Sniff Wi-Fi

Remember me? (lyrics NSFW) Too many enterprise Wi-Fi deployments experience Wasted Wi-Fi.   Wasted Wi-Fi is what happens when an enterprise wireless network offers users lower performance than it would under an optimal configuration. Today, the most common culprit of Wasted Wi-Fi is low AP transmit power.  So, if your AP transmit power config is Still Down, Raise 'Em Up. I've noticed a lot of Wasted Wi-Fi recently.  Situations where, given the distance, client density, and physical environment, the Wi-Fi should be faster.  These are situations where, irrespective of issues that may exist in the infrastructure equipment or design of the wireless LAN, client devices are getting worse performance than they should. By its definition, Wasted Wi-Fi lays entirely at the feet of those who configure enterprise Wi-Fi settings.  The good news is, that means Wasted Wi-Fi is solvable without expensive and time-consuming changes to the wireless LAN infrastructure. 

"There are known knowns; things that we know we know. There are known unknowns; that is to say there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns -- the ones we don't know we don't know. And if one looks throughout [history], it is the latter category that tends to be the [most problematic]." -Donald Rumsfeld, former United States Secretary of Defense For those of us who follow United States politics, the above quote is a famous one.  And for those of us who work in Wi-Fi, being aware of Unknown Unknowns can make the difference between good Wi-Fi and bad. What are the Known Knowns of Wi-Fi?  AP status (up or down).  AP channel.  Number of associated client devices.  Data statistics.  We can gather these pieces of information from WLAN controllers or wireless management systems. And what are Known Unknowns?  For one, we know that we don't know precisely which nearby APs and client devices are causing CCI.  We know that nearby AP