CWNA 107 Flashcards
802.11 Security Basics
Five major security components are required:
- Data privacy and integrity
- AAA (Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting)
- Segmentation
- Monitoring
- Policy
AAA is a key computer security concept that defines the protection of network resources
What are the two data forwarding methods when using a WLAN controller?
- Centralized Data Forwarding
This process is where all data is forwarded from the AP to the WLAN controller for processing - Distributed Data Forwarding
This is where the AP performs data forwarding locally. Distributed local data forwarding is also used to avoid high latency WAN links
All Band Interference
- The term “All Band Interference” is typically associated with FHSS
- This interference occurred on the 2.4GHz range
Adjacent Channel Interference
Most WiFi vendors use this term to refer to degradation of performance resulting from overlapping frequency space
Channel Bonding
- Channel bonding is a recent type of technology
- With channel bonding you can take 2 20MHz channels and create 1 40MHz channel to double the amount of data you can send across that channel
Load Balancing
This is the method to manipulate MAC sublayer to balance clients between multiple access points
Telecommunication networks are defined as what?
Telecommunication networks are defined as 3 logical planes of operations:
- Management Plane
- Control Plane
- Data Plane (User Plane)
Data Plane
- The data plane is where administrators focus on forwarding data
- The data plane is the decision maker on how to move traffic it receives
- The data plane can be handled within an access point or WLAN controller
Band Steering
- This is the process of directing wireless devices to connect to 5GHz over 2.4Ghz
- 5GHz offers more channels & faster throughput rates
802.11 Coverage Considerations
When designing an 802.11 WLAN, most vendors recommend 15%-30% overlap of -70 dBm coverage cells
Layer 2 Retransmissions
- Unicast 802.11 frames MUST be acknowledged
- If a collision occurs or any portion of a unicast frame is corrupted, the CRC will fail
- Retransmissions cause more overhead and less throughput
Last-Mile Delivery
- The term “last-mile” is often used by ISP companies to refer to the last segment of their service that connect a subscriber to their network
- Typically can be the most difficult and costly to run due to a cable needs to be run individually to the subscriber
Control Plane
- Control plane is defined by protocols that provide the intelligence and interaction between equipment in a network
- Examples of Control plane intelligence
Dynamic RF
Roaming Mechanisms
Client Load Balancing
Mesh Protocols
What considerations should you have in mind when deploying WLAN solutions?
- Always remember business needs are first
- Always look at the protocols that are being implemented
- Have awareness of what applications would be supported
Management Plane
The functions of the management plane are as follows:
- WLAN configuration of SSIDs, security, WMM, channel and power settings
- WLAN monitoring & reporting of Layer 2 statistics like ACKs, client associations, re-associations, and data rates occurring in the management plane
Wavelength
- Wavelength is the distance between similar points (peaks) on two back-to-back waves
- Typically measured from the peaks of the two back-to-back waves
- Wavelength is measured in meters
Amplitude
- Amplitude is the height, force, or power of the wave
- Amplitude is also referred to as either Transmit amplitude or Received amplitude
Reflection
- A wave that can bounce off a flat smooth surface that is larger than the wave
- Reflection will change the direction of the wave
- There are two major types of reflection:
Skywave reflection
Microwave reflection
Frequency
- Frequency describes the behavior of waves
- Can also be described as how many waves are generated over a 1 second period of time
- Frequency has an inverse relationship to wavelength
WiFi Direct
- WiFi Direct enabled WiFi devices to connect directly without the use of an AP
- WiFi Direct is ideal for mobile phones, cameras, printer, and PCs
- Uses WPA2 security
The WiFi Alliance is responsible for what certification program?
- WiFi Multimedia (WMM)
- Voice Personal
Which organization’s website would be best to use for research to a document titled “RFC 3935”?
