Clear To Send: Wireless Network Engineering

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 to improve the efficiency of Wi-Fi in a dense area. BSS Coloring will tackle the issue of frequency re-use. An AP receives a neighbor report for the purpose of including the HE Operation element of neighboring High Efficienty (HE) APs to determine BSS Color information of those neighbors. Which frames can you find the BSS Color field? HE Operation element will contain BSS color info which can be found in the Beacon frame, Association/reassociation, Probe response. It’s in the PHY Preamble. BSS Color within the PHY The HE Operation Element can be found in the following frames: Beacon, Probe Response and (Re)Association frames. HE Operation Element – Notice the BSS Color Information Field BSS color is an identifier of a BSS to assist a receiving device in an identifying BSS from which a PPDU originates for the purposes of channel access, reduce power consumption, or update NAV. AP selects a value from 1 to 63 which is included in the BSS Color subfield of the HE Operation element or New BSS Color subfield of the BSS Color Change Announcement element. The device will set the BSS Color subfield of HE Operation element to value indicated in the BSS Color subfield received from the AP. AP sets the parameter for BSS_COLOR of a HE PPDU. BSS Color field is for the active BSS color. If a device roams to another BSS the value of the active BSS color will be entered in the New BSS Color field as received in the BSS Color Change Announcement element. Image two BSSs on the same channel, 149. One BSS would use color yellow, and the other would use color blue. The BSS coloring changes channel access methods. Devices could transmit and receive at the same time. Won’t this cause a collision? Yes, if the BSS colors are the same. Can a collision occur between colors? An AP can determine if there is a BSS Color collision by receiving frames from an OBSS device or AP containing the same BSS color it has selected. If this occurs, the AP sets the BSS Color Disabled subfield. The subfield is set for a duration of a BSS Color Collision Period. It is possible to have a BSS color collision with an OBSS. And when detected, AP will set value of BSS Color Disabled subfield within HE Operation element to 1 which informs others that BSS Color is disabled. AP selects a BSS color and may change it under certain conditions such as detecting an OBSS using the same color. There is no method defined in how selecting a new BSS color should be performed. An AP may take colors used in its surroundings into account. When AP is changing BSS color a BSS Color Change Announcement is sent in a Beacon, Probe Response and ReAssociation Response frame or using a HE BSS Color Change Announcement frame. What could cause a color change? Another BSS using the same color. Ultimately, you’ll have SINR. HE BSS Color Change Announcement The HE BSS Color Change Announcement is an Action frame. Contains a BSS Color Change Announcement. The AP can change the BSS Color. And when it does so, it sends an announcement to associated devices. BSS Color Change Announcement element – notice the last two bits.

