Core Knowledge Questions Now on All CCIE Labs

The long awaited announcement from Cisco about the Core Knowledge questions. As part of the Cisco CCIE Wireless Certification the candidate is required to answer 3 /4 questions in 30 minutes. If you fail the core knowledge section, you automatically fail your lab attempt regardless if you pass the lab section.

Effective January 4, 2010, the CCIE® Service Provider, Storage, and Wireless Lab Exams will add a new type of question format in a section called Core Knowledge. In this new section, candidates will be asked a series of four open-ended questions which require a short written response be entered into the computer--typically several words. The questions will be randomly drawn from a pool of questions on topics eligible for testing. Candidates can review the topics by visiting the CCIE track information on Cisco.com or Cisco Learning Network. No new topics are being added as a result of this change. Candidates will have up to 30 minutes to complete the Core Knowledge section and may not return to it once they have moved on. A passing score on the Core Knowledge section is required to achieve certification. Core Knowledge questions were implemented on Routing and Switching labs in February 2009, Security labs in June 2009, and Voice labs in July 2009, and allow Cisco to maintain strong exam security and ensure only qualified candidates are awarded CCIE certification. Candidates with exam dates January 4, 2010 or later should expect to see the new question format on their lab exam.
To find out more information regarding updates to the CCIE Lab and scoring format, please click here to go to the CCIE Q&A section.

Cisco – 802.11n shootout with Aruba,Motorola and HP

I just stumbled on a 4 part youtube video I believe posted by Cisco on a side by side “shootout” of 802.11n performance testing between Cisco, Aruba, Motorola and HP, 802.11n offerings. Their testing was conducted in a greenfield environment and deployed various tools to monitor performance. Cisco came out smelling like a dozen roses (no, let me take that back, 2 dozen roses) as they conducted the test themselves. But needless to say, I think there is value in watching the videos. They have a solid test approach with added real world examples, or should I say test samples.

HP took two black eyes and a bloody nose in these videos. Gezzz…

Btw, I would hate to be the poor soul sitting underneath that 1252 access point hanging from the t-bar.  

802.11n Performance - Testing Setup (Part 1 of 4)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYfITpf6VEQ&feature=related

802.11n Performance - Throughput vs. Distance (Part 2 of 4)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5rowgtTSj8&feature=related

802.11n Performance - Coverage (Part 3 of 4)

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UGm6KtUErI&feature=related

802.11n Performance - Capacity Test (Part 4 of 4)
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ak5iHbASH9s 

 

WiFi Security Paint !?!? Are you kidding me ! LOL

Have you heard about the "WiFi Security Paint Protocol", no no its not a new EAP type or a new type of encryption.  You won’t find this security posture in any of the IOS or LWAPP commands. Researchers at the University of Tokyo have blended paint with aluminum iron oxide. This paint mix has been found to resonate at the same frequencies used by Wi-Fi, thus canceling out any electromagnetic waves in that frequency.  I don’t know how practical the is for the mass, because you wont be panting your windows and floors (not likely anyway). But it would be interesting to lab to see the actual attenuation. I suppose 5 coats are in order for my home office! If anyone knowns were i can purchase it, I will test it !

 

 

my80211.com on iTunes Podcast

I received a number of request about adding the tutorials to iTunes Podcast. So here it is ... Enjoy!  I will be ramping up on the tutorials in coming weeks. We will be deep diving on 802.11 fundamentals.... If you are on iTunes search "my80211".

802.11n WiFi Standard Finally Approved!

Has it been really 7 years!? There were early leaks posted on various sites the IEEE was close to an approval. Sites are reporting a formal announcement from the IEEE next week. 802.11n will bring 160+ mbps actual throughput to wireless users. This is 7x’s faster than the current 802.11a/g technology. I expect to see more enterprise customers taking full advantage of 802.11n in future deployments with this final approval.

Specific to Cisco 802.11n – Things to note:

1252 – Requires 802.3at power for dual radio operation and can operate in LWAPP and Autonomous modes.

1242 – Requires 802.3af power to operate and currently in LWAPP mode only. There is a prerequisite of 5.2 firmware or greater on the controller code. Cisco offers 802.11a/g/n and 802.11g/n radio options.

 802.11n - Did you know?

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WLC Safe Harbor Code, what is it?? What does it mean to you ?

In your travels you may hear the term safe harbor code, or Cisco’s validated code. So you probably wonder what is it and what does it mean to you.

Cisco has identified 3 WLAN controller code releases and has elevated their status designated by Cisco. The code versions are 4.2.176, 4.2.205 and 4.2.207. Cisco has defined three programs; AssureWave, Cisco Validated Design and Safe Harbor. These three programs are a collaborative effort of sorts.

These programs focus on specific code versions which are tested, evaluated and graded for quality and dependability. This isn’t to say you should not consider later releases, such as 5.1, 5.2 or 6.0. As these later releases will gain you additional (bells and whistles). You may have noticed I didn’t mention 5.0. This is because 5.0 is extremely buggy and should not be used.

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WHAT CISCO DOESNT WANT YOU TO KNOW ABOUT SMARTNET ON LWAPP/CAPWAP WILL SAVE YOU THOUSANDS!

In the days of old we would have smartnet on each and every autonomous access point in our enterprise. Frankly, you needed it. If you weren’t familiar with the CLI or if you ran into problems smartnet was a call away. You would get on a call with Cisco TAC they would ask for your access point serial number and you were on your way.

Fast forward to today. The wireless LWAPP/CAPWAP architecture is centrally managed. When you have issues you call TAC and you give them your controller serial number and your off and running.

So that raises the question, do you need smartnet on LWAPP/CAPWAP access points? The answer is NOPE! Save your money.

Lets run the math –

You have 300 access points. You spend $45 dollars annually (reoccurring I mind you) for each access point.

300 x $45.00 = $13,500 every year!

Lets assume you have 3,000 access points in your enterprise.

3,000 x $45.00 = $135,000 every year!

Now ask yourself. What really is the value of smartnet on Cisco centrally managed access points? If one dies you can get it replaced, but at what cost!?

I see the light going off in your head. At $13,500 you can buy yourself 30 spare access points (10%) of your deployment !! And remember this is an annual expense each year. In these economic times penny pinching is a must.

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Did you know you can (Telnet / SSH) to a Cisco LWAPP AP

As you're probably already aware, you can console into a  (thin) Cisco access point. Simply connect your rollover cable to the console port of the access point and fire up a serial connection @ 9600,8,n,1. This is helpful for various reasons during troubleshooting.

But did you know you can TELNET or SSH into a LWAPP/CAPWAP access point? You sure can! Talk about the trips you will save getting a ladder or hanging off the edge of a chair to check the status of an AP.

From the controller CLI enter:

config ap ssh enable
config ap telnet enable

You need to set a username and password by entering:

config ap username <username> password <password> all

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