Clear To Send: Wireless Network Engineering

Recently, I joined the wonder folks at iBwave to deliver a webinar on the topic of designing Wi-Fi networks in Higher Education. Thanks so much iBwave for providing me the opportunity to discuss Wi-Fi design in front of their audience. The agenda items I cover in this webinar: Challenges we see today Approach to Wi-Fi […] The post CTS 171: Designing Wi-Fi Networks In Higher Education appeared firs...

Historically, AP-on-a-Stick (APoS) surveys were the only way to find out where to place the access points. We didn’t have any of the fancy software we have today to predict how the Wi-Fi signal will behave in our space. However, we still perform APoS today. In this episode, we will explain why we still use […] The post CTS 170: APoS Site Surveys appeared first on Clear To Send .

Rowell and François were invited to Cisco Headquarters, along with many others, as part of the #JustTheTech event which was planned in coordination with the Wi-Fi 6 announcement that happened on April 29, 2019. It was a jam packed day of discussions with key people from Cisco. The folks in attendance for #JustTheTech were: Rowell […] The post CTS 169: Just The Tech appeared first on Clear To Send...

With Wi-Fi 6 and 5G now taking the stage, one has to think – what about the coexistence of the two technologies? Rowell and François met together at Cisco HQ to speak with Jérôme Henry about OpenRoaming and Cisco's vision of seamless roaming. Rowell and François participated at an event called #JustTheTech at Cisco HQ […] The post CTS 168: OpenRoaming appeared first on Clear To Send .

1024-QAM Evolution of the modulation techniques we are using today with 802.11ax (256-QAM). With 1024-QAM, we are now able to encode 10 bits per cycle on each subcarrier. The way we are able to do that is by increasing the number of different levels of amplitudes used to encode the data. If you want to […] The post CTS 167: 802.11ax 1024-QAM & HE-MCSs appeared first on Clear To Send .

There are multiple functions in which a client or AP can gain access to the channel. What we’re going to discuss is in addition to the HCF and DCF. TXOP duration-based RTS/CTS Intra-BSS or inter-BSS frame determination SRG PPDU determination Two NAVs MU-RTS/CTS EDCA using MU EDCA parameters GOOD NEWS, CTS IS NOT GOING ANYWHERE! […] The post CTS 166: 802.11ax HE Channel Access appeared first on Cle...

Ekahau Connect Jussi joins us on the show to talk about the latest announcement of Ekahau Connect and new products. Jussi has been on the show multiple times before: CTS 009: Jussi Kiviniemi of Ekahau CTS 069: Jussie of Ekahau CTS 109: Ekahau Sidekick, Spectrum Analysis, and Finnish Rap CTS 142: Jussi Kiviniemi Discusses the […] The post CTS 165: Ekahau Unveils New Products (Sponsored) appeared fi...

Objectives of TWT Objectives of 802.11ax All the current power saving mechanisms defined today remain usable with ax. In addition, the 802.11ax draft defines a new mechanism called Target Wake Time or TWT. Target wake time (TWT) is used to help minimize contention between clients and reduce the amount of time a client in power […] The post CTS 164: 802.11ax Target Wake Time appeared first on Clear...

Cisco Live We have an episode full of Cisco goodness. Recently, Cisco released the data sheets to two 802.11ax access points. We have the details on these two APs, their capabilities, and some of our opinions. And speaking of Cisco, right around the corner is Cisco Live. We have our tips and the sessions we're […] The post CTS 163: Cisco 802.11ax APs & Cisco Live appeared first on Clear To Send .

With OFDMA in 802.11ax, the size of the subcarriers has been divided by 4. Going from 312.5KHz wide with OFDM to 78.125KHz wide. The symbol duration has been increased by 4 times in the meantime. Going from 3.2 microseconds with OFDM to 12.8 microseconds. View the full image here Advantages of having more subcarriers Allow […] The post CTS 162: 802.11ax OFDMA Subcarriers appeared first on Clear To...

Why is there a need for BSS Coloring? To help a receiving device identify the BSS from which a receiving PPDU originates from so that there's a reduction in BSS collision reporting a busy medium. 802.11ax allows the medium to be reused more often between OBSSs by identifying those overlapping BSSs. The primary purpose is […] The post CTS 161: 802.11ax BSS Coloring appeared first on Clear To Send .

802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6) brings OFDMA to wireless. It’s an enhancement over OFDM which was a single-user transmission.  When a signal is sent or received it is done with one device. In OFDMA, it allows multiple access which means simultaneous transmissions to/from multiple devices. There is a downlink multi-user operation and an uplink multi-user operation. In […] The post CTS 160: 802.11ax OFDMA Resour...

