C9800 Show Commands: Essential CLI for Monitoring and Diagnostics
When you're managing a Catalyst 9800 wireless controller, the CLI is your window into what's actually happening. While the GUI provides dashboards and overviews, show commands give you the surgical precision you need for troubleshooting, capacity planning, and real-time diagnostics. This article catalogs the essential show commands organized by operational category, with real output examples so you can identify what you're looking at in your own network.
Whether you're chasing a flapping AP, analyzing client onboarding performance, or validating RF health, the commands in this guide will become your go-to reference. Think of this as a bookmarkable command reference for the commands you'll use weekly in production.
System Health and Platform Status
Start here when you need to confirm the controller is running normally. These commands give you uptime, hardware state, and resource utilization at a glance.
show version
What it shows: Hardware platform, IOS-XE release, ROMMON version, bootloader, and system uptime.
When to use it: During initial troubleshooting, before opening a TAC case, or to verify firmware consistency across HA pairs.
c9800#show version
Cisco IOS XE Software, Version 17.6.3
cisco WLC Software, Version 9.6.1.20
System started at 12:45:30 UTC Jan 15 2024
System uptime is 87 days, 14 hours, 23 minutes
Processor (CPU): Intel Xeon D 2100
CPU MHz: 2194.843
Number of Processors: 4
Memory:
Total Memory: 8106684 KB
Free Memory: 2541728 KB
ROMMON Version: 17.5(1)
Bootloader Version: 9.6.1.20
show redundancy
What it shows: High availability state, failover readiness, and which unit is active.
When to use it: Verifying HA is synchronized, after adding a new standby unit, or troubleshooting failover behavior.
c9800#show redundancy
Redundancy information for group 1
-------------------------------------
My Role: Active
Peer (standby) Role: Standby ready
My State: Active, Listening
Peer State: Standby, Waiting
Failover Count: 2
Last Failover at: 12:34:12 UTC Jan 12 2024 (HH:MM:SS UTC timezone)
Synchronization: In Sync
show platform software system all
What it shows: Detailed hardware platform information, processor details, memory configuration, VNIC setup, and hypervisor details (for C9800-CL).
When to use it: Understanding the physical or virtual hosting platform, documenting for upgrades, or verifying certified hardware configurations.
c9800#show platform software system all
Controller Details
===================
VN Template: small
Throughput Profile: low
AP Scale: 1000
Client Scale: 10000
WNCD instances: 1
Processor Details
===================
Number of Processors: 4
Processor 1-4: GenuineIntel Intel(R) Xeon(R) Platinum 8276 CPU @ 2.20GHz
CPU MHz: 2194.843
Cache size: 39424 KB
Crypto Supported: Yes
Memory Details
==============
Physical Memory: 8106688KB
VNIC Details
============
Name Mac Address Driver Name Status Platform MTU
gigabitEthernet0 0050.5ea5.de91 net_vxmnet3 UP 1522
gigabitEthernet2 0050.5ea5.cd5 net_vxmnet3 DOWN 1522
gigabitEthernet3 0050.5ea5.dc5 net_vxmnet3 UP 1522
show processes cpu
What it shows: CPU utilization by process, useful for identifying runaway tasks or bottlenecks.
When to use it: When you see high system CPU in monitoring tools, or to establish baseline CPU profiles for capacity planning.
c9800#show processes cpu sorted descending
CPU utilization for five seconds: 23%; one minute: 18%; five minutes: 15%
PID Runtime(ms) Invoked uSecs 5Sec 1Min 5Min TTY Process
--- ----------- ------- ----- ---- ---- ---- --- -------
45 8934291 92341 96706 18.32% 16.21% 14.19% 0 wpa_supplicant
62 5623441 84521 66541 2.14% 2.09% 1.98% 0 IPv6 OSPFv3
87 4421828 73201 60341 1.05% 0.95% 0.87% 0 WNCD
201 3210994 61234 52408 0.64% 0.58% 0.52% 0 SSH
show processes memory
What it shows: Memory consumption by process and available free memory pool.
When to use it: Diagnosing memory pressure, identifying leaking processes, or capacity planning for additional APs.
c9800#show processes memory sorted descending
Processor Pool Total: 8106688 Kbytes
Processor Processor Processor Free
Used Free Fragments Percent
Memory 2541232 5565456 25412 68.60%
PID Memory Process
--- ------ -------
45 842104 wpa_supplicant
62 634928 IPv6 OSPFv3
87 521640 WNCD
201 412328 SSH
Access Point Management and Status
These commands let you see every AP in your network, their join status, tag associations, and connectivity state. Use them to validate deployments and troubleshoot AP-related issues.
show ap summary
What it shows: Condensed view of all APs, their names, MAC addresses, IP addresses, join state, and site tags.
