Question 7 - Discovering WLAN

Question 1

Describe the steps involved in discovering a WLAN and connecting to it, using the 802.11 protocol.

Answer 1

The key processes used to discover a WLAN are as follows.
• Beacons are broadcast frames used by the WLAN access points to advertise their whereabouts.
• Probe frames are used by clients to find access points.
• Authentication is included in the standard, although it is normal to
operate in a ‘NULL’ mode.
• Association establishes a data link between the client and the access point and includes the exchange of MAC addresses.