Independent Basis Service Set (IBSS)

• Two devices communicate directly using 802.11 with no access point
• This is an ad hoc connection, meaning it is created on the fly for a specific purpose, without an access point
• It is commonly used for IoT

Access Point Parameters

• SSID (Service Set Identifier) - The name of the wireless network
  • The same SSID may be used for multiple APs
• BSSID (Basic Service Set Identifier) - The hardware address of an access point

ESSID (Extended SSID) - The network name shared across access points

• Allows for a user to walk between different APs and stay connected

Captive Portal - The log-in screen that appears when first connecting to a wireless network

Wireless Security Modes WPA/2/3-Personal / WPA/2/3-PSK

• WPA2 or WPA3 with a pre-shared key
• Everyone uses the same 256-bit key

WPA/2/3-Enterprise / WPA/2/3-802.1X

• Authenticates users individually with an authentication server (i.e. RADIUS, LDAP, etc)

OWE (Opportunistic Wireless Encryption)

• Allows a user to connect to the network without authentication, but prohibits it from communicating with other devices on the network

Omnidirectional Antenna

• One of the most common on APs
• Signal is evenly distributed on all sides

Directional Antenna

• Focuses signal in one direction
  • Increases range
• Examples: Yagi, Parabolic (single point)

Managing Wireless Configurations Autonomous access points

• General purpose
• Switch is not wireless-aware

Lightweight access points

• Intelligence is in the switch
• Less Expensive
• Control and Provision

Control and Provision

• CAPWAP (Control and Provisioning of Wireless Access Points) - an RFC standard that allows for the management of multiple APs simultaneously

Wireless LAN Controller

• Centralized management of access points - A single "pane of glass"
• Allows for AP deployment, performance and security monitoring, batch configuration, reporting, etc.
• Usually a propriety system that is paired with the APs