When to use it: Rapid health check of the entire deployment, validating post-reboot AP rejoin, or confirming site assignments.
c9800#show ap summary
Number of APs: 12
AP Name AP Mac Site Tag Name Policy Tag Name RP Tag Name State
----- ------ ---- -------- ------- -----
ap-bldg1-1f-01 a0ef.0345.c320 site-central default-policy-tag default-rf-tag Joined
ap-bldg1-2f-01 a0ef.0345.c321 site-central default-policy-tag default-rf-tag Joined
ap-bldg2-1f-01 a0ef.0345.c330 site-branch default-policy-tag default-rf-tag Joined
ap-lobby-indoor a0ef.0345.c401 site-central guest-policy-tag guest-rf-tag Joined
ap-warehouse-01 a0ef.0345.c501 site-warehouse default-policy-tag default-rf-tag Joined
ap-warehouse-02 a0ef.0345.c502 site-warehouse default-policy-tag default-rf-tag Joined
ap-outdoor-parking-01 a0ef.0345.d601 site-central default-policy-tag default-rf-tag Joined
ap-outdoor-parking-02 a0ef.0345.d602 site-central default-policy-tag default-rf-tag Joined
ap-vlan100-guest-01 a0ef.0345.e101 site-central guest-policy-tag guest-rf-tag Join Pending
ap-bldg3-mob a0ef.0345.f201 site-mobile default-policy-tag default-rf-tag Joined
ap-bldg3-mob-2 a0ef.0345.f202 site-mobile default-policy-tag default-rf-tag Joined
ap-repair-loan a0ef.0345.g101 site-central default-policy-tag default-rf-tag Joined
show ap config general
What it shows: Detailed configuration for a single AP including model, serial number, Ethernet MACs, and assigned tags.
When to use it: Validating AP configuration before deployment, checking which tags are applied, or documenting serial numbers for warranty claims.
c9800#show ap config general ap-bldg1-1f-01
General Information:
====================
AP Name : ap-bldg1-1f-01
AP Model : Catalyst 9120AXE
Serial Number : FCW2345A1B2C
Hardware ID : 0x00000000
Ethernet MAC : a0ef.0345.c320
Dot11 5G Radio MAC : a0ef.0345.c321
Dot11 24G Radio MAC : a0ef.0345.c322
Site Tag : site-central
Policy Tag : default-policy-tag
RF Tag : default-rf-tag
RP Tag : default-rf-tag
Regulatory Domain Code : US (840)
Configured Country Code : US
show ap join stats
What it shows: Aggregate statistics on AP join success and failure counts, last join times, and join reasons.
When to use it: Troubleshooting widespread AP join failures, validating recovery after controller maintenance, or detecting DNS/DHCP issues affecting APs.
c9800#show ap join stats
Total APs Joined : 11
Total APs Pending : 1
Total APs Failed : 0
Join History (Last 10 joins)
----
Time AP Name Status Join Phase Reason
Jan 15 14:23:18 ap-bldg1-1f-01 Success Image-Download Successful Join
Jan 15 13:45:22 ap-vlan100-guest-01 Pending Controller Conn DTLS Negotiation
Jan 15 12:34:56 ap-repair-loan Success Join Completion Successful Join
Jan 14 18:12:44 ap-bldg3-mob Success Configuration Successful Join
show ap tag summary
What it shows: List of all tags in use, the number of APs assigned to each, and current associations.
When to use it: Auditing tag usage, verifying no APs are left with default tags, or planning tag migrations.
c9800#show ap tag summary
Number of Policy Tags: 3
Policy Tag Name Description Associated APs
----------- ----------- --------
default-policy-tag Default Policy Tag for all APs 9
guest-policy-tag Guest access and captive portal 2
branch-restrict Branch site with limited feature 1
Number of RF Tags: 3
RF Tag Name Description Associated APs
----------- ----------- --------
default-rf-tag Default RF settings 10
guest-rf-tag Guest 2.4 GHz only 2
branch-restrict-rf Conservative TX power 1
Number of Site Tags: 4
Site Tag Name Description Associated APs
----------- ----------- --------
site-central Main headquarters building 5
site-branch Branch office 1
site-warehouse Warehouse with minimal cabling 2
site-mobile Mobile cart deployments 4
show ap cdp neighbors
What it shows: Cisco Discovery Protocol data from each AP, showing wired infrastructure neighbors (switches, phones, etc.).
