridge mode so a physical access point on your desk can CAPWAP-join the virtual controller. Seven nodes total, light enough that the 9800-CL is the only real resource consumer.
You need Cisco Modeling Labs 2.9 or later with the reference platform images (cat9800, iol-xe, ioll2-xe, wireless-ap, wireless-client). Note that at seven nodes this lab exceeds the CML Free five-node limit - it needs a licensed CML tier. A physical AP is optional but makes the AP-join parts much more fun.
The parts
Part 1: Build the lab
The full topology in CML: node choices, wiring, the external connector bridge, the simulated wireless pair, and the 9800-CL VGA console gotcha.
Part 2: Day 0
Wired underlay, then the 9800-CL line by line: wireless management interface, country code, AAA, GUI, and the self-signed certificate done the right way.
Part 3: Tags & profiles (coming soon)
The 9800 config model that confuses everyone coming from AireOS: WLAN profiles, policy profiles, and tags.
Part 4: Your first SSID (coming soon)
A WPA2-PSK WLAN end to end, broadcast and verified.
Part 5: AP joins (coming soon)
CAPWAP walkthrough, DHCP option 43, joining a physical AP through the bridge.
Ten parts are planned for phase one, all using only what the lab itself provides - no ISE, no AD, no external servers. Phase two adds the enterprise pieces (802.1X with ISE, and friends) once the foundation parts are out.
Lab files and config snapshots
Every downloadable for the series lives on one page: the CML topology YAML plus a config snapshot zip at the end of each part, each with a README covering credentials, addressing, and the manual steps a fresh 9800-CL always needs. Downloads are free with a PingLabz member account (just an email, no card).
Get the lab files and snapshots
The concept side
The labs teach you the how; the concepts live in the PingLabz wireless guide: 802.11 fundamentals, WLC architectures, CAPWAP, roaming, RF design, and security options, all cross-linked from the articles where they apply. If a part of the series moves too fast, the guide is the place to slow down.
Where to start
If you have CML, start at Part 1 and build the topology yourself - it is the best tour of the lab you will get. If you want to skip ahead, grab the lab files, import the YAML, paste the latest snapshot, and pick up at the newest part. And for the rest of the PingLabz catalog - CCNA, troubleshooting, automation - head back to the labs hub.