C9800-L-C-K9 - Cisco Catalyst 9800-L Wireless Controller

C9800-L-C-K9: copper-uplink controller acceptance

C9800-L-C-K9 is the copper-uplink member of the Catalyst 9800-L pair. Cisco lists four 2.5/1-Gigabit interfaces plus two multirate 10/5/2.5/1-Gigabit copper uplinks. Do not quote it as the fiber C9800-L-F-K9 or assume that an optical distribution design can be connected without a separate media decision.

Copper cabling and switch-port evidence

Acceptance should record cable category and length, negotiated speed on both uplinks, switch-port configuration, redundancy design and the controller port used for service or route processing. Preserve link error counters and a failover test. A link at 1 or 2.5 Gbps may be functional while still failing the throughput plan that justified this model.

Capacity and licensing boundary

Cisco publishes a base ceiling of 250 access points, 5,000 clients and 5 Gbps, with 500 access points, 10,000 clients and 10 Gbps tied to the Performance license. Record the installed license state, Smart Account ownership and measured forwarding target; hardware identity alone does not establish the licensed scale.

Power and rack decision

The controller uses a 110W external AC/DC adapter and a half-width 1RU chassis. Cisco states 86.9W maximum measured consumption for the copper version with the specified USB load. Check power-adapter inclusion, rack-mount parts and side-by-side airflow before closing the order.

C9800-L-C-K9 receiving record

Capture the full PID, serial, IOS XE release, configuration backup, four access-side port states, both copper-uplink negotiations and high-availability test. This creates a replacement baseline specific to the C model instead of a generic 9800-L checklist.

Official evidence: Cisco Catalyst 9800-L data sheet; Cisco 9800-L deployment guide; and Cisco IOS XE controller release notes.

Related platform comparison

C9800-L-F-K9 fiber-uplink controller uses the other uplink medium; compare the distribution design before substitution.