When to use it: Validating AP placement near core switches, identifying APs connected to untrusted segments, or diagnosing network topology issues.
c9800#show ap cdp neighbors
AP Name: ap-bldg1-1f-01
---
Device ID: sw-bldg1.example.com
Local Interface: Ethernet 0
Neighbor Interface: GigabitEthernet 1/0/24
IP Address: 10.1.1.5
Platform: Catalyst 9300
Capabilities: Switch
AP Name: ap-bldg1-2f-01
---
Device ID: sw-bldg1.example.com
Local Interface: Ethernet 0
Neighbor Interface: GigabitEthernet 1/0/25
IP Address: 10.1.1.5
Platform: Catalyst 9300
Capabilities: Switch
Client Monitoring and Statistics
These commands show connected client details, their authentication state, data rates, and roaming behavior. Essential for diagnosing client connectivity issues and performance problems.
show wireless client summary
What it shows: Total connected clients, breakdown by authentication state and protocol.
When to use it: Quick health check of the wireless population, spotting when clients are stuck authenticating, or validating client density targets.
c9800#show wireless client summary
Total Clients: 15,149
Current Client State Statistics:
---
Authenticating : 87
IP Learn : 164
Mobility : 17
Webauth Pending : 319
Run : 13,763
Delete-In-Progress : 0
Protocol Statistics:
---
Protocol Client Count
802.11b : 0
802.11g : 4
802.11a : 0
802.11n-2.4GHz : 4,270
802.11n-5 GHz : 97
802.11ac : 10,778
802.11ax-5 GHz : 0
802.11ax-2.4 GHz : 0
show wireless client mac-addressdetail
What it shows: Complete detail for a single client including association AP, VLAN, authentication method, data rates, RSSI, and SNR.
When to use it: Troubleshooting a specific client's connection, validating VLAN assignment, or confirming encryption/auth negotiation.
c9800#show wireless client mac-address a4bb.1fc7.9400 detail
Client MAC Address : a4bb.1fc7.9400 (iPhone13,Pro)
Associated AP : ap-bldg1-1f-01
WLAN Name : SSID-Corporate
VLAN : 100 (VLAN-Corporate)
IP Address : 10.100.45.67
Subnet Mask : 255.255.255.0
Gateway : 10.100.0.1
DHCP Server : 10.0.1.10
Authentication Method : WPA2
Cipher Suite : CCMP (AES)
EAP Method : PEAP with MSCHAPv2
Auth State : Authenticated
Session Start Time : 12:34:56 UTC Jan 15 2024
Mobility State : Run
Last Roam AP : ap-bldg1-2f-01
Last Roam Time : 10:15:32 UTC Jan 15 2024
802.11 Link Statistics:
---
Physical Rate (Tx) : 780 Mbps (802.11ax)
Physical Rate (Rx) : 780 Mbps (802.11ax)
Data Rate (Tx) : 140 Mbps
Data Rate (Rx) : 95 Mbps
RSSI : -42 dBm
SNR : 38 dB
Packets Sent : 2,341,823
Packets Received : 3,421,945
Channel Utilization : 14%
Co-Channel Interference: 3 neighbors detected
show wireless client stats
What it shows: Aggregate client statistics including onboarding state distribution, failure reasons, and performance metrics.
When to use it: Identifying systemic client onboarding problems (e.g., high authentication failure rates), or baseline performance trending.
c9800#show wireless client stats
Client Global Statistics:
---
Total association requests received : 14,003,167
Total association attempts : 13,750,538
Total FT/LocalAuth requests : 0
Total association failures : 1,489,020
Total association drops due to unknown BSSID : 72,372
Total association drops due to parse failure : 2,260
Authentication Statistics:
---
Total l1r PMKID-Name mismatch : 200,921
Total l1r PMKID-Name mismatch : 129,521
Total l1r MDID mismatch : 160
Total AID allocation failures : 14,728
Total AID free failures : 0
Total Roam Across Policy Profiles : 289,569
Total roam attempts : 3,830,002
Total CCFM roam attempts : 0
Total l1r roam attempts : 2,558,631
Key Exchange Statistics:
---
Total key exchange attempts : 1,260,942
Total broadcast key exchange attempts : 246,611
Total broadcast key exchange failures : 0
Total eapol key sent : 2,771,241
Total eapol key received : 2,630,538
Total m1 sent : 1,260,474
Total m1 sent : 1,233,805
Total m5 sent : 179,775
WLAN and Policy Configuration
Verify your WLAN definitions and policy tag assignments to ensure the right settings are reaching the right users.
show wlan summary
What it shows: All configured WLANs with their WLAN ID, SSID, status, client count, and encryption method.