Internet Engineer Task Force (IETF)
IBSS with WiFi Protected Setup
- IBSS w/ protected setup provides easy configuration and strong security for ad-hoc (peer-to-peer) WiFi networks
- This would be used with devices that have a limited user interface
- WiFi Vendors refer to IBSS as either peer-to-peer or an ad hoc network
Modulation
The method of adjusting the signal to create the carrier signal
What two components make a WAVE?
- Wavelength
- Amplitude
WiFi Multimedia
- WMM
- Based on the QoS mechanisms that were defined in the 802.11e amendment
- WMM enables WiFi networks to prioritize traffic generated by different applications
Phase
- Phase is known as a relation term
- Its the relationship between two waves with the same frequency
- To determine phase, a wavelength is divided into 360 pieces referred to as degrees
- Phase can be measured in distance, time, or degrees
Watt
- A watt (W) is the basic unit of power
- Example
Instead of the pressure generated by the machine, electrical systems have voltage
Instead of water flow, electrical systems have current, which is measured in amps
Absorption
- If a signal doesn’t bounce off, or move around an object, and it can’t move through the object then you’d have 100% absorption
- Example
A 2.4GHz signal will be 1/16 the original power after propagating through a brick wall
The Unit Bel
- The unit bel is defined as a ratio of 10 to 1 between the power of two sounds
- Example
AP1 transmits data at 100mW, Laptop 1 receives the signal from the AP1 at 10mW. The ratio of what was sent by AP1 and what was received by Laptop 1 is 10 to 1, which is equal to 1 bel
Decibel
- Decibel (dB) is a unit of comparison and not a unit of power
- With finding the comparison of dB, we’re trying to find a way to compare two different sets of power to each other
- Decibel is the measurement in change of power
Milliwatt
- A milliwatt (mW) is a unit of power
- A milliwatt is 1/1000 of watt
- Most indoor 802.11 equipment transmits at power levels between 1mW and 100mW
Units of Comparison (Relative)
- Decibel (dB)
- Decibel relative to an isotropic radiator (dBi)
- Decibels relative to a half-wave dipole antenna (dBd)
Tunneled Direct Link Setup
TDLS enabled devices that establish secure links directly with other devices after they joined a WiFi network
Intentional Radiator
- IR, by the FCC, is defined as something that is specifically designed to generate RF
- The FCC regulates the power level, the levels are typically measured in milliwatts (mW) or decibels relative to 1 milliwatt (dBm)
Receiver
- The receiver is the final component in the wireless medium
- The receiver takes the carrier signal that is received from the antenna and translates the modulated signals into 1s and 0s
Multipath
- Multipath is a propagation phenomenon that results in two or more paths of a signal arriving at a receiving atenna at the same time or within nano-seconds of each other
- Multipath is often caused by reflection
- There are 4 possible results of Multipath
Upfade
Downfade
Nulling
Data Corruption
Diffraction
Similar to refraction, a signal is bent, but in this case around an object, not passing through a different medium
Scattering
- With scattering, it can be considered as multiple reflections at once
- When the electromagnetic signal’s wavelength is larger than pieces of whatever medium the signal is reflecting from or passing through
Gain
- Gain is known as amplification and is best described as increased of amplitude, or signal strength
- There are 2 types of Gain
Passive Gain
Active Gain
Microwave Reflection
- Microwave signals that exist between 1GHz and 300Ghz
- Microwave signals can bounce off smaller objects like a metal door
WMM Admission Control
Allows WiFi networks to manage network traffic based upon channel conditions, network load, and type of traffic
The FCC regulates which two categories of wireless communications?
- Licensed spectrum
- Unlicensed spectrum
Licensed & Unlicensed communications are regulated in what five areas?
