Our techie journey

Below you will find the key ideas from Chapter 11 of CWISA-102.

How to validate installations

1. Test Connectivity.
2. Test Application Function.
3. Validate Data.
4. Resolve Problems.

Basic Installations Procedure

• Always abide (cumplir) by health and Safety codes.
• Prepare Ethernet Switches ports.
• Prepare infrastructure servicies.
• Prepare cloud registration if is required.
• Pre-stage/ configure wireless gateways, coordinators,APs,etc.
• Connect gateways, coordinators, APs.
• Connect nodes (client, sensors, IoT devices,eetc)

CWNP Troubleshooting

1. Identify the Problem.
2. Discover the scale of the problem.
3. Define the possible causes.
4. Narrow the most likely cause.
5. Create a plan of action or escalate the problem.
6. Perform corrective actions.
7. Verify the solution.
8. Document the results.

Troubleshooting Interference

The medium used by any wireless technology is situated in the lower layers of the OSI stack and should be the next focus when identifying problems during troubleshooting. However, when facing issues with a wireless solution, wireless interference should always be considered. Different types of interference can be evaluated:

1. Narrow Band: Affects a single channel or a few channels. An example is a high-gain signal operating on the same wireless frequency as another coexisting technology.
2. Wide Band: Affects the entire frequency band, potentially causing a complete failure of the wireless solution. An example is a frequency generator or jammer.
3. All Band: Similar to wide band, it affects the entire frequency band, leading to a total failure of the wireless solution.

Spectrum Analyzer Troubleshooting Features

• Real-time views show the RF activity at the moment.
• Historic Views, like waterfall and spectrogram, show the RF activity over time.
• Channel utilization gives a representation of the busy time in channel.
• Device Identification attempt to automatically identify devices for provide signatures of identifications.
• Interference finder lock in on a signal and allow you to track the strength as you walk about the area.

Troubleshooting Weak Signal Strength

What is common for all technologies is the signal strength and noise level, allowing demodulation on the receiver’s end to take place and convert symbols into bits. These bits are then sent to the upper layers for proper information processing. In troubleshooting, various reasons for signal strength changes or weaknesses can be considered, breaking down the communication model into three main components..

1. Transmitter
2. Receiver
3. Wireless Medium

Troubleshooting Malfunctioning Hardware

Damaged devices can sometimes be the most straightforward cause of wireless connectivity issues. Failure to adhere to a vendor’s recommended best practices for installations and operations could be one cause of faulty hardware. Other factors could include:

• Fluctuating power source.

• Environment factors like Weather can damaged or affected the hardware in some way like alignment of antenna due strong winds.

• Change of operating conditions such constructions or presence of new obstacles.

Insufficient PoE Power

When AP will not power up or powers up with limited features, insufficient power PoE power may be the problem.

Troubleshooting Drivers Problems

At the Network and Transport layers, connectivity issues related to routing and interconnecting different systems together might be causing communication disruptions or drops altogether. This behavior can be due to faulty drivers.

If IP communications are used, a protocol analyzer may prove useful in evaluating the transmission to ensure that what should be communicated is being communicated.

Troubleshooting Additional Problems

The software on the device is often firmware. Depending on the device, a quick visit to a vendor’s website may reveal one or two firmware updates since the device’s release, or it may reveal dozens of updates. Given that the vendor provides the software, any bugs will need to be reported to them for resolution, but the configured part is within your control.l.

Improper Configuration: When it comes to configuration, both the device and the supporting services and network must be considered..