WPA2-Enterpeise security goes beyond simply using a passphrase (or password) for connecting to the Wi-Fi. WPA2-Enterpeise involves three primary components: There are several EAP types that can be used depending on the desired level of security. The two most common…
I do a lot of work in the retail industry, where thin profits dictate if, when, and how much budget can be allocated to new technology initiatives and upgrades. I’m commonly told to “be creative” in developing a Wi-Fi design…
Even after you’ve carefully configured and optimized your Wi-Fi network, you are still bound to have some sort of issue come up that has you scratching your head. And when you reach out to your hardware vendor or a consultant…
Which Rate is Which Data rates can certainly be confusing, even how we refer to them varies by engineer and vendor. Some call them bitrates. Others call them transmit rates or connectivity rates. Then, there are basic rates, mandatory rates,…
Again with the SNR In my previous post (Eliminate Channel Dysfunction – Your Wi-Fi Will Thank You), I spoke briefly about the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). SNR is what’s left over of the received signal (RSSI), after you subtract the ambient…
More About Performance In the previous blog post about SSIDs, I talked about how management traffic can consume the airtime and slow your Wi-Fi network performance. This post addresses similar performance impact created by poor channel use. I’ll attempt to…
What is (and isn’t) an SSID? Before getting into what an SSID is, we must understand what it isn’t, which is the wireless equivalent of a VLAN. I repeat, an SSID is not the wireless equivalent of a VLAN –…
*** please read part 1 before continuing on with part 2 below *** “Fill the Front Seats First” Physics tells us that the closer a device is to the AP, the stronger the received signal (RSSI) should be. And, in the…
What is Airtime? Airtime is a measure of the time it takes for a Wi-Fi device (i.e. AP, wireless router, laptop, smartphone, etc.) to transmit data. And the total amount of airtime available is fixed, meaning it can and will…