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 OFDMA, a channel is subdivided into smaller channels, or resource units. This is so there can be simultaneous transmissions to different devices. Most transmissions are small frames so it’s an efficient way to send data by using a smaller channel and by making it multiple access we can have more communications at the same time. These subcarriers (tones), the smaller channels of the main channel, are called resource units. An AP can allocate varying resource units for multi-user communications. For example, a 20 MHz channel has 242 resource units which can be further split into 2x 106 resource units, 4x 52 resource units, or 9x 26 resource units. Resource Units in a 20 MHz channel width OFDMA allows subcarriers to be allocated to different devices for simultaneous transmission to or from those devices. OFDMA transmissions in DL and UL allow different stations to occupy different RUs in a PPDU. Within that RU it could be SU-MIMO or MU-MIMO. Resource Units (RUs) are defined for DL and UL transmissions and labeled as different tones. RUs are defined as: * 26-tone RU* 52-tone RU* 106-tone RU* 242-tone RU* 484-tone RU* 996-tone RU* 2×996-tone RU Number of 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6) OFDMA Resource Units per channel bandwidth: RU TypeCBW20CBW40CBW80CBW80+80 & CBW16026-tone RU918377452-tone RU481634106-tone RU24816242-tone RU1248484-tone RUn/a124996-tone RUn/an/a122×996-tone RUn/an/an/a1 Type of subcarriers: * Data subcarriers* Pilot subcarriers* DC subcarriers* Guard subcarriers* Null subcarriers A 26-tone RU consists of 24 data subcarriers and 2 pilot subcarriers.A 52-tone RU consists of 48 data subcarriers and 4 pilot subcarriers.A 106-tone RU consists of 102 data subcarriers and 4 pilot subcarriers.A 242-tone RU consists of 234 data subcarriers and 8 pilot subcarriers.A 484-tone RU consists of 468 data subcarriers and 16 pilot subcarriers.A 996-tone RU consists of 980 data subcarriers and 16 pilot subcarriers. DC subcarriers are used for the subcarriers located in the center of the channel. Depending on the channel width and the number of tone used, the number of DC subcarriers can vary (Ex: 3 or 7 for a 20MHz wide channel). Most of the time it will be 7 for the 20MHz and 80MHz wide channels and 5 for the 40MHz wide channels. A 20MHz wide channels has 11 guard interval: the first 6 and the last 5 of the channel. Downlink OFDMA An AP can transmit frames to different devices by splitting a channel into subchannels or subcarriers or resource units. Devices tune their radios to the specific resource unit to receive their transmissions. The AP still has to contend for airtime but will allocate resource units for different devices. Uplink OFDMA Similar to DL OFDMA, except devices transmit at the same time on different subchannels within the same channel (RUs). The use of trigger frames by the AP must be used in order to coordinate transmissions. AP solicits simultaneous response frames from multiple HE devices. If a client does not support TRS Control,

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. 802.11ax = High Efficiency (HE) and the marketing term for it is Wi-Fi 6. Currently in draft, there are no devices yet to support 802.11ax. Laptop and Samsung phone coming this year to support 802.11ax draft. Wi-Fi Alliance has their certifications coming later in 2019 for 802.11ax, Aerohive is shipping 802.11ax APs, and I predict we will see ratification in early 2020. Main PHY features in 802.11ax (HE) not in 802.11ac (VHT) and 802.11n (HT) * Mandatory support for DL & UL OFDMA* Mandatory support for DL MU-MIMO* Optional support for HE sounding protocol for beam forming* Optional support for UL MU-MIMO Main MAC features in HE not in previous protocols * AP has optional support for two NAV operation* Client has mandatory support for two NAV operation* Mandatory AP support for TWT* Optional client support for TWT* Optional support for UL OFDMA-based random access* Optional support for spatial reuse operation What are the general topics I’ll talk about in this episode? Here they are in no special order: Channel access for 802.11ax. An HE BSS can use RTS and CTS for transmit opportunity. Clients use RTS and CTS to initiate transmit opportunity. MU-RTS and CTSThe Multi-user RTS and CTS lets an AP initiate transmit opportunity. The MU-RTS Trigger frame is used to solicit simultaneous CTS responses from multiple 11ax clients. MU-RTS and CTS from 802.11ax Draft 3.0 MU OperationHE allows simultaneous downlink transmissions from AP to client in both DL-OFDMA and DL MU-MIMO. OFDMA is the biggest enhancement in 802.11ax which creates a multi-user version of OFDM. It may seem like the same definition as MU-MIMO but it isn’t. OFDMA is multiple access for OFDM. In OFDMA, the channel is subdivided into small channels called resource units or RUs. On each channel can be a different transmission hence multiple access. 11ax allows UL MU operation by letting the AP solicit simultaneous responses from one or more 11ax clients. For an AP to use UL MU operation it must follow EDCA HCF procedure. OFDMA is not new. It is implemented in LTE technologies. We’re simply using it here for Wi-Fi

