I am excited to announce my recent digital course development for WiFi Training – Rockstar WLAN Analysis. It is developed for anyone to begin WiFi frame analysis & become a master of the subject.

The Digital course consists of 6 modules and goes over 12hrs videos on demand. I have kept this training vendor-neutral as the focus is frame analysis (not about how you configure it). Here is the link course intro video.

In module 1, we will look at PCAP basics and different options you got for WiFi packet capturing. We finish this module with Wireshark basics as I am using Wireshark as a protocol analyzer in this digital course. As it is a free tool, you can follow these analyses with me (all PCAPs access will be given through our LMS system). Here is the breakdown of Module 1

Module 1 : Capturing WiFi
L1.0 – PCAP Basics (15 min)
L1.1 – Capture with Mac (12 min)
L1.2 – Capture with Linux (8 min)
L1.3 – Capture with Sniffer mode AP (10 min)
L1.4 – Capture with Omnipeek (11 min)
L1.5 – Capture with Cisco DNAC (6 min)
L1.6 – Other capture tools (8 min)
L1.7 – Wireshark Basics (20 min)

As WiFi is primarily about MAC & PHY layers, we will spend the most time talking about those two layers. Specifically, I have gone into details of the MAC header in module 2. We begin with basic WiFi operation and then look into individual fields in the MAC header. Then go to Management, Control & Data frames. Later in the modules, we look at key features of HT/VHT/HE.

Module 2 : WiFi MAC Analysis
L2.0 – WiFi Operation (23 min)
L2.1 – MAC Header (26 min)
L2.2 – Management Frames (40 min)
L2.3 – Control Frames (19 min)
L2.4 – Data Frames (12 min)
L2.5 – Frame Aggregation (14min)
L2.6 – HT Operation (20 min)
L2.7 – VHT Operation (5 min)
L2.8 – HE Operation (20 min)

In Module 3, we will look at WiFi Security in detail. The Module begins with a WiFi security timeline and then goes into 4-way handshake details. Then cover WPA2 & WPA3 in details. Finish the module with “Enhanced Open” based on OWE – Opportunistic Wireless Encryption. I have developed a separate digital course “WPA3 Lesson“, if you are interested in how, you configure these in the Cisco Wireless environment in addition to how it works. Also, I have done a Webinar (you can access it free) on the same topic.

Module 3 : WiFi Security Analysis
L3.0 – WiFi Security Overview (27 min)
L3.1 – 4way Handshake (10 min)
L3.2 – WPA2-Personal (15 min)
L3.3 – WPA2-Enterprise (32 min)
L3.4 – WPA3-Personal (20 min)
L3.5 – WPA3-Enterprise (16 min)
L3.6 – Enhanced Open (25 min)

Module 4 is dedicated to WiFi roaming analysis. It is a very important topic in WiFi and you should be able to identify client roaming events and troubleshoot when it does not work properly. Primarily we focus on 802.11r (FT) and look at 802.11k & 802.11v which helps for roaming. If you want to learn about Fast Roaming in detail, there is a dedicated digital course that covers the subject in more detail including configuration options available with Cisco Wireless.

Module 4 : WiFi Roaming Analysis
L4.0 – Roaming Overview (20 min)
L4.1 – Key Caching (15 min)
L4.2 – Fast BSS Transition – Intro (15 min)
L4.3 – FT over-the-Air(17 min)
L4.4 – FT over-the-DS (24 min)
L4.5 – Roaming with 802.11k (7 min)
L4.6 – Roaming with 802.11v (12 min)

Module 5 is dedicated to QoS Analysis. It is an important topic especially if you are doing voice or video over wireless. If you are interested to learn about QoS configuration in Cisco wireless environment, then there is a “QoS for WLAN Pros” course for you.

Module 5 : WiFi QoS Analysis
L5.0 – QoS Overview (15 min)
L5.1 – CSMA/CA (23 min)
L5.2 – EDCA (12 min)
L5.3 – QoS Mapping(15 min)

We are going to analyze the PHY layer in module 6. We will focus on OFDM/HT/VHT/HE PHY in detail.

Module 6 : WiFi PHY Analysis
L6.0 – PHY Intro (8 min)
L6.1 – OFDM PHY (12 min)
L6.2 – HT PHY (20 min)
L6.3 – VHT PHY (15 min)
L6.4 – HE PHY ( 30 min)

We will finish the digital course with a summary challenge to make sure you apply what you learn to test yourself.

Please give us your feedback on this course as we would like to make it a 3-day instructor-led training by introducing hands-on lab exercises to it.