How do you define “wireless end stations”, “attached” and “connected” for identified rouge device in the Wireless reports of the WhatsUp Gold web interface?

Dec 22, 2021
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How-do-you-define-wireless-end-stations-attached-and-connected-for-identified-rouge-device-in-the-Wireless-reports-of-the-WhatsUp-Gold-web-interface

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000207399

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How do you define “wireless end stations”, “attached” and “connected” for identified rouge device in the Wireless reports of the WhatsUp Gold web interface?

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In general Rogues, SSID's are nearby reported SSIDs that the Wireless infrastructure being monitoring does not own. For example, APs owned by other businesses in the same building (as the monitored wireless infrastructure) will be seen as Rogue devices in WUG.

Rogue specific report terms:

"Connected" -- 'Connected' is more like 'seen'. Wireless end stations 'seen' by the access point during the specified time frame.
“Wireless End Stations” -- This is just the wireless devices seen by the monitored access points in WUG.
'Attached' -- Much like 'Connected' attached can be defined as 'seen'.
“Connected AP” simply indicates which AP saw (was in range of) the SSID being reported.

Useful Wireless definitions:

Wireless LAN Controller (WLC): A device that manages other wireless devices. Typically, a self-contained network appliance with only one Ethernet port to allow connectivity to a network. Some WLCs have switch ports built into them and these are typically used to connect wireless access points directly to the WLC. A WLC has no radio/RF hardware, it is only the management device for the device which do have radios. WLCs always have an IP address (IPv6 is not uncommon), usually run some type of management interface through a web server, and typically also run an SNMP agent to allow WUG to query them for inventory and usage information.

Access Point (AP): A slightly ambiguous term that could describe either an autonomous or managed access point. An access point always contains radio/RF hardware and typically has an IP address. When wireless devices (phones, laptops, etc) "connect" to the network, their "endpoint" is the access point.

Lightweight Access Point (LWAP): A "slave" access point that has no self-management capabilities and can only operate if managed by a WLC. This device contains radio/RF hardware only and must receive management configuration and instructions from a WLC. Some APs are programmed with the IP of their managing WLC and at boot, they seek out the WLC for direction. Some APs have technology similar to DHCP that allows them to locate their WLC via a network broadcast. Most managed APs have an IP address, but some do not. In rare cases, a lightweight AP will contain some self-management or self-monitoring features such as a web server or SNMP agent even though it is managed by a WLC. But, most lightweight access points respond only to ICMP echo requests and not SNMP or HTTP traffic. Most medium to enterprise-size customers are using lightweight APs and WLCs to power their infrastructure, both for scalability reasons and to simplify infrastructure management.

Autonomous Access Point (WAP): A wireless device that contains both management capabilities as well as radio/RF hardware. In other words, a WLC and a lightweight AP are contained in the same unit. Your home “WiFi router" is an example of this. These are typically found at the lower end of the wireless device price spectrum and typically only support a few dozen clients per device. Since the device must be its own wireless LAN controller, it must have an IP address, but that IP may be obtained via DHCP. Both a web-based management interface as well as an SNMP agent are common.

MAC Address (MAC): A twelve-character hexadecimal string that uniquely identifies a device within a given physical or wireless network. These are typically set by the manufacturer, but some vendors allow customers to change them. On any Ethernet (or equivalent) network, two devices cannot share the same MAC address. A laptop's "wireless card" will have a MAC address as well as an access point's "radio antenna".

Client: A wireless device that is a consumer of the wireless infrastructure. This is in contrast to publishers of wireless infrastructure such as access points and LAN controllers. Common examples are mobile phones, laptops, and wireless printers. Typically, a client device isn't thought of as a true wireless client until it has established an authenticated connection to the wireless infrastructure. That is, a mobile phone which has WiFi enabled, but hasn't been programmed to connect to a particular network, isn't typically considered a client of that network.

Station: Another name for a wireless client.

Rogue: A wireless device, which is publishing a wireless signal, but which is not part of your wireless infrastructure. For example, in a multi-tenant office building, all access points from other businesses are rogue access points. And, to all other businesses, all of your access points are rogue access points. A rogue device is not necessarily malicious unless it begins masquerading as a part of your wireless infrastructure. In fact, almost all rogue devices are simply other non-interfering access points that are simply within the geographic proximity of your wireless infrastructure. Most vendors allow for some form of physical triangulation by measuring the signal quality and strength received by the access points in your wireless infrastructure.

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Last Modified Date

12/22/2021 2:05 AM

How do you define “wireless end stations”, “attached” and “connected” for identified rouge device in the Wireless reports of the WhatsUp Gold web interface?

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