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, and center from neighboring wireless networks. 802.11w secures deauthentication and disassociation frames from spoofing to prevent DoS attacks. Features defined for an RSNA include enhanced cryptographic encapsulation mechanisms for robust Management frames. Robust management frames are: * Dissassocation* Deauthentication* Action frames Stations not supporting 802.11w receiving protected robust management frames are discarded. Key to 802.11w is data origin authenticity. It is being able to guarantee the origin of authenticity of a received protected management frame. This helps prevent spoofing or masquerading from another station of AP. Within the frame control field is a Protected Frame field. When management frame protection is enabled, the Protected Frame field is set to 1. A network be broadcasting a network the is Management Frame Protection Capable or Management Frame Protection Required. If the AP is MFPR but the client is not capable, the AP will reject the association with a status code of Robust Management Frame Protection Violation. An AP broadcasting MFPC indicates MFP is enabled. Broadcast/multicast integrity protocol (BIP) provides data integrity and replay protection for group addressed management frames. It is negotiated after the IGTKSA. MFP applies to multicast/broadcast. Frames are encapsulated and protected using an MGTK. The BIP is identified in the RSN Information Element under Group Management Cipher Suite Any frames received without BIP protection are discarded. BIP within the RSN IE at the bottom of the screenshot How does this look implemented? In my network I have an AP broadcasting an SSID, Clear To Send. Without Management Frame Protection required, it is susceptible to a DOS attack. Within the RSN Information Element, Management Frame Protection Required and Management Frame Protection Capable is set to No. How does this look implemented? In my network I have an AP broadcasting an SSID, Clear To Send. Without Management Frame Protection required, it is susceptible to a DOS attack. Within the RSN Information Element, Management Frame Protection Required and Management Frame Protection Capable is set to No. With another wireless system, I enable containment on my Clear To Send SSID and can gather the deauthentication frames via frame capture. Noticeably, I am disconnected from my network. Management Frame Protection not set within the RSN IE Next, I enable Protected Management Frame on my Clear To Send wireless network. With it enabled, the RSN Information Element is changed to Management Frame Protection Required and Management Frame Protection Capable of Yes. Management Frame Protection enabled and required With containment still occurring, I am successful in joining my wireless network without being disconnected due to deauthentication frames. Links & Resources

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 does it mean for guest Wi-Fi with rate limiting? And why are we using rate limiting? Could it be slow Internet pipes, bandwidth hungry users, bandwidth hungry applications? Troy talks about his version of the OSI model: * Layer 8 – Management * Layer 9 – Financial* Layer 10 – Aesthetics Committee Additionally, Troy talks about TCP back off mechanism (window sizes). TCP naturally tries to regulate the traffic for us Other discussion items during the show: * Not disabling high Wi-Fi data rates* Channel Utilization* Configurations guideline* Never tweak MCS rates* Leave high data rates on Links & Resources * Troy on Twitter* The Effects of Rate Limiting on Wi-Fi Flow

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: Extended Service Set* PBSS: Personal Service Set* MBSS: Mesh Basic Service Set* QBSS: QoS Basic Service Set* What is a Basic Service Set? The BSS is the foundation of a WLAN. It is the most common 802.11 topology. The BSS is 1 AP with one or more client stations associated. The BSA (Basic Service Area) is the coverage area of an AP. SSIDs have a unique BSSID. The BSSID is a MAC address of the AP’s radio of a particular SSID. The SSID is advertised in beacons (here’s a BSS!) The 802.11 standard references BSS in various ways * HT BSS* VHT BSS* HEW BSS (802.11ax)* Clients move between BSAs as they roam, negotiating rates dynamically as RSSI and SNR changes. There is no sharp cutoff of a BSA as it depends on external factors. What is an ESS It is the Extended Service Set. Or multiple BSSs with the same SSID (ESSID) connected to the same infrastructure. An example would be running a WLAN for an entire campus or running WLAN for a large office. Clients roam from one BSS to another within the same ESS Overlap of BSA is for roaming. Hopefully, efficiently done with Fast BSS (802.11r) IBSS The Independent BSS. Sometimes, but not often, you aren’t connecting to a ESS. It is a basic WLAN consisting of only two clients. An ad hoc network created by, for example, a laptop. Another client, say a laptop or tablet, communicates directly with the other client. It consists of clients that are directly connected which, technically, there is only one BSS. There is no AP, just client radios. The BSSID is randomly generated by the first station which setup the IBSS PBSS The Personal BSS. Similar to IBSS but for DMG (Directional multi-gigabit) – 60GHz and clients communicate directly with each other. One client will be a PBSS control point (PCP). PBSS is established through DMG clients. DMG is 802.11ad (directional multi-gigabit), commonly in mmWave MBSS The Mesh BSS. All clients in an MBSS establish links with neighboring clients. They determine hop capabilities. An AP can both provide connectivity to clients and be a client of another AP to provide a mesh backhaul connection. There are a lot of consumer APs using mesh. QBSS The Quality of Service Basic Service Set. Simply a BSS that implements QoS. Any enterprise AP manufactured in the past 10 years supports QoS, therefore, each BSS in most enterprise deployments is considered an QBSS.

