Which WLC Profiling Mechanism Sends Device Data to Cisco ISE?
Short answer
D Configure DHCP as the WLC device sensor profiling mechanism so client attributes are sent to Cisco ISE for authorization policies.
Question
Key Takeaways
Tests the distinction between WLC-side Device Sensor protocols and ISE-side probes; the trap is choosing SNMP because ISE can query the WLC via SNMP, but the question asks what is configured on the WLC itself.
The Cisco WLC Device Sensor must be configured with DHCP to forward client attributes to Cisco ISE for profiling and authorization. This page confirms DHCP (D) as the required mechanism, explains why SNMP is an ISE-side probe, and reviews community voting.
Common mistake: Learners pick SNMP (A) because ISE's SNMP probe can collect data from the WLC, but SNMP is configured on ISE, not on the WLC, and the WLC Device Sensor forwards DHCP (and RADIUS) attributes for profiling.
Expert Analysis
Why the Answer Is Correct
The WLC Device Sensor feature is designed to snoop DHCP and RADIUS packets from wireless clients and forward the extracted attributes to Cisco ISE. ISE then uses those DHCP attributes—hostname, device class, OS, vendor—to build endpoint profiles that feed authorization policies. In the 300-715 exam doctrine, when the task asks what is configured on the WLC itself to supply profiling data, DHCP is the standard answer. The community comment from arashdehghan reinforces this, noting the WLC Device Sensor "only supports DHCP and RADIUS traffic."
Why the Other Options Are Wrong
Option A (SNMP) is an ISE-side probe: ISE queries the WLC via SNMP to collect extra attributes, but the SNMP probe is configured on ISE, not as a WLC device sensor mechanism. Although Pages argued "ISE will use SNMP to query the wireless controller for specific attributes," that describes a probe on ISE rather than a setting on the WLC, so it does not satisfy the question. Option B (CDP) is a neighbor-discovery protocol; while some WLC releases can include CDP/LLDP in device sensor output, it is not the primary profiling mechanism that ISE expects for DHCP-derived endpoint attributes and is not the correct exam answer here. Option C (DNS) is another ISE probe (reverse DNS lookup) used for name resolution, not something you configure on the WLC to send profiling data.
Community Comment Notes
Commenters overwhelmingly selected D (75 votes vs. 25 for A), with 4004aa3 explicitly stating that "if question about configuring probe on Cisco ISE than both A and D is valid answer" but because the question asks what is configured on the WLC, D is correct. arashdehghan explained that Device Sensor on the WLC handles this and only supports DHCP and RADIUS traffic. ZoneHacker simply affirmed "Answer D is the right answer." Pages' SNMP answer reflects a common confusion between ISE probes and WLC-side sensor configuration, which the other commenters correct.
Official Reference
This link opens the official vendor documentation in a new tab.
Exam Strategy
Separate the roles: ISE-side probes (SNMP, DNS, NetFlow, NMAP) versus WLC-side device sensor protocols (DHCP, RADIUS). Read the question stem for the phrase 'configured in the Cisco WLC' — that points to DHCP, not SNMP. When in doubt, remember ISE's profiling guide pairs WLC device sensor with DHCP attributes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is SNMP not the correct WLC profiling mechanism here?
SNMP is an ISE-side probe that queries the WLC for attributes; it is not a Device Sensor protocol configured on the WLC to push client data to ISE.
What does the WLC Device Sensor send to Cisco ISE?
It forwards DHCP and RADIUS attributes such as hostname, device type, and OS so ISE can build endpoint profiles for authorization policies.
Community Votes
75% of anonymous learners picked answer D. Votes are pick records left by other test-takers — they are not the verified answer.
Discussion 4 contributions
Compiled from public community threads and reader submissions, lightly edited for clarity. Handles and vote tallies are shown as recorded, and comments reflect the views of individual contributors, not of islever. The comments shown first are the most substantive of the thread — ranked by depth, community endorsement and relevance; expand the list below to read the rest.
From public community threads 4
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4004aa3 👍 1 Answered Dif question about configuring probe on Cisco ISE than both A and D is valid answer. However question is asking what need to be configured on WLC without mentioning probe, therefore D is correct: https://community.cisco.com/t5/security-knowledge-base/ise-profiling-design-guide/ta-p/3739456#toc-hId-888202210
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arashdehghan 👍 1 Answered DD is the correct answer as the WLC is sending data to ISE. In this case, the Device Sensor functionality in WLC is responsible for this operation as it only supports DHCP and RADIUS traffic.
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Pages 👍 1 Answered AISE will use SNMP to query the wireless controller for specific attributes to help identify and profile the endpoints that connect to the network.
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ZoneHacker 👍 1 Answered DAnswer D is the right answer
Reader comments & corrections
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