Wireless with Wade

OK, so it is important to understand that there are some misconceptions about how we interpret Multi-Link Operation. This is often conflated with WPA3, which can lead to problematic client behaviors regarding the AKMs used and the roaming requirements on a dedicated WPA3 SSID we see today in our 802.11 enterprises. One of the biggest…

While attending the Wireless LAN Professionals Conference in Phoenix a few weeks ago as a Cisco Systems employee, I was repeatedly asked which 802.11 wireless LAN design delivers higher client STA performance: a Meraki cloud-managed access point deployment or a traditional Cisco controller-based deployment with APs operating in local mode. From a data-plane perspective, both…

WirelessWithWade / Technical Blog 802.11 · WPA3 · OWE · Security · Kali Linux Why OWE and WPA3 Need to Take Over WPA2 handshake capture and offline cracking remain practical attacks. This post covers why SAE and OWE eliminate the attack chain, and why the industry needs to finish the migration. Key Takeaways WPA2-PSK is…

WirelessWithWade / Technical Blog 802.11 · MCS Index · RF Design · WLAN Engineering Why Understanding 802.11 MCS Index Rates Drive Accurate AP Density Planning MCS is the PHY layer’s truth. If you don’t design backward from it, you’re placing APs by instinct, not physics. Key Takeaways The MCS index encodes modulation order, coding rate,…

WirelessWithWade / Technical Blog 802.11 · Wi-Fi Standards · Wi-Fi 7 · RF Engineering IEEE 802.11 Standards Timeline From 2 Mbps DSSS in 1997 to multi-Gbps MLO in Wi-Fi 7, a tight, technical sketch of every major 802.11 amendment and what each one actually changed under the hood. Key Takeaways The original 802.11-1997 spec topped…