Connect. Secure. Manage.
Catalyst 9800 Deployment
Deploy a supported Cisco Catalyst 9800 wireless controller, checking platform sizing, network dependencies and the design used to connect access points.
Devices supported
across the UK
Client locations
supported
Traffic handled
at peak time
Average
response time
Average response is not a resolution time or a contractual guarantee. Support scope and response commitments are agreed for each engagement.
Catalyst 9800 deployment turns an approved Cisco wireless design into a working service. We prepare management, identity and traffic paths, then use a controlled pilot before wider rollout. The scope can cover a new installation or agreed expansion. Acceptance checks include real users and support tasks, beyond being able to reach the controller.
Coverage and capacity
Design Wi-Fi around the spaces, devices and traffic that depend on it.
Secure access
Align authentication, segmentation and guest access with the wider network.
Measured performance
Validate roaming, interference and user experience instead of relying on signal bars.
Establish the deployment inputs
Before setup starts, we agree the controller platform, software target, access-point estate and intended client services. The project record includes site topology, addressing, VLANs, DNS, time synchronisation, certificates and admin access. It also identifies who owns the switches, authentication system and firewalls. Those dependencies need named contacts because a wireless commissioning issue often crosses more than one team’s boundary.
A hardware rollout requires rack, power, uplink and management preparation. A virtual rollout additionally needs supported compute resources and network presentation. We review the proposed hosting arrangement rather than assuming that an available virtual machine meets controller needs. Installation access, remote recovery and the maintenance window are agreed before work begins, particularly where the controller will also carry the network path used by the rollout team.
Standards & partnerships
Confidence in the team behind your network.
Cisco Partner
Cisco Meraki
Cyber Essentials
Cyber Essentials PlusMCI Network Services is operated by Proxar Ltd. Certifications apply to the certified legal entity and the scope of its certificates. View accreditation information
Prepare a supported software baseline
The chosen release must support the access points and required functions in the customer’s estate. We check applicable Cisco compatibility and release information, including limitations relevant to the proposed topology. An older access point can affect the design even when most of the estate is new. Any necessary replacement or staged software change is identified before users are moved.
We retain a record of the chosen image and setup baseline. Licensing and registration are coordinated with the customer’s authorised owner, without treating procurement completion as evidence that the operational entitlement is correct. Where an upgrade is needed before commissioning, its procedure and recovery options are part of the plan. The aim is a reproducible starting point that another engineer can check, not an undocumented sequence of installation decisions.
A useful starting point
Not sure where to start?
Bring the requirement. We will help you define the engineering work.
Build profiles and tags around actual sites
Catalyst 9800 setup uses profiles and tags to relate wireless services to access points and locations. We translate the approved design into consistent names and assignments, covering WLAN policy, site behaviour and radio settings. Defaults are reviewed rather than accepted merely because a new access point joins successfully. A misplaced assignment can make an apparently healthy access point deliver the wrong client service.
We check each policy through the intended forwarding path. That includes client addressing, gateway reachability, permitted apps and isolation from networks the client should not access. Authentication setup is tested with representative user and device identities. The separate wireless policy tags service is useful when the challenge is reorganising a current policy estate rather than commissioning a new controller.
Different environments. The same care.
Built around the work
your network supports.
Finance, banking and the wider private sector. We start with the systems and people that depend on your connections.
Finance & banking
Market-data paths, routing and provider coordination on clients’ behalf.
Financial-market services ↗Offices & multi-site teams
Reliable access between people, workplaces and business applications.
Office network design ↗Data centres & cloud
Network boundaries, workload connections and operational ownership.
Data centre networks ↗Join a representative pilot group
A pilot should exercise the different conditions expected in production. We select access points from relevant sites or switch arrangements and clients representing the actual operating systems, authentication methods and apps. The checks cover discovery, joining, radio operation, addressing and app use. A test device with cached credentials is not a sufficient substitute for a fresh user connection.
Failures are recorded with timestamps and the affected client, access point and policy context. This helps distinguish an onboarding problem from a radio, identity or wired-network issue. We resolve material pilot defects before expanding the rollout. Where an exception is accepted, it has an owner and a documented impact. It is not silently carried forward as though the acceptance test had passed.
Validate resilience and operational access
When the design includes controller redundancy, we check its readiness before relying on it for production. Configuration synchronisation and standby state matter, but so do uplink and upstream dependencies. We agree which failover tests are safe and check representative client behaviour during the event. The resulting record describes what was observed rather than promising uninterrupted service under every possible failure.
Administrative access receives its own checks. We test the intended privileged roles, recovery route and monitoring integration, with credentials handled through approved channels. Logs should have usable time information so incidents can be correlated with identity and network systems. A backup of the settings should be accessible to the authorised operations team and accompanied by enough recovery context to be useful when the normal management route is unavailable.
Complete the handover deliberately
The handover includes the deployed software, topology, access-point assignments, policy relationships and outstanding actions. We compare the rollout with the approved design and record any agreed changes. Monitoring ownership, vendor escalation and future change duties are clear, especially where MCI has delivered the project but the customer will operate the service afterwards.
Our Cisco controller wireless services can combine rollout with design review or a separately scoped support arrangement. To prepare a rollout proposal, provide the intended sites, current switching and identity setup, and any fixed delivery constraints. We then define the engineering work and acceptance criteria required to bring the controller into service without leaving critical dependencies to be discovered after installation.
Technical references
- Catalyst 9800 configuration model — Cisco / Cisco Meraki
- Catalyst 9800 configuration best practices — Cisco / Cisco Meraki
Talk to a specialist
What does your network need next?
Tell us what you are planning, changing or trying to improve. We will help define a practical next step and the engineering scope.
+44 203 196 6566Choose option 1
sales@proxar.co.ukUK-wide service.
Most of our engineers are based in Kent, with a focus on London, Sussex, Essex and Berkshire.
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