I decided to finally get myself a little familiar with 802.11ax. I'm not sure why but I've pretty much ignored it until now. In this episode, I'm going to provide my overview of 802.11ax, or Wi-Fi 6. This episode will be the start of a mini series diving into detail of the components of 802.11ax. […] The post CTS 159: Wi-fi 6 (802.11ax) Overview appeared first on Clear To Send .

802.11w applies to robust management frames protected by Protected Management Frame (PMF). Wireless environment includes: Rogues Susceptible to eavesdropping Data traffic is usually encrypted Management frame is usually unencrypted Goal of 802.11w is to protect management frames from forgery or spoofing. I see it all the time in San Francisco. Deauthentication attacks coming left, right, […] The p...

Welcome to a new episode where we speak with Troy Martin. We're following his presentation at WLPC Prague, Effects of Rate Limiting on Wi-Fi Flow. We ask Troy to go into more detail about rate limiting and the effect it has on Wi-Fi. Effect Of Rate Limiting on Wi-Fi Users often goes around obstacles. What […] The post CTS 157: The effect of rate limiting on Wi-Fi appeared first on Clear To Send .

802.11 has different topologies to be aware of.  They describe how 802.11 radios may be used to communicate with each other. Many are familiar with the most common ones such as BSS and ESS. But additionally, a client can operate in an IBSS, PBSS, and MBSS. IBSS: Independent Service Set BSS: Basic Service Set ESS: […] The post CTS 156: 802.11 Service Sets appeared first on Clear To Send .

Security is much more than protecting the wireless frames over the air. We must also protect the infrastructure side, have proper segmentation, and ensure the right role based access. In this episode we speak with Chris Hinsz about security beyond Wi-Fi. Securing wireless is much more than encryption. We have WPA2, upcoming WPA3 and OWE. […] The post CTS 155: Security beyond the fi appeared first...

This week, Scott Lester, CWNE #253, joins us on the show to talk about Stadium Wi-Fi. The post CTS 154: Stadium Wi-Fi with Scott Lester appeared first on Clear To Send .

We made it to the end of 2018! In our final episode of the year, we wanted to recap the show and its top episodes. There are some good episodes to listen to or if you already have, listen to them again! Additionally, we wanted to share some brief stats about the show and how […] The post CTS 153: Recap of 2018 & Starting 2019 appeared first on Clear To Send .

Does your Wi-Fi network make the Naughty or Nice list this December? Go through our top 5 bad and good checklist. The post CTS 152: Naughty or Nice Wi-Fi appeared first on Clear To Send .

In a previous episode, François discussed what it meant to be an engineer. We thought it would only be fitting to do an episode on what it meant to be a CWNE. They are two very different things. An engineer can be a CWNE but we feel that to be a CWNE can mean something […] The post CTS 151: What It Means To Be a CWNE appeared first on Clear To Send .

Stephen Cooper flies from Australia to San Jose to record in-person for Clear To Send. But really he was in town for work and made time to meet with me, Rowell, to talk about different topics in wireless. Interview with Stephen Cooper We met at the Westin hotel which happened to be the quietest place […] The post CTS 150: Wi-Fi Design Day, NAC, Troubleshooting, C9800, and More appeared first on Cl...

To deploy a high performing WLAN, in which your workforce heavily relies on, requires more than guess work. 6 Characteristics of High Performing WLANs Wi-Fi networks were originally built with coverage in mind and access points were installed in rooms where it was known to need Wi-Fi. But as businesses began migrating from Ethernet to […] The post CTS 149: 6 Characteristics Of High Performing WLAN...

François goes into what it means to be an engineer. Meet Daniel Cavazos Daniel resides in San Antonio, Texas and is a Wireless Infrastructure Sales Engineer for Ventev. Sorry, Daniel! We thought we had a photo of you but we must have missed it! What Does It Mean To Be An Engineer Definitions of an […] The post CTS 148: What Does It Mean To Be An Engineer appeared first on Clear To Send .

This week in wireless we have a round of news to cover. Below are what we discuss on the show with our opinions. I apologize for the briefness of the show notes. I, Rowell, am traveling this week. Cisco Catalyst 9800 Wireless Controllers: https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/wireless/catalyst-9800-series-wireless-controllers/index.html Commscope to Acquire ARRIS: https://www.commscope.com/NewsCe...