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. But that’s done over the air and with 802.1X. It goes beyond and into worrying over insecure IoT devices, stolen credentials, compromised employee devices, and more. These are all real security threats which have nothing to do with over-the-air encryption. In this episode we talk about these security concerns and the pieces needed to secure wireless further: * Zero Trust Model* Strong segmentation* Multi-factor authentication* Indication of compromise* IoT Visibility Links and Resources * Securing wireless networks – from Fortinet* Follow Chris on Twitter

Happy New Year everyone! This week, Scott Lester, CWNE #253, joins us on the show to talk about Stadium Wi-Fi. Scott works as a Sr. System Engineer for Layer 3 Communications in Atlanta, GA. He has experience deploying Wi-Fi for large public venues (LPV) and warehouses. Alongside Tauni Odia, Scott is also launching his own podcast called Contention Window. They will be releasing their first episode later this week. Make sure you visit their website (https://contentionwindow.com) and subscribe to their podcast! The Stadium Experience Here are some of main points we have talked about during this recording: Design * Designed for very high density (20K to 70K people)* Plan for 60%-70% of concurrently connected devices. In reality, you will see 40%-50% of concurrent connected devices. Implementation * Different type of installation (overhead, underseat, through concrete…)* There are a lot of moving pieces* The process can take a long time and a lot can change in the meantime* A lot of challenges comes from things that you can’t account for ahead of time Aruba in Stadiums * Client Match is useful in stadium deployments* They have done a lot of testing in the San Fransisco Football stadium in order to provide good configuration guidance Wi-Fi Metrics to Follow * Number of connections per radio* Overall throughput in specific areas* Channel utilization (high is not necessary a bad thing) Links and Resources * Scott’s blog: https://blog.theitrebel.com* Scott’s new podcast: https://contentionwindow.com* Scott’s twitter: https://twitter.com/theITrebel* Aruba VRD on Very High Density: https://community.arubanetworks.com/t5/Validated-Reference-Design/Very-High-Density-802-11ac-Networks-Validated-Reference-Design/ta-p/230891

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 we’ve grown. Then we’ll share about what’s to come in 2019 for Clear To Send. Top 10 Episodes of 2018 1 – CTS 137: MIMO2 – CTS 106: 802.11ax with Broadcom3 – CTS 108: Useful Wi-Fi Metrics To Track4 – CTS 109: Ekahau Sidekick, Spectrum Analysis, & Finnish Rap5 – CTS 123: Design Principles for Stadium Wi-Fi6 – CTS 130: RF Characteristics7 – CTS 107: What’s The Purpose of Cisco CleanAir8 – CTS 138: CWNA with Coleman and Wescott9 – CTS 134: Understanding the 4-Way Handshake10 – CTS 125: 802.11 Frame Captures for Windows Some stats: * 52 episodes for this year!* Now over 14k downloads per month* 4900 downloads in January 2018 Top countries: * 1 – US* 2 – UK* 3 – Australia* 4 – Portugal* 5 – Canada Looking into 2019: We are looking at providing some sort of Deep Dive into topics. Some of the content involved would include examples from real world data, how tests were performed, and the results we learned from the Deep Dive. Additionally, we will look at including some video content to supplement the audio podcast. When it comes to video, we may plan on doing a few webinars to answer questions from the listeners. Links & Resources Please take 5 minutes to fill out the listener survey