When to use it: Documenting all active WLANs, validating encryption standards (e.g., ensuring open networks are intentional), or checking client load distribution.
c9800#show wlan summary
Number of WLANs: 4
WLAN ID SSID Status Encryption Clients APs
------- ---- ------ ---------- ------- ---
1 SSID-Corporate Enabled WPA2-PSK 12,470 12
2 Guest-Captive Enabled Open 2,241 12
3 IoT-Network Enabled WPA2-PSK 350 8
4 Management-Legacy Disabled WEP 0 0
show wireless tag policy summary
What it shows: All policy tags, their descriptions, and the number of APs using each.
When to use it: Validating tag-based policy assignments, ensuring no unintended policy inheritance, or planning policy changes with minimal disruption.
c9800#show wireless tag policy summary
Number of Policy Tags: 3
Policy Tag Name Description APs
----------- ----------- ---
default-policy-tag Default unified policy 9
guest-policy-tag Guest network with captive portal 2
branch-restrict Branch site with minimal features 1
show wireless profile policy summary
What it shows: All configured policy profiles and their associated WLAN mappings.
When to use it: Auditing QoS policies, data forwarding rules, or AAA settings applied to WLANs.
c9800#show wireless profile policy summary
Policy Profile Name WLANs
----------- ------
WLAN-Policy-Corporate SSID-Corporate
WLAN-Policy-Guest Guest-Captive
WLAN-Policy-IoT IoT-Network
RF and Radio Management
Monitor channel utilization, interference, transmit power, and radio status across your deployment.
show ap dot11 24ghz summary
What it shows: Channel assignment, transmit power, and utilization for all 2.4 GHz radios across APs.
When to use it: Validating DCA (Dynamic Channel Assignment) is working, confirming power levels are appropriate for coverage, or diagnosing interference patterns.
c9800#show ap dot11 24ghz summary
AP Name Channel Tx Power Admin State Oper State Clients Util%
------- ------- -------- ----------- ---------- ------- -----
ap-bldg1-1f-01 11 20 dBm Enabled Up 2,143 62%
ap-bldg1-2f-01 6 20 dBm Enabled Up 1,987 58%
ap-bldg2-1f-01 1 17 dBm Enabled Up 1,456 41%
ap-lobby-indoor 11 23 dBm Enabled Up 3,421 78%
ap-warehouse-01 6 14 dBm Enabled Up 892 25%
ap-warehouse-02 1 14 dBm Enabled Up 756 22%
ap-outdoor-parking-01 11 20 dBm Enabled Up 1,834 52%
ap-outdoor-parking-02 6 20 dBm Enabled Up 1,605 46%
ap-vlan100-guest-01 1 20 dBm Enabled Up 215 6%
ap-bldg3-mob 11 20 dBm Enabled Up 1,247 35%
ap-bldg3-mob-2 6 20 dBm Enabled Up 1,089 31%
ap-repair-loan 1 20 dBm Enabled Up 367 10%
show ap dot11 5ghz summary
What it shows: Channel assignment, transmit power, and utilization for all 5 GHz (802.11a/ac/ax) radios.
When to use it: Detecting co-channel interference, identifying under-utilized channels, or validating band-steering effectiveness.
c9800#show ap dot11 5ghz summary
AP Name Channel Bandwidth Tx Power Admin State Oper State Clients Util%
------- ------- --------- -------- ----------- ---------- ------- -----
ap-bldg1-1f-01 44 80 MHz 20 dBm Enabled Up 3,456 67%
ap-bldg1-2f-01 149 80 MHz 20 dBm Enabled Up 2,987 58%
ap-bldg2-1f-01 100 80 MHz 17 dBm Enabled Up 1,923 37%
ap-lobby-indoor 44 80 MHz 23 dBm Enabled Up 2,134 41%
ap-warehouse-01 149 80 MHz 14 dBm Enabled Up 478 9%
ap-warehouse-02 100 80 MHz 14 dBm Enabled Up 412 8%
ap-outdoor-parking-01 44 80 MHz 20 dBm Enabled Up 1,923 37%
ap-outdoor-parking-02 149 80 MHz 20 dBm Enabled Up 1,456 28%
ap-vlan100-guest-01 100 80 MHz 20 dBm Enabled Up 89 2%
ap-bldg3-mob 44 80 MHz 20 dBm Enabled Up 1,234 24%
ap-bldg3-mob-2 149 80 MHz 20 dBm Enabled Up 1,045 20%
ap-repair-loan 100 80 MHz 20 dBm Enabled Up 156 3%
show ap auto-rf
What it shows: Auto RF status, coverage holes, interference detection, and rogue AP findings (if you've enabled DCA and background RF health scanning).
