Wireless Access Points (WAP) 2.1

Question 1

Not what you think

Answer 1

This is not necessarily a wireless router. It can be a bridge that extends the wired network onto the wireless network. This is a layer 2 device.

Question 2

SSID Management (Service Set IDentifier)

Answer 2

SSID is the broadcasted name from the WAP (wireless access point). You can chose to hide your SSID but this is not a security feature. The SSID is easily determined through a wireless network analysis.

Question 3

MAC Filtering (Media Access Control)

Answer 3

The “hardware” address of a device. You can filter out traffic using MAC addresses only allowing known devices on it. Good for keeping neighbors out. MAC filtering however is easy to circumvent with packet capturing devices and then spoofing the MAC address.

Question 4

Power Level

Answer 4

Can be controlled through the configuration. Can be set low to lower the broadcast range but could also make it more difficult for local users to see.

Question 5

Band Selection and Bandwidths

Answer 5

The speed of wireless networks are measured in “throughput”. The 2.4 GHz band provides coverage at a longer range but transmits data at slower speeds. The 5 GHz band provides less coverage but transmits data at faster speeds. The 5 GHz band tends to have less overcrowding than the 2.4GHz band because fewer devices use it and because it has 23 channels for devices to use, while the 2.4GHz band has only 11 channels.

Question 6

Antennas

Answer 6

Omnidirectional - Poor signal focus, good for general use.
Directional - Good focus, increased distance in the desired direction.
Antenna performance is measured in dB. Double power every 3dB of gain.
Yagi Antenna -

Question 7

Wireless LAN Controllers

Answer 7

Centralized management of your WAP’s. Used to deploy new access points, monitor performance and security, and configure and deploy changes to all locations. Can gather reports from each point.

Question 8

Managing Wireless Configurations

Answer 8

LWAPP (Lightweight Access Point Protocol) (Cisco Proprietary Standard)
CAPWAP - Open standard, RFC standard, based on LWAPP. Can manage multiple access points simultaneously.

Question 9

Thick/Fat Access Points

Answer 9

Access point handles most wireless tasks. The switch is not wireless-aware.

Question 10

Thin Access Points

Answer 10

Less intelligence in the access point, but that intelligence is generally put into the switches. Less expensive, just meets the standards of 802.11 wireless.