Enterprise Wi-Fi, taken apart frame by frame
I’m Wade Gerencser, a Wireless Network Consulting Engineer with 13+ years at Cisco. I design, migrate, and troubleshoot enterprise WLANs for a living, and I document the hard parts here: real Catalyst deployments, 802.11 security, and packet-level analysis. No fluff, just captures, configs, and what the frames actually show.
I’ve spent 13+ years at Cisco designing, migrating, validating, and troubleshooting enterprise WLANs across federal, healthcare, research, higher-ed, warehouse, and campus networks. Before wireless, I led vulnerability response on Cisco’s PSIRT and engineered secure routing for the FBI, and before all of that, I was a U.S. Marine Corps avionics tech.
Today I live in Catalyst 9800 controllers, Ekahau surveys, and Wireshark captures. Wireless With Wade is where I write the posts I wish had existed when I was solving the hard problems.
Wi-Fi security, RF design, and Cisco wireless, captured from real lab gear and broken down to the frame.
I Ran a Deauthentication Attack Against My Own Wireless Network; Here’s What the Frames Show
A live deauth against my own SSID with Kali and an Alfa adapter, then a frame-by-frame decode of exactly what 802.11w Protected Management Frames do to stop it. SA Query exchanges, the IGTK, and Wireshark proof the attack never lands when PMF is required.
Read the deep diveWi-Fi 7 Is Fast. But Is Your Wireless Architecture Actually Secure?
The headlines are all 320 MHz channels, MLO, and 4K-QAM, but faster PHY doesn’t mean a safer network. Where Wi-Fi 7 architecture still leaves you exposed, and what to lock down.
ReadEnterprise Wi-Fi 7 Security Profiles: GCMP-256 Impact on Client Association and Roam
WPA3-Enterprise 192-bit mode swaps AES-CCMP for GCMP-256, and that cipher change ripples into association time and roaming. What the handshake looks like on a Catalyst 9800.
ReadHow 802.11 MCS, SNR, and Airtime Drive Accurate AP Density Planning
AP-per-square-foot rules of thumb miss the point. Real density planning starts with MCS, SNR, and airtime, how modulation and signal quality cap how many clients an AP can serve.
ReadSqueezing the Most Out of Our 5 GHz SSIDs: Optimizing During the 6 GHz Migration Era
6 GHz is coming, but 5 GHz is still carrying the load. Tuning DFS, QoS, and data rates to pull maximum capacity out of your 5 GHz SSIDs through the migration.
ReadThe Open Wi-Fi Network Is Finally Encrypted: Understanding OWE on Any Band
Open guest Wi-Fi has always meant unencrypted. OWE (Opportunistic Wireless Encryption) changes that, encryption with no password, on any band. How it works and why public SSIDs need it.
ReadWhat a Dropping 5 GHz Client Looks Like Inside a .pcap: Drilling Into the RadioTap Header
A 5 GHz client that keeps dropping, seen from the inside. Reading the RadioTap header to find the signal, rate, and retry story behind a flaky connection.
ReadCisco 9800 FlexConnect Local Switching – Policy Profile Walkthrough
A step-by-step Catalyst 9800 FlexConnect local switching build, WLAN profile, policy profile, and the VLAN mapping that keeps branch traffic local instead of tunneling back to the WLC.
ReadCisco 9800 Controller-Based vs. Meraki Cloud-Based: Which 802.11 Infrastructure Performs?
Controller-based vs. cloud-managed: how a Cisco Catalyst 9800 architecture stacks up against Meraki for raw 802.11 performance, and which one actually moves frames faster.
ReadSeparate AKMs Between SSIDs: Why WPA3 “Transition Mode” Shouldn’t Be a Permanent Design
Transition mode is a migration bridge, not a destination. Why running mixed WPA2/WPA3 AKMs on one SSID long-term is a security and roaming liability, and how to split them.
ReadReference material, video walkthroughs, and the engineer behind the lab.
Cisco Deployment Models
Local mode, FlexConnect, SD-Access, and Meraki, the major Cisco wireless architectures compared side by side.
ExploreVideo Library
Short, no-fluff Cisco wireless videos, AP join with CAPWAP, IPv6 RA Guard, rogue AP detection, all on real lab gear.
WatchAbout Wade
Wireless network engineer, CWNE candidate, and the home lab of Cisco Catalyst gear behind every one of these deep dives.
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