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Does your Wi-Fi network make the naughty or nice list? We created a checklist of top 5 bad things that can harm user experience over Wi-Fi and the top 5 good things that can make a good user experience over Wi-Fi. Let’s have a little fun with it. We added couple of extras in there for you. There’s also have a giveaway at the end of this episode. This list is not to fully suggest your Wi-Fi network is good or not. There are many factors that go into that decision. Let your user experience really decide

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 different to other people. This week we outline some of what we think CWNE means. It’s a certain kind of wireless professional. It’s not the end-all definition of a CWNE but really a definition from our point of view. * Professionalism* Troubleshooting* Soft skills* Confidence* Continual learning* Strong understanding of fundamentals* Credibility* People we can rely on when it comes to Wi-Fi related questions* Example/Mentor* Being part of a Network/Family (with other CWNE) Listen to the episode to hear our full discussion on what it means to be a CWNE and let us know what your thoughts our down below in the comments section. Links & Resources * Our annual listener survey is live. It only takes 5 minutes to fill out. Please fill out the survey here: https://cleartosend.net/survey* We’re finalists in the IT Blog Awards hosted by Cisco. Please vote for us! Voting ends January 4, 2019: https://cleartosend.net/vote* WLAN Pros Conference tickets are now live. Register before it’s too late: https://www.wlanpros.com/wlpc-2019-phoenix/* CWNE Tips* CWNE Map

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 downtown due to a winter holiday event occurring. He’s a Technical Solutions Architect for Cisco residing in Australia. Previously was the Ekahau SE for Asia Pacific working out of Australia. And before that he was at Dimension Data. It’s challenging to find wireless guys who understand wireless and network access control such as Cisco ISE or Aruba ClearPass. At Dimension Data Stephen had to work on these types of projects. Network access control usually falls with the security team and the wireless guys don’t have much insight into how it’s deployed. Troubleshooting is critical for wireless professionals. Understanding how the network should be working helps identifies root causes faster. While at Ekahau, Stephen was very remote from the rest of the team. He met with a lot of customers where shifting their minds towards thinking about design first and understanding fundamentals. A vendor default is not vendor recommendation. And a challenge Stephen noticed at Ekahau is customers may not necessarily know that distinction. When it comes to design, we often see that device types are forgotten and not considered into the design process. But the wireless community has been very good at bringing device types and their characteristics into light. Moving to Cisco, Stephen has been able to work with clients on wireless designs, helping with migration strategies between controllers, helping customers understand how to get onto locations services network or VoIP ready network. He’s more focused on wireless and Cisco DNA – future architecture. With Cisco’s next generation wireless architecture and intent-based network, Stephen thinks you have more flexibility with how you can deploy new controllers, but there’s still life in the AireOS controllers. There’s a large legacy install but they can still do telemetry you can use in DNA Assurance. You may not get the same level as detail compared to the C9800s. Wi-Fi Design Day was born out of Ekahau and was started in the UK. It was meant to educate people but have it a community driven event. The first event was a huge success in London and when it was announced in Australia it was also popular. The event is unique where it’s vendor neutral with experts from multiple vendors talking about Wi-Fi as well as end users talking about their use cases. This event is much smaller and intimate compared to larger conferences. Links & Resources Twitter: Stephen__Cooper Blog: wificoops.com

