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How Multiple BSSID Helps in Wi-Fi 6

August 28, 2022 By Rowell Leave a Comment

Network operators will find an improvement with Wi-Fi 6/6E in how access points broadcast SSIDs. We won’t be getting away from environments that have several broadcasted SSIDs (ahem.. WeWork).

An environment surrounded by many Wi-Fi networks will be affected by beacon overhead. It will eat away at airtime due to the amount of SSIDs broadcasted. Multiple BSSID is mandatory in Wi-Fi 6. This will minimize the beacon overhead.

Table Of Contents

What is Multiple BSSID
Where can you find Multiple BSSID
How to capture Multiple BSSID
Resources

What is Multiple BSSID

Multiple BSSID is the advertisement of colocated SSIDs in a single beacon or probe response frame. The multiple SSIDs will correspond to a single SSID.

Prior to Wi-Fi 6/6E, multiple SSIDs from an access point would be broadcasted by its own individual BSSID. We’ve been told to keep broadcasted SSIDs to a maximum of three due to beacon overhead.

Airtime from multiple BSSIDs will contribute to airtime utilization resulting in wasted capacity and low efficiency.

I love how we bring existing methods into newer protocols many years later. Multiple BSSID was first defined in 802.11v-2011. 10 years later we’re now making it mandatory to use.

Where can you find Multiple BSSID

You’ll find the Multiple BSSID information from within the beacon and probe response frame. I’ve included a Wireshark capture from my test AP where I’ve configured 4 different SSIDs – Test-Net, Frame Thrower, Slurp Fish, and Banter.

There are two types of Multiple BSSIDs:

Transmitted
Non-Transmitted

In my capture, you’ll see one SSID in the beacon frame: Test-Net. That SSID is the Transmitted BSSID. The remaining SSIDs configured on the AP are Non-Transmitted BSSID.

Capturing Wi-Fi 6/6E

I use the EtherScope nXG to capture my Wi-Fi 6/6E frames. You can also do this with the AirCheck G3.

Within the frame capture, you’ll find another element – Multiple BSSID. This element contains the info we need to identify all the SSIDs being broadcasted. Inside of the subelement are the non-transmitted BSSIDs and their information.

The Multiple BSSID element contains useful information:

Max BSSID Indicator – Carries number of active BSSIDs in the multiple BSSID set

Nontransmitted BSSID Profile – One for each of the non-transmitted BSSIDs containing their information

Within the Nontransmitted BSSID Profile you’ll find all the capabilities for the additional SSIDs. Devices need to know what’s required to join these SSIDs.

How to capture Multiple BSSID

You can find these details in a few ways. You can do a frame capture and open the pcap inside of Wireshark just as I’ve shown above. You’ll need a Wi-Fi 6 capable device.

Using WiFi Explorer you can find these exact same details without needing to do a frame capture. You’ll need a Wi-Fi 6 capable device or capture file to import. Import my frame capture (linked below) into WiFi Explorer.

I’ve also used the EtherScope nXG to visualize Multiple BSSID. They indicate Transmitted and Non-Transmitted BSSID with specific icons and provide the capability to drill in further as shown in the screenshots below.

Transmitted Multiple BSSID from EtherScope nXG

Resources

Multiple BSSID Frame Capture

Q2 2022 Income Report

August 27, 2022 By Rowell Leave a Comment

This quarterly income report is meant to document the ups and downs of being an entrepreneur. It’s a way for me to be transparent with you if you’re embarking on the same path of consulting.

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We’re documenting and learning what has worked well and what hasn’t worked so well so that you can avoid any mistakes and gain from our successes.

Take a look at my other Income Reports.

Here’s a summary of Q2 2022

Gross Income: $122,160

Total Expenses: $114,013

Net Profit: -$19,373

Net Profit difference from Q1 2022: -184%

Table Of Contents

Highlights
Income Analysis
Expense Analysis
Lessons Learned
What’s Next

Highlights

Q2 continues to see steady growth as we gained three net new clients. One company in data SaaS, in biotech, and in retail.

We reached these clients in three different ways. One found us through Google search results. Another was from a previous engagement, and the last was a referral from a vendor.

The last two are important to highlight because they wouldn’t have happened if relationships weren’t nourished. It’s important to work on your relationships regularly. You never know where people might need your help in the future.

We added one additional Managed Network Service client under the Proactive Monitoring portfolio where we utilize Wyebot network sensors. This is a new service we’re rolling out to select clients.

As quickly as we onboarded those three clients we completed all three total projects near the end of Q2. The workflow for Wi-Fi projects is getting fined tuned. I’m able to identify issues quickly, resolve them, and develop a report with my findings. While onsite, I have certain targeted tasks to complete. Then I have the client approve or implement recommended changes. I’ll follow up to find out what the results were.

Income Analysis

Packet6 drove in a total of $122,160 in revenue. That’s a -50.5% difference from the prior quarter.

