Lesson 15: Deploying and Troubleshooting Wireless Networks Flashcards
What standards are wireless LANs (WLANs) based on?
802.11- subsets a, b, g, WIFI 5 (AC), and WIFI 6 (ax)
Like Ethernet, what does 802.11 for wifi use for collision management?
Carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CA)
Define a frequency band
Portion of the radio frequency spectrum in which wireless devices operate such as 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz
What are facts on 2.4 GHz frequency?
- Better at propagating through solid surfaces, making it ideal longer signal range
- Doesn’t support high number of individual channels
- Increased risk of interference
- Decreased bandwidth compared to 5 GHz
What are facts on 5 GHz
- Doesn’t propagate through solid surfaces well, less ideal for long range
- More individual channels and less interferance
- Increased bandwidth
Describe the 5 GHz frequency band
- Subdivided into 24 non-overlapping channels
- Each channel is 20 MHz wide
- Features Dynamic Frequency Selection (DFS)
Describe the 2.4 GHz frequency band
- Subdivided into 14 channels
- Each channel is 5 MHz wide
- In the US, channels 1, 6, and 11 are used to combat overlapping channels
Define Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO)
Increases WIFI bandwidth by multiplexing the reception and transmission signals from 2 to 4 separate antennas
What 802.11 standard uses Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO)
802.11 or WIFI 4
Define channel bonding
Capability to aggregate one or more adjacent channels to increase bandwidth
What Wi-Fi standard is WI-FI 5 known as?
802.11ac
What are the achievable bandwidths with WIFI 5?
At least 1GB
What Wi-Fi standard is WI-FI 6 known as?
802.11ax
What is beamforming?
A WI-FI 5 and WI-FI 6 capability (aka Multiuser MIMO (MU-MIMO)) that implement spatial multiplexing to allow multiple stations to connect simultaneously
What mechanism does RTS/CTS support?
Carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CA)
How does RTS/CTS function?
Rather than try to detect collisions, a wireless station indicates its intent to transmit by broadcasting a Request To Send (RTS) and waits to receive a Clear To Send (CTS) before proceeding.
Define a station in a wireless network
A wireless network device
How do stations connect to the WLAN ?
Connect through a base station or access point (AP), forming a logical star topology
Define an infrastructure Basic Service Set (BSS)
The access point in a WLAN, that mediates communications between client devices and can also provide a bridge to a cabled network segment.
What is the MAC address of an AP referred to as?
Basic Service Set Identifier (BSSID)
What is defined as a wireless network name?
Service Set Identifier (SSID)
Define the function of a Beacon Frame
A management frame broadcasted by an AP to advertise the SSID of the WLAN and other service capabilities
What does a Beacon Frame contain?
SSID, supported data rates, encryption/authentication requirements
What mechanism determines wireless data rate?
Based on the distance between the AP and wireless client, Dynamic Rate Switching/Selection (DRS) determines if the connection between devices is strong, and if so, will select the highest available data rate, and if the connection is will it will reduce the data rate
What is a site survey?
Planning tool to ensure WLAN delivers acceptable data rates to supported devices in all physical locations expected
Define a fat AP
Access point whose firmware contains enough processing logic to be able to function autonomously and handle clients without the use of a wireless controller
Define a thin AP
Access point that requires a wireless controller in order to function