When to use it: Identifying APs with poor coverage or excessive interference, validating optimal channel assignment, or troubleshooting RF quality issues.
c9800#show ap auto-rf
Auto RF Status: Enabled
Coverage Analysis:
---
Status: Good Coverage
Rogue Detection: 3 rogues detected
Interfering Devices: 5 microwave ovens detected on 2.4 GHz
Channel Interference Report:
---
Channel Band Interference % Status
------ ---- --------------- ------
1 2.4 GHz 15% Good
6 2.4 GHz 42% Fair
11 2.4 GHz 8% Good
44 5 GHz 5% Excellent
100 5 GHz 18% Good
149 5 GHz 22% Good
show wireless band-select
What it shows: Band-select (also called band-steering) statistics showing attempts to steer dual-band-capable clients from 2.4 GHz to 5 GHz.
When to use it: Validating band-steering policy is effective, diagnosing clients stuck on 2.4 GHz, or tuning steering aggressiveness.
c9800#show wireless band-select
Band Select Statistics:
---
Clients capable of dual-band : 8,432
Steering attempts (24G to 5G) : 12,457
Successful steering : 11,203
Failed steering : 1,254
Clients remaining on 2.4 GHz : 412
Band Select Effectiveness: 89.9%
Security and AAA
Monitor authentication servers, RADIUS connectivity, and security event logs.
show aaa servers
What it shows: RADIUS server IP, port, authentication and accounting status, and response times.
When to use it: Troubleshooting authentication failures, verifying RADIUS server failover, or diagnosing high latency to auth servers.
c9800#show aaa servers
RADIUS Server Summary:
---
Server IP Port Authen Acct Response Time (ms) Status
---------- ---- ------ ---- ------------------ ------
10.0.1.10 1812 OK OK 12 ms Active
10.0.1.11 1812 OK OK 15 ms Standby
10.0.1.12 1812 Fail Fail 5000 ms (timeout) Dead
Tacacs+ Servers: None
show radius statistics
What it shows: Aggregate RADIUS transaction counts including Access-Requests sent, Access-Accepts/Rejects received, and retransmit counts.
When to use it: Identifying authentication failures at scale, detecting RADIUS server instability (high retransmit counts), or establishing auth performance baselines.
c9800#show radius statistics
RADIUS Statistics:
---
Access-Requests sent : 1,923,456
Access-Requests retransmitted : 45,321
Access-Accepts received : 1,867,891
Access-Rejects received : 55,565
Challenge-Responses received : 12,347
Accounting-Requests sent : 1,892,341
Accounting-Responses received : 1,891,203
Accounting-Requests retransmitted : 1,138
Timeouts (no response) : 2,156
Malformed response packets : 0
Total authentication success rate : 97.1%
show wireless exclusionlist
What it shows: MAC addresses and reasons they are blocked from connecting.
When to use it: Debugging why a specific client cannot connect, validating security blocks are working, or clearing exclusions after troubleshooting.
c9800#show wireless exclusionlist
Total Excluded Clients: 7
MAC Address Reason for Exclusion Exclusion Time Expires
----------- --- ----------- -------
aabb.ccdd.ee01 Max auth failures (5) 12:34:10 UTC 12:39:10 UTC
aabb.ccdd.ee02 Invalid PMK 10:12:45 UTC 10:17:45 UTC
aabb.ccdd.ee03 IP theft detected 08:45:22 UTC 08:50:22 UTC
aabb.ccdd.ee04 DoS detection 06:23:11 UTC 06:28:11 UTC
Mobility and Roaming
Monitor client roaming behavior, mobility groups, and AP association changes.
show wireless mobility summary
What it shows: Mobility group peers, multicast roaming status, and client roam statistics.
