Cisco 300-425 - Designing Cisco Enterprise Wireless Networks (ENWLSD)

In high-density environments, such as stadiums or auditoriums, APs are often mounted under the seats to provide a controlled cell size with attenuation. This placement helps to manage the RF environment by providing attenuation of 6 dB to 20 dB, which can reduce co-channel interference and improve the user experience by ensuring a strong signal and minimizing noise from other cells.

The Voice Readiness tool within Cisco Prime Infrastructure is designed to assess the wireless network’s ability to support voice services, including VoIP. It evaluates various factors such as signal strength, noise levels, and coverage to ensure that the wireless network can handle the quality of service requirements needed for voice communications.

FlexConnect APs must be in a FlexConnect group to support 802.11r Fast Transition (FT). This grouping allows for local authentication and key management, which are necessary for fast roaming methods that improve voice quality and wireless IP phone performance during roaming.

Raising the minimum data rate to 24 Mbps will reduce the range at which devices can connect, thereby reducing channel overlap. Using directional antennas can also help limit the coverage area of some APs, which can further reduce channel overlap by focusing the signal in specific directions rather than in a broad coverage pattern. References: Designing Cisco Enterprise Wireless Networks (ENWLSD 300-425)

When designing anchor redundancy for guest clients with auto-anchor configured on a WLC running version 8.1 or above, setting up Guest Anchor Priority ensures that one anchor is treated as active while another acts as standby rather than load-balancing clients between anchors which is not desired in this case. References := (CCNP Enterprise Wireless Design ENWLSD 300-425 and Implementation ENWLSI 300-430 Official Cert Guide Premium Edition and Practice)

 When a Wireless LAN Controller (WLC) SSO is set up between two WLCs in a service provider network, and there is a failover, the secondary WLC should ideally support the same client count as the primary. If only about half of the original client count is showing on the secondary WLC post-failover, it suggests that the WLCs had not completed the database synchronization before the primary WLC failed. This incomplete sync would result in a loss of client information, leading to a reduced client count on the secondary WLC.

 In the scenario described, where some APs did not failover to their secondary controller despite having sufficient licenses, the issue likely lies with the configuration of the APs to recognize the secondary controller. Since the controllers are not in a mobility group but have A records for their hostnames in DNS, this suggests that they rely on DNS for AP discovery and failover. If APs are not failing over as expected, it could be due to an incorrect IP address configured for the secondary controller on the AP or within DNS. The exhibit shows that the “Secondary Controller” field has an IP address of “10.42.89.11”, which should be verified against DNS records and actual controller settings to ensure accuracy. References := (CCNP Enterprise Wireless Design ENWLSD 300-425 and Implementation ENWLSI 300-430 Official Cert Guide Premium Edition and Practice)

Band Select is a feature on Cisco WLCs that encourages dual-band capable clients to connect to the less congested 5 GHz spectrum. It works by delaying the response to clients’ probes on the 2.4 GHz band, making the 5 GHz band more attractive to the client devices.

In Cisco WLC version 8, the need for separate WPlus licenses has been eliminated as all features that were previously part of the WPlus license are now included in the Base license. This consolidation simplifies licensing management and ensures that customers have access to all necessary features without requiring additional licenses. References := (CCNP Enterprise Wireless Design ENWLSD 300-425 and Implementation ENWLSI 300-430 Official Cert Guide Premium Edition and Practice)