11 - Wireless LANs Flashcards
What is the IEEE number for Ethernet?
802.3
What is the IEEE number for Wireless?
802.11
Why are 802.11 WLANs always half duplex?
Because transmissions use the same frequency only one station can transmit at any time, otherwise collisions occur
What is a BSS?
Basic Service Set. A wireless service area involving a group of devices formed around a fixed device
What mode does an AP operate in?
Infrastructure mode
What is a BSA?
Basic Service Area. The bounding area of the BSS where the APs signal is usable
What does an AP use to advertise the existence of the BSS?
BSSID
What is a BSSID?
Unique BSS Identifier, based on the APs own radio MAC address
What is an SSID?
Service Set Identifier. A human readable name tag that identifies a wireless service
What is an association and how is it formed?
A membership with the BSS. A potential client must send an association request to the AP which it can grant or deny
What does the 802.11 standard refer to as the upstream wired Ethernet as?
The DS (Distribution System)
What is an AP effectively doing when it serves multiple SSIDs?
Trunking VLANs over the air to wireless clients
What is an ESS and what is it used for?
Extended Service Set.
For interconnecting APs placed at different geographic locations with a switched infrastructure
What is roaming with respect to APs?
Moving from one AP to another automatically
What must a client do as it roams from one AP to another?
Scan available channels to find the new AP (and BSS) to roam toward
True/False: In ESS each AP offer its own BSS on its own channel, even with the same SSID
True
What is an IBSS?
Independent BSS.
Allows two or more wireless clients to communicate directly with each other with no other means of network connectivity
What is another name for an IBSS?
Ad hoc WLAN
How could you extend the range of a wireless network?
Add an AP in repeater mode
What is a WGB and what is it used for?
Workgroup Bridge.
It can be used to connect a device’s wired network adapter to a wireless network
What are the two common types of WGBs?
- uWGB (universal). A single wired device can be bridged to a wireless network
- WGB. Cisco proprietary implementation allows multiple wired devices to be bridged
What is an Outdoor Bridge?
APs can be configured to act as bridges for LANs. Outdoor bridged links involve special purpose antennas to achieve this over long distances
What is a Mesh network?
Interconnected wireless APs in Mesh mode instead of being interconnected with switched infrastructure (Ethernet)
What is the frequency of a wave measured as?
The number of times a signal makes one complete up and down cycle in 1 second
What is another way of describing Hz / Hertz?
Cycles per second
What frequency range category are 5Ghz and 2.4Ghz wireless in?
Microwave
What is an interesting property of 5ghz band channels?
They are non overlapping, so APs can use any channel number without affecting APs using any other channel numbers
What channels must be used in 2.4Ghz to avoid overlap between adjacent channels?
1, 6, 11
What is the primary function of an access point?
Bridge wireless data from air to a wired network
What is an Autonomous AP?
Self contained AP, fully equipped with both wired and wireless hardware
How are Autonomous APs natural extensions of a switched network?
They connect wireless SSIDs to wired VLANs at the access layer
True/False: Two clients connected to an AP cannot talk to each other without going through the full network connected to the AP?
False. They can communicate directly through the AP
True/False: SSIDs and their VLANs must be extended at Layer 2
True
What is Cisco Prime Infrastructure?
An AP management platform
What is Cisco Meraki?
Cloud based AP management platform
What is a WLC and why are they good?
Wireless LAN Controller. They separate out the management functions required of APs (RF management, auth, security) into a separate centralized controller to make autonomous APs easier to manage
What is a lightweight AP?
An AP that only performs the real-time functions of 802.11 such as sending and receiving frames, MAC etc
True/False: Generally a lightweight AP cannot usually operate on its own
True
What is Split MAC architecture?
When management and normal operations of an AP are split out into WLC and lightweight APs
What is CAPWAP?
Control and Provisioning of Wireless Access Points.
A tunneling protocol used to encapsulate data between the LAP and WLC within new IP packets
What are the two separate tunnels that are part of the CAPWAP relationship?
CAPWAP Control messages
CAPWAP Data
What are CAPWAP control messages used for?
Carrying authenticated/encrypted exchanges used to configure an AP and manage its operations.