- Frequency
- Bandwidth
- Maximum power of the intentional radiator (IR)
- Maximum equivalent isotropically radiated power (EIRP)
- Use case (Indoor/Outdoor)
State each WiFi technology and its frequency band and maximum data rate
- WiFi Tech
802. 11a
802. 11b
802. 11g
802. 11n (HT)
802. 11ac (VHT) - Frequency Band
802. 11a - 5GHz
802. 11b - 2.4GHz
802. 11g - 2.4GHz
802. 11n (HT) - 2.4/5GHz
802. 11ac (VHT) - 5GHz - Max Data Rates
802. 11a - 54Mbps
802. 11b - 11Mbps
802. 11g - 54Mbps
802. 11n (HT) - 450Mbps
802. 11ac (VHT) - 1.3Gbps
IETF
- Internet Engineer Task Force
- Has 8 subjects matter areas:
Applications, General
Internet, Operations & Management
Real Time Applications & Infrastructure, Routing
Security, Transport
WMM Power Save
- WMM Power Save helps conserve battery power for devices using WiFi radios
- It does this by managing the time the client device spends in sleep mode
Components of a wave that can fluctuate or be modified to create a carrier signal
- Amplitude
- Frequency
- Phase
What organization ensures the interoperability of WLAN products?
WiFi Alliance
Multiple Phase Shift Keying
- MPSK is an advance version of PSK
- MPSK can encode multiple bits per symbol
- Instead of using 2 phases like PSK, MPSK uses 4 phases, which is capable of representing 2 binary values instead of 1
Phase Shift Keying
- PSK varies the phase of the signal to represent the binary data
- PSK is a state transition technique
- PSK can also be used as a current state technique
- The degree of difference, or differential, is used to determine the bit value
Keying Method
- The method of changing a signal into a carrier signal which represents multiple pieces of data
- There’s 3 methods of keying (modulation techniques)
ASK (Amplitude Shift Keying)
FSK (Frequency Shift Keying)
PSK (Phase Shift Keying)
RSSI
- Received Signal Strength Indicator
- RSSI is the sensitivity, the received sensitivity to the power level of the RF signal that we need at a minimum to successfully hear and receive the transmission
dBi
- dBi is the process of calculating the radiating power of the antenna so that you can determine how strong a signal is at a certain distance from the antenna
- The measurement is decibels isotropic (dBi)
- Comparing measurements from an IR (Isotropic Radiator)
- The dBi value is measured at the strongest point
dBd
- The antenna industry uses two dB scales to describe the gain of antennas
First scale is dBi
Second scale is dipole (dBd), decibel gain relative to a dipole antenna - The dBd value is the increase in gain of an antenna when its compared to the signal of a dipole antenna
Frequency Shift Keying
- Varies the frequency of the signal to represent the binary data
- FSK is a current state technique
- FSK shifting determines that data is being transmitted
- used in legacy deployments of 802.11 networks
The 6dB Rule
- The 6dB Rule is also known as the “Inverse Square Law”
- By doubling the distance from the RF source, the signal will decrease by about 6 dB
- The 6dB rule is useful comparing cell sizes or estimating the coverage of a transmitter
- The 6dB rule estimates free space path loss
dBm
- dBm provides a comparison of signal to 1mW of power
- dBm means decibels relative to 1 mW
- 0 dBm is equal to 1mW
- Formula
dBm = 10x log10 (PmW) - With this formula we can determine that 100mW of power is equal to +20 dBm
Amplitude Shift Keying
- ASK varies the amplitude, or height, of a signal to represent the binary data
- ASK is a current state technique
DCF
Distributed Coordination Function is a fundamental access method of 802.11 communications
CSMA/CA
- Carrier Sense Multiple Access w/ Collision Avoidance is the process used to ensure that only one 802.11 radio transmitting at a time
BSS
- Basic Service Set is the cornerstone topology of an 802.11 network
- What makes up BSS are communicating devices that consist of 1 AP radio w/ 1 or more client stations
WMAN
- Wireless Metropolitan Area Network (WMAN) provides RF coverage to a metropolitan area such as a city and the surrounding suburbs
- 802.16 is associated w/ WMAN
- 802.16 standard defines broadband wireless access and sometimes referred to as Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX)
WWAN
- Wireless Wide Area Network provides RF coverage over a vast geographical area
- WWAN uses a wireless medium instead of a wired medium