Access Point Configuration

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Diagram

Classes

wireless (catalyst_center)

Name	Type	Constraint	Mandatory	Default Value
access_point_configurations	List	[access_point_configurations]	No

access_point_configurations (catalyst_center.wireless)

Name	Type	Constraint	Mandatory	Default Value
name	String		Yes
admin_status	Boolean	true, false	No
ap_mode	Choice	LOCAL, MONITOR, SNIFFER, BRIDGE	No
failover_priority	Choice	LOW, MEDIUM, HIGH, CRITICAL	No
led_status	Boolean	true, false	No
led_brightness_level	Integer	min: 1, max: 8	No
location	String		No
is_assigned_site_as_location	Boolean	true, false	No
primary_controller_name	String		No
primary_ip_address	IP		No
secondary_controller_name	String		No
secondary_ip_address	IP		No
tertiary_controller_name	String		No
tertiary_ip_address	IP		No
radios	List	[radios]	No

radios (catalyst_center.wireless.access_point_configurations)

Name	Type	Constraint	Mandatory	Default Value
band	Choice	2.4, 5, 6, XOR	Yes
admin_status	Boolean	true, false	No
role	Choice	AUTO, SERVING, MONITOR	No
antenna_pattern_name	String		No
antenna_gain	Integer	min: 0, max: 40	No
antenna_cable_name	String		No
cable_loss	Number	min: 0, max: 40	No
channel_assignment_mode	Choice	GLOBAL, CUSTOM	No
channel_number	Integer		No
channel_width	Choice	20, 40, 80, 160, 320	No
power_assignment_mode	Choice	GLOBAL, CUSTOM	No
power_level	Integer	min: 1, max: 8	No

An access point configuration is a named, reusable set of radio and controller settings. Access points reference it by name from inventory.devices[].access_point.configuration — the settings themselves are never declared on the device.

That split is dictated by the API. In the Configure Access Points intent API only macAddress, apName and apNameNew are per-access-point; every other setting, including the whole radioConfigurations list, is top-level and applies to every access point in the request. A per-device override would therefore not be per-device at all — it would silently fork that access point into an API call of its own. Naming the configurations makes the grouping explicit: one API call is issued per configuration, and the number of calls is bounded by how many configurations you declare.

Values are written the way an engineer says them (ap_mode: LOCAL, failover_priority: HIGH, channel_width: 80, band: "2.4"); the module translates them to the API’s integer encodings. The API’s configure_* flags are derived from which values you set, so they are not part of the data model.

Settings resolve the named configuration first, then defaults.catalyst_center.wireless.access_point_configurations, so values shared by every configuration can be declared once. radios overrides at list level: a configuration that declares radios replaces the default list outright rather than merging element by element.

Radio settings

Catalyst Center enforces several combinations, and the module validates them at plan time rather than letting the apply fail:

Rule	Why
channel_number, channel_assignment_mode, channel_width, power_level and power_assignment_mode require role: SERVING on the same radio	NCWL10977. Omitting role leaves the radio on its current role — typically AUTO — which is still rejected
channel_number / channel_width require channel_assignment_mode: CUSTOM; power_level requires power_assignment_mode: CUSTOM	NCWL10959. Under GLOBAL — also the behaviour when the mode is omitted — RRM owns the value
channel_width is not valid on a 2.4 GHz radio	NCWL10970. The 2.4 GHz band operates at 20 MHz only
antenna_gain only applies with antenna_pattern_name: other	Otherwise the gain comes from the named antenna pattern and the supplied value is silently ignored (warning)
cable_loss only applies with antenna_cable_name: other	Same (warning)
location and is_assigned_site_as_location: true are mutually exclusive	Two sources for the same attribute; the API does not define which wins

Note that location is a free-text label written onto the access point. It is not the Catalyst Center site assignment, which is managed separately through inventory.devices[].site.

Examples

Example-1: Office Standard

A configuration applied to every office access point, with both radios pinned to explicit channels.

catalyst_center:
  wireless:
    access_point_configurations:
      - name: OFFICE_STANDARD
        admin_status: true
        led_status: true
        led_brightness_level: 8
        failover_priority: HIGH
        is_assigned_site_as_location: true
        radios:
          - band: "2.4"
            role: SERVING
            admin_status: true
            channel_assignment_mode: CUSTOM
            channel_number: 6
            power_assignment_mode: CUSTOM
            power_level: 4
          - band: "5"
            role: SERVING
            channel_assignment_mode: CUSTOM
            channel_number: 36
            channel_width: 80

Example-2: RRM-Managed with Controller Assignment

No channel or power values, so RRM keeps managing the radios. Only the controller trio and the operating mode are set.

catalyst_center:
  wireless:
    access_point_configurations:
      - name: BRANCH_RRM
        ap_mode: LOCAL
        failover_priority: MEDIUM
        primary_controller_name: WLC-PRIMARY
        primary_ip_address: 10.0.0.10
        secondary_controller_name: WLC-SECONDARY
        secondary_ip_address: 10.0.0.11

Example-3: External Antenna

antenna_gain and cable_loss require their other pattern / cable names.

catalyst_center:
  wireless:
    access_point_configurations:
      - name: WAREHOUSE_EXTERNAL_ANTENNA
        ap_mode: LOCAL
        location: Warehouse Aisle 7
        radios:
          - band: "5"
            role: SERVING
            antenna_pattern_name: other
            antenna_gain: 12
            antenna_cable_name: other
            cable_loss: 3
            channel_assignment_mode: CUSTOM
            channel_number: 149
            channel_width: 40

Example-4: Monitor Mode

A monitor-role radio takes no channel or power settings.

catalyst_center:
  wireless:
    access_point_configurations:
      - name: SECURITY_MONITOR
        ap_mode: MONITOR
        led_status: false
        radios:
          - band: "2.4"
            role: MONITOR
          - band: "5"
            role: MONITOR

Example-5: Shared Settings via Defaults

Values every configuration should inherit are declared once under defaults.

defaults:
  catalyst_center:
    wireless:
      access_point_configurations:
        admin_status: true
        led_status: true
        failover_priority: MEDIUM

catalyst_center:
  wireless:
    access_point_configurations:
      # inherits admin_status, led_status and failover_priority
      - name: LOBBY
        is_assigned_site_as_location: true
      # overrides failover_priority, inherits the rest
      - name: DATACENTRE
        failover_priority: CRITICAL