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 a complete Wi-Fi only infrastructure, this made Wi-Fi a mission critical service to business objectives. We outline 6 characteristics of high performing WLANs which do away with frustrated end users and get the business back on track to productivity. Planning and Design You give your finger a quick lick and put it up in the air. Then you turn to your installer and point to randomly selected areas of the ceiling and say, “Put a WAP here, one over there, and one right here and we should be good..” This is a recipe for disaster. To deploy a high performing WLAN, in which your workforce heavily relies on, requires more than guess work. It requires a proper design which begins with gathering requirements. When it comes to upgrading the core network, Wi-Fi must be treated the same. Treat Wi-Fi as an extension of your wired network. Design is the result of thorough planning. It requires understanding how the WLAN will be used, what devices will be utilizing the WLAN, how many devices, and what applications. This is not an exhaustive list of questions but it’s a good starting point. The end result of planning and design will be a WLAN built for a productive end user experience. Planning upfront will lay the foundations to a WLAN designed to fit the business needs. A WLAN must be designed for a mobile workforce. The technical professional must have in-depth Wi-Fi knowledge and understand the knobs required to tune for the specific environment. A high performing WLAN will be designed so that there are less trouble tickets. It will be designed on the capability of the devices utilizing the WLAN, the capacity needs of the environment, and for high density of devices. Reliable Accessing information quickly and easily on any wireless device drives the mobile workforce. Wi-Fi is now the primary access. Businesses have been migrating from Ethernet to an all wireless infrastructure. That means the WLAN infrastructure must be reliable. Redundancy builds a robust WLAN infrastructure to prevent major outages. It prevents loss of productivity and loss of potential revenue. Ensure the WLAN is built with good backend infrastructure. A reliable WLAN must be capable of adapting to the radio frequency environment. It must react to adverse effects from neighboring WLANs. Interference is another productivity killer which a WLAN needs to identify and mitigate. With workforces placing an abundant reliance on cloud applications, maintaining a reliable WLAN is key to boosting business growth. Secure Mobile data traffic grew 63% in 2016, according to Cisco. There’s no avoiding the penetration of IoT devices as they take the enterprise by storm. It leaves many wondering how to secure IoT devices and their WLANs. IoT may help drive innovation but data must be kept secure and unauthorized access needs to be thwarted. A high performing WLAN must allow trusted devices to authorized data. Properly segmenting these networks is just one of many steps. A WLAN system must identify rogue access points and devices with a method of containing those threats quickly. In 2007,

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 engineer: A person who designs, builds, or maintains engines, machines, or structures. A person qualified in a branch of engineering, especially as a professional. My Definition of an Engineer * Finding solutions to complex problematics * The goal of an Engineer is to solve a problem most of the time complex problem involving a high level of technical skills * Designing a new solution, a new Wi-Fi network * Updating and maintaining a Wi-Fi infrastructure * Troubleshooting a Wi-Fi issues * All these tasks require us to understand what we are doing Embrace the challenge * Once you understand this, you have to embrace it * Problem solving * Embrace problems * See them as a challenge rather than something negative. I really started to appreciate that idea working with more experienced Engineer Important Skills * Be able to understand the WHY * Planning / Research * Be able to know HOW to * Experiment * Be thorough and methodical * You need to be able to support the solution you are proposing Not only the technical skills * You need to be able to communicate * With other Engineers * With less technical persons * Explain and sometimes sell your solution to management * You need to be able to document your work * In a very detailed way for your peers * In a summarized way for management What do you think? Is it how you see your job? What other aspects of working as an Engineer are important?

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/NewsCenter/PressReleases/CommScope-to-Acquire-ARRIS/ Ubiquiti Networks Enterprise technology segment soars: https://www.fool.com/amp/investing/2018/11/09/ubiquiti-networks-makes-it-3-straight.aspx Golden State Warrios partner with HPE: https://news.hpe.com/golden-state-warriors-partner-with-hewlett-packard-enterprise-to-drive-connected-experiences-for-chase-center/ Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) vulnerabilities: https://www.darkreading.com/vulnerabilities—threats/new-bluetooth-vulnerabilities-exposed-in-aruba-cisco-meraki-access-points/d/d-id/1333181 Meraki adds universal maps: https://meraki.cisco.com/blog/2018/11/universal-maps/ Rowell becomes iBwave Wi-Fi certified: http://www.ibwave.com/learning/certification-courses