$84,500 of the revenue came from professional services. The difference from the prior quarter is +86.4%.

Additionally, $27,500 came in the form of managed network services. The difference from the prior quarter was +8.3%.

We did not resell much hardware in Q2, only seeing $3,584. That’s a difference of -100% from the prior quarter.

That leaves us with a Gross Profit of $94,393. A difference of -50.5% from the prior quarter.

Expense Analysis

We had a whopping $114,013 in expenses which includes salaries. That’s a difference of +26.8% from the prior quarter. Almost half of our expenses went to taxes, about $51k.

Approximately $8,300 went to travel expenses, which we usually charge back to our clients. Maybe some of it was a little heavy on the meals. Something I need to adjust for next quarter.

We spent $1,660 from Clear To Send as we have now brought in a producer to help with our podcast episodes and videos.

Lessons Learned

Sales is up and down. We didn’t win a big Meraki deal even though we did the quoting. We lost it to a competitor who was able to take a loss on margins. Anything to win the sale, right? I also did not dedicate enough time making calls to existing clients. That may have contributed to the lower revenue.

We started offering a new service called Managed Network Services. Packet6 acts as an augment to an IT team providing network engineering expertise. I’ve only offered this to specific clients where I can safely manage the work. It’s another source of income that’s predictable. And the work can be very rewarding, increasing experience.

Time management is tricky. Packet6 is a side business so I must dedicate my time to my full-time employer. It’s only after hours and weekends I can really dedicate time to the business or if I use vacation hours.

We’re definitely leveraging subcontractors. More work is coming into Packet6 but my time is getting spread thin on the technical work. I would love to hire an engineer to share the load of professional services and managed network services. That would free up my time to work on the business rather than in the business.

Unfortunately, we ended with a negative quarter, -$19,373. We realized expenses were a big factor in the middle of the quarter. We went through our list of expenses and purged things we thought were no longer needed.

Some expenses wind up being part of experiments or tests we do on the business and sometimes it doesn’t work out to our advantage. But this time around we’re going to shed some of that weight.

What’s Next

We’re prioritizing time to increasing our knowledge around the use of QuickBooks. How can we integrate the software into our workflow for higher efficiency and accuracy of our books.

Soon, our website will be redesigned to enhance the story we’re trying to tell to our ideal clients. In the past, I’ve been the one building the website. I’m not a web designer so it made sense to outsource that to a professional in WordPress.

We’re waiting to see the outcome from canceling expenses. We should be expecting a decrease in expenses through the next 9 months.

There are a lot more processes we want to nail down. Much of it needs to be documented. Training needs to be created and completed. There’s a lot of work but we’ll reap the benefits in the future.

After operating Packet6 for 5 years, there has to be some cleanup. We’ve had a small growth that exposed areas that needed attention. We’re in a small period of recovery so that we may see additional growth in 2023.

What do you want to hear about? Let me know in the comments below.

6 GHz Frame Captures with EtherScope nXG

June 16, 2022 By Rowell Leave a Comment

How do we scan all the available channels in Wi-Fi 6E? With an additional 1200 MHz of spectrum ahead of us, we need to have the tools and resources for planning and analysis.

Wi-Fi 6E brings high efficiency. With that comes increased complexity in how we will analyze and validate Wi-Fi operations.

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Sure, we might see a big boost in speeds but its worthless if Wi-Fi isn’t operating efficiently. For network engineers, what can we use to help verify our Wi-Fi networks?

I’ve been playing around with the NetAlly EtherScope nXG with newly added Wi-Fi 6E capabilities. In addition to scanning 6 GHz spectrum, we can use the handheld tool to capture frames for further analysis.

So I booted up a brand new Cisco C9136 and joined the only 6 GHz client I had available to see what we can capture.

We need to identify what channel to capture on. The EtherScope nXG provides a channel map along with identifying the number of APs and clients on those 6 GHz channels.

Using the navigation menu, we can view a list of the channels and select my access point’s operating channel, ch37.

The channel view presents details about that individual channel, which is 20 MHz wide. We can capture frames on this channel but if my SSID was configured for a wider channel width I’d be missing some frames.

I recommend selecting SSIDs, selecting your network of interest to properly select the channel width to capture on.

Select the wrench icon on the bottom right, and tap on Capture (Wi-Fi).

Now in the Capture utility, we can see what channel we will capture frames on and at what channel width.

The gear icon allows you to customize the capture settings.

Captures can get really large. You can set a file size limit and specify whether you want to capture a full packet or maybe you just want the headers.

The Capture Settings is where you can modify the channel width and make additional capture settings with filters.

Once you’re done making changes, tap on the back icon and tap Start to begin your 6 GHz frame capture.

As the capture is running, you’ll be able to see how many frames are being captured and what type, such as Management, Control, or Data frames.

Once you’re satisfied, tap on Stop and upload your pcap file to Link-Live. It’s conveniently stored for you online and it can be shared with other network engineers.