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Troubleshooting & FAQ

The most common wireless collection and modeling problems, and the questions the field asks most often.

Troubleshooting​

A Catalyst 9800 WLC shows as a switch, or "Device Type Mismatch"​

The device was collected but not recognized as a controller. Confirm the WLC has a wireless management interface in its configuration and is running IOS-XE 17.x or later. On 16.x the AP commands are skipped and the device is not classified as a wireless controller.

APs are not collected from a WLC​

Two common causes:

WLC collection fails at the enable / privileged-mode prompt​

Some WLCs drop the session straight into enable mode, which can stall prompt discovery. Verify the CLI credential and the connection type, and check that the credential's configured prompts match what the WLC presents.

Meraki collection fails or discovers no devices​

  • Confirm 2FA is disabled for the Dashboard account and that a Dashboard security code was entered when prompted.
  • A connection that tests "connected" but returns an empty device list usually points to account access — confirm the account can see the target networks in the Dashboard.

An Aruba device fails to collect over the controller connection​

Confirm the device is a supported WLAN controller or Mobility Access Control Switch, not an ArubaOS-CX switch. ArubaOS-CX is a distinct connection type collected through the switch path, not the wireless controller path; the two use different CLI prompt and pagination handling, so choosing the wrong one can break collection.

FAQ​

Which wireless vendors and platforms does Forward support?​

Cisco Catalyst 9800 WLCs (IOS-XE 17.x+) with CAPWAP and AP modeling; Cisco Meraki (MR/MS/MX); HPE Aruba WLAN controllers (7000/7200) and Mobility Access Control Switches; and Juniper Mist (Tech Preview). AireOS WLCs, Arista CV-CUE, Fortinet APs, and Cisco Catalyst/DNA Center are not supported. See the Wireless overview for the full matrix.

Are AireOS wireless controllers supported?​

No, and there are no plans to add them — the AireOS platform is end-of-life. APs managed by an IOS-XE WLC are supported; APs on an AireOS controller are not, and their CAPWAP tunnels cannot be traced in path analysis.

Does Forward model Aruba access points?​

Forward models the Aruba WLAN controller, but not its APs as separate devices. APs that tunnel client traffic to the controller appear as tunnels into it.

How are access points licensed?​

APs are peripheral devices; an on-box WLAN controller is a main device, while a cloud dashboard consumes no license. See Licensing.

Can I collect wireless without disabling 2FA on Meraki?​

No. Forward uses Meraki's private Dashboard APIs, which require an interactive non-2FA login. An API key alone does not cover all the data Forward needs. When 2FA is mandated, use a dedicated Dashboard account with 2FA disabled.

What wireless data can I query in NQE?​

AP-level data at per-AP granularity, not per-client. Per-client data requires re-running the relevant show commands as custom commands. The AP_USERS data model is Aruba-only and returns blank on Cisco IOS-XE WLCs.

Why do access points (or IP phones) show up as Missing Devices?​

By design. The Missing Devices report lists next hops that are not in the model, and it does not restrict that list to supported device types — an AP or phone referenced as a next hop can appear there even when it is not a collection target.