This article covers the deployment of the Cisco WLC 9800-CL cloud-based controller on the VMware ESXi platform. We explain the CPU, RAM and storage requirements, provide URLs to easily download and install the WLC controller using the OVA template, select the appropriate WLC 9800 deployment size (small, medium, large) and help you understand and configure the different WLC VM network interfaces.

Key Topics:

• Introduction to the Cisco 9800 WLC Virtual Controller
• Cisco 9800 WLC Virtual Controller VMware ESXi Requirements
• Cisco 9800 WLC Virtual Controller Deployment Models
• How to Download the Cisco 9800-CL Software
• Installing the Cisco 9800 WLC Virtual Controller in VMware ESXi
• Critical VMware Network Information on the Cisco 9800-CL – vNICs, vSwitch etc.
• Configure a VMware Port Group to Allow Trunking or Single VLAN
• Summary

Introduction to the Cisco 9800 WLC Virtual Controller

Cisco released their next-generation 9800 series Wireless Controllers back in 2018, also offering a cloud-based version that supports VMware ESXi, Microsoft Hyper-V, Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Ubuntu/Red Hat Enterprise Linux using KVM, and Cisco NFVIS environments.

The virtualized version of the WLC controller offers great flexibility for organizations while at the same time provides considerable savings thanks to its zero-price tag. Customers are able to freely download and deploy the appliance, with the only restriction being the AP licenses that need to be purchased as an ongoing subscription.

Virtualization offers additional benefits which include:

• Hardware independence. Not hardware involved. Lead times for the hardware-based controllers can sometimes exceed 6-9 months depending on the market demand and other circumstances.
• Decreased cost. The VM option means organizations are saving 6-figure amounts for every 9800-40 or greater model they require. If you’re considering introducing High-Availability (HA), then the Cloud-based controller becomes a much cheaper architecture. Additional savings are added since Smartnet contracts for the hardware are not required.
• Better utilization of virtualization infrastructure. Utilizing the existing virtualization platform increases its ROI.
• Greater Deployment Flexibility. VMs allow you to easily move them from one physical server to another, even between different datacenters or physical locations.
• Increased Redundancy & Backups. Backing up a VM is an easy and simple process. You can even use specialized free VM Backup tools for this process.

Cisco 9800 WLC Virtual Controller VMware ESXi Requirements

Deploying the WLC 9800-CL in an ESXi environment is, as you’ll discover, a simple process. Cisco provides a single OVA file package, roughly around 1.25GB in size:

In this article, we’ll show you how to setup or install Microsoft Windows 11 on VMware’s ESXi servers and bypass the Trusted Platform Module version 2.0 (TPM 2.0) requirement. We've also made the TPM bypass ISO image available as a free download.

 

Key Topics:

• VMware ESXi – TPM – vTPM and Windows 11
• Downloading & Mounting TPM Bypass Script (ISO)
• Summary

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VMware ESXi – TPM – vTPM and Windows 11

Trusted Platform Module version 2.0 (TPM 2.0) is required to run Microsoft’s Windows 11. This restricts the operating system’s installation on newer PCs, it also means users with older hardware are likely to be forced to upgrade. While the virtualization world is often more forgiving when it comes to hardware requirements, trying to install Windows 11 on VMware’s ESXiplatform usually present the error: “This PC can’t run Windows 11”: 

Windows 11 Installation Error in VMware ESXi

Running Windows 11 as a virtual machine on VMware ESXi requires a virtual Trusted Platform Module (vTPM) present. For more details on Microsoft Windows 11 requirements see, https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/whats-new/windows-11-requirements.

While VMware supports vTPM and doesn’t require a physical TPM 2.0 chip, to use it, you need to configure a number of different services, depending on your VMware Platform version, including vCenter, vSphere Native Key Provider and more, making it a complicated task – especially for those running home labs. For more details see, https://core.vmware.com/resource/windows-11-support-vsphere#section2.

The next steps will take you through downloading the TPM ISO image used to bypass the Windows TPM check.