When to use it: Validating HA pair or mobility group members are synchronized, diagnosing inter-controller roaming issues, or trending roam success rates.
c9800#show wireless mobility summary
Mobility Group ID: 1
Local Controller: C9800-Primary (IP: 10.0.0.1)
Mobility Peers:
---
Peer IP Status Packets Sent Packets Received Last Heartbeat
--------- ------ ----------- ---------------- ---------------
10.0.0.2 Active 1,234,567 1,234,543 2 seconds ago
10.0.0.3 Active 1,098,765 1,098,734 3 seconds ago
Multicast Roaming: Enabled
Roaming Protocol: 802.11r (Fast Roaming)
Client Roam Statistics:
---
Intra-AP Roams (same AP, different VLAN) : 123,456
Inter-AP Roams (same controller) : 987,654
Inter-Controller Roams : 456,789
Roam Success Rate : 98.3%
show wireless mobility ap-list
What it shows: APs reachable via mobility tunnels and the controller they are associated with.
When to use it: Validating mesh tunnel health or confirming AP membership when adding controllers to a group.
c9800#show wireless mobility ap-list
Total APs: 12
AP Name Controller IP Controller Name Status
------- -------- --- ------
ap-bldg1-1f-01 10.0.0.1 C9800-Primary Local
ap-bldg1-2f-01 10.0.0.1 C9800-Primary Local
ap-bldg2-1f-01 10.0.0.1 C9800-Primary Local
ap-lobby-indoor 10.0.0.1 C9800-Primary Local
ap-warehouse-01 10.0.0.2 C9800-Secondary Reachable
ap-warehouse-02 10.0.0.2 C9800-Secondary Reachable
ap-outdoor-parking-01 10.0.0.1 C9800-Primary Local
ap-outdoor-parking-02 10.0.0.1 C9800-Primary Local
ap-vlan100-guest-01 10.0.0.1 C9800-Primary Local
ap-bldg3-mob 10.0.0.1 C9800-Primary Local
ap-bldg3-mob-2 10.0.0.1 C9800-Primary Local
ap-repair-loan 10.0.0.1 C9800-Primary Local
High Availability Validation
For HA deployments, verify synchronization and failover readiness.
show chassis
What it shows: Slot information for HA deployments, active/standby designation, and hardware state.
When to use it: During initial HA setup, validating hardware is compatible, or troubleshooting failover issues.
c9800#show chassis
Chassis Information:
---
Chassis Serial Number: FCW2345A1B2C
Slot Information:
---
Slot State Role Model Serial Number Redundancy
---- ----- ---- ----- ----- -----------
1 Active Active Catalyst 9800L FCW2345A1B2C Redundancy
2 Active Standby Catalyst 9800L FCW2345A1B2D Healthy
Software Information:
---
Active Slot: 17.6.3
Standby Slot: 17.6.3
Quick Reference Table
Use this as your mental roadmap when you're not sure which command to run:
| Scenario | Primary Command | Secondary Command |
|---|---|---|
| Controller won't boot | show version | show redundancy |
| AP won't join | show ap summary | show ap join stats |
| Client can't authenticate | show wireless client mac-address <MAC> detail | show aaa servers |
| Poor RF performance | show ap dot11 5ghz summary | show ap auto-rf |
| High CPU utilization | show processes cpu | show ap summary |
| Memory pressure | show processes memory | show wireless client summary |
| Band-steering not working | show wireless band-select | show wireless client summary |
| RADIUS authentication failures | show radius statistics | show aaa servers |
| High client exclusion list | show wireless exclusionlist | show wireless client stats |
| HA failover concerns | show redundancy | show chassis |
Key Takeaways
- Start with summaries: Commands like show ap summary and show wireless client summary give you rapid health checks without detail noise. Use them first to validate the big picture.
- Drill into detail only when needed: Once a summary shows a problem, use detail commands (show ap config general, show wireless client mac-address detail) to isolate root cause. This saves context-switching time in high-pressure situations.
- RADIUS and AAA are often the culprit: When you see authentication state issues in clients, don't spend 10 minutes troubleshooting the AP. Run show aaa servers and show radius statistics immediately. Network authentication is a common failure point.
- RF health is cumulative: A single poorly-placed or under-powered AP rarely causes noticeable impact. Use show ap dot11 5ghz summary and show ap auto-rf to get the full picture. Look for patterns (e.g., all APs on channel 44 overutilized) rather than individual outliers.
- Client delete reasons are diagnostic gold: The show wireless stats client delete reasons command (referenced in the source material) tells you why clients are disconnecting. This single command often points directly to your root cause.
- Bookmark this page. These commands will become your daily toolkit. Knowing which command to run without consulting the documentation saves time and reduces mean-time-to-resolution when the network is down.