Information Systems:Wireless Infrastructure (WLAN)
Overview
This article documents the current wireless infrastructure. A complete overhaul of the wireless was conducted in July 2017; the old article is now located here.
Configuration
Access Points
- The model of AP is the Extreme Networks AP7532.
- 6 units total - 4 of the external antenna variant, 2 with internal antennas
| Alias | Network Hostname | Location | IP address |
|---|---|---|---|
| office_2ndfloor | ap_office_2f_controller | Office, 2nd floor (I.S.) | 172.30.18.80 |
| office_1stfloor | ap_office_1f | Office, 1st floor (Reception) | 172.30.18.82 |
| dc_hhc | ap_dc_hhc | Home Health Care | 172.30.18.84 |
| dc_receiving | ap_dc_receiving | Unity Training Room | 172.30.18.83 |
| dc_largedown | ap_dc_largedown | Pillar, large down/fridge area | 172.30.18.85 |
| dc_alt | ap_dc_alt | Spare | 172.30.18.86 |
Wireless Networks
These settings are provided here for convenience but may change at any time in the future. Log in to the web GUI to verify actual settings.
| SSID | Purpose | Authentication | VLAN | office_2ndflr 2.4GHz | office_2ndflr 5GHz | office_1stflr 2.4GHz | office_1stflr 5GHz | dc_hhc 2.4GHz | dc_hhc 5GHz | dc_largedown 2.4GHz | dc_largedown 5GHz | dc_receiving 2.4GHz | dc_receiving 5GHz |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| uwd_dcrf | Warehouse RF Guns, Mobile printers (Receiving) | WPA2-PSK, shared key: uwdrf2051 | 1 | on | on | on | |||||||
| uwd_guest | Guest Access | Captive Portal | 2 | on | on | on | on | on | on | ||||
| uwd | Staff Access | WPA2-PSK, shared key: unipharm | 2 | on | on | on | on | on | on | ||||
| uwd_z | Privileged/Admin Access | WPA2-PSK, shared key: visionit | 1 | on | on | on | on | on | on |
Channels and antenna power
Wireless channels and output power are locked-in per AP. No auto is used (that would be a severe indication of technical incompetence). On the 2.4GHz band, only the non-overlapping channels 1, 6 and 11 were used. 4 access points (see table above) are enabled for 2.4GHz, with the farthest 2 sharing the same channel. The intent is to keep wireless traffic on this spectrum to primarily serving RF gun usage, to prevent interference. For devices able to use 5GHz, performance is drastically improved on that band anyhow (802.11ac).
On the 5GHz band, there are more non-overlapping channels than there are access points, so channels were selected randomly. It is worthy to note that all channels are available for selection, but some are supposed to be for DFS use (e.g. channel 165). Mistakenly choosing one as the primary channel will cause most clients to not be able to connect to that radio.
Wireless security
WPA2-PSK was deliberately chosen for all networks (except the guest WiFi, which has a captive portal) as it is the best balance between convenience of administration, wireless performance, and security. Enterprise (e.g. 802.1x) was deliberately avoided - the company is just too small to warrant going down this road.
Advanced features
Wireless QoS and Fast Transition (802.11r) is something to be explored in the future if the plan to use VoIP cordless phones comes to being.
Administration
- Web GUI: https://172.30.18.80
- Login: (username/password found here)
Other Notes
Acquisition of Zebra
The WiNG platform was originally a product by Motorola (their mobile enterprise division), which was acquired by Zebra. Zebra evolved the platform for several years, then their WLAN portfolio was acquired by Extreme Networks. From discussions with Extreme Networks reps, it seems they plan to continue with the WiNG platform despite having their own wireless platform (ExtremeWireless). They did hint at integration of the two at some point, perhaps from a management standpoint (i.e. converging the software to be able to manage both types of APs).
WiNG vs WiNG Express
WiNG Express is a scaled down version of WiNG. The 7532 APs actually use WiNG Express as a default. Upon inspection, WiNG Express appeared too simplistic. A CLI command exists to switch to WiNG from the default WiNG Express.