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WirelessPrivileged EXEC

show wireless client summary

Displays a summary of all wireless clients currently associated with the controller, including their MAC addresses, IP addresses, SSIDs, and connection status, used for quick client monitoring and troubleshooting.

Syntax·Privileged EXEC
show wireless client summary

When to Use This Command

  • Check how many clients are connected to the wireless network and their associated SSIDs.
  • Identify a specific client by MAC or IP address to verify connectivity.
  • Monitor client distribution across different SSIDs or VLANs.
  • Troubleshoot client connectivity issues by verifying association status.

Command Examples

Basic client summary

show wireless client summary
Number of Clients: 3

MAC Address    AP Name      WLAN  State    Protocol  IP Address      
00:11:22:33:44:55  AP-1      1     Run     802.11ac  192.168.1.100   
AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:FF  AP-2      2     Run     802.11n   10.0.0.50      
11:22:33:44:55:66  AP-1      1     Run     802.11ac  192.168.1.101

Line 1: Total number of associated clients. Columns: MAC Address (client hardware address), AP Name (access point the client is associated to), WLAN (WLAN profile ID), State (Run = active, Idle, etc.), Protocol (Wi-Fi standard), IP Address (client IP).

Client summary with verbose output

show wireless client summary verbose
Client MAC: 00:11:22:33:44:55
AP Name: AP-1
WLAN: 1
State: Run
Protocol: 802.11ac
IP Address: 192.168.1.100
VLAN: 10
RSSI: -45 dBm
SNR: 35 dB

Client MAC: AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:FF
AP Name: AP-2
WLAN: 2
State: Run
Protocol: 802.11n
IP Address: 10.0.0.50
VLAN: 20
RSSI: -67 dBm
SNR: 22 dB

Verbose output shows per-client details including VLAN, RSSI (signal strength, closer to 0 is better), and SNR (signal-to-noise ratio, higher is better). Good RSSI: > -65 dBm; poor: < -75 dBm.

Understanding the Output

The 'show wireless client summary' command provides a quick overview of all wireless clients. The first line shows the total count. Each row represents a client with its MAC address, associated AP, WLAN ID, state (Run means active), protocol (802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax), and IP address. In a real network, look for clients in 'Idle' or 'Disassociated' state to identify issues. A sudden drop in client count may indicate AP or controller problems. The verbose output adds VLAN, RSSI, and SNR for signal quality assessment. RSSI values above -65 dBm indicate good signal, while below -75 dBm suggest weak signal. SNR above 25 dB is good; below 15 dB may cause connectivity issues.

CCNA Exam Tips

1.

CCNA exam may ask which command shows client association status; remember 'show wireless client summary'.

2.

Know that 'Run' state means client is actively passing traffic; other states like 'Idle' or 'Authenticating' indicate issues.

3.

Be able to identify client IP address and associated AP from the output for troubleshooting.

4.

The verbose option provides RSSI and SNR, which are key for wireless performance analysis.

Common Mistakes

Confusing 'show wireless client summary' with 'show ap summary' which shows APs, not clients.

Assuming all clients in 'Run' state have good connectivity; they may have weak signal (low RSSI).

Forgetting to use 'verbose' when needing signal strength details.

Related Commands

show ap summary

Displays a summary of all connected access points, including their names, IP addresses, status, and model information, used to quickly verify AP connectivity and operational state.

show wlan summary

Displays a summary of all WLANs configured on a Cisco wireless controller, used to quickly verify WLAN IDs, names, SSIDs, status, security settings, and interface bindings.

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