Once again, I had the privilege of attending the Wireless LAN Professionals Conference (WLPC) in Phoenix, AZ. Coincidentally, this also marks one year since starting this blog. I started it because Keith Parsons, who leads the conference, mentioned the value of a blog is capturing all the knowledge you couldn't possibly remember at one time and having a way to share that with others. So here, I am typing away my takeaways from this year's events before the progressive amnesia called time takes over.
Presentation Highlights
Jerry Olla - How Wi-Fi Devices Roam
Jerry started off the conference with a bang with tangible results from roaming tests for various Wi-Fi 6E and 7 cards. I learned a lot about how Android devices use candidate scores to optimize roams, how heavily channel width weighs into roaming results and MLO's tendency to reduce roaming. He also gave some stellar recommendations for troubleshooting (nOversight for Apple devices, LSWifi for Windows, Ubiquiti WifiMan.
Build Enterprise Wi-Fi APs - Rosalie Bibona
As someone that hint hint also works on products at a vendor, Rosalie's presentation had me at the edge of my seat. It's so rare to hear the pragmatic numbers of product management and the constraints we have to deal with when creating products. She made a fantastic point that power, not compute will be the largest constraint for future products. Even when talking about AI, the conversation is shifting to how many watts are used for each request.
Next -Generation Spectrum Analysis - David Coleman
David showed us some clever ways to use Chat GPT for spectrum analysis. In this case, he showed how you can specifically use Aaronia spectrum csv data to feed into ChatGPT to identify interferers. He also showed the settings and limitations to watch out for as well as how to identify specific DFS pulses. I'm honestly shocked that ChatGPT has these capabilities and can't wait to try it myself.
OpenRoaming & Passpoint - Ferney Muñoz
I really enjoyed this talk as someone who just started learning more about OpenRoaming starting last year. It's like the perfect marriage between cellular and Wi-Fi. It was nice to see how Ferney segued into discussion about the backend cellular architecture that has to verify the user accounts.
Wi-Fi Ranging Based on 802.11az/mc - Susinder Gulasekaran
Susinder gave us a glimpse into the struggle hardware manufacturers have when the IEEE gives us tools like FTM, but they still need to find a practical and accurate implementation. For example, he describes a need to calibrate for group delay on each chipset that introduces measurement discrepancies for FTM. The need for this will increase as many vendors are introducing features that rely on FTM.
Other Event Highlights
Sidos Evening Event
They had flying survey drones. Need I say more? In all seriousness, this tool is so easy to use and I'm glad they are thinking of use cases such as the mesh application to help measure mesh links. It really made me think "how come no one has thought of this before?". That and it being able to mount on a tripod/camera clip that can go on any bag strap is a plus. I can't tell you how many annoyances I've had trying to keep a survey device stationary with a shoulder strap, let alone getting caught on all sorts of stuff on-site.
Security Q&A with Stephen Orr
One of the nights ended with a security discussion hosted by Stephen Orr. He happens to be in a wireless security working group for the Wi-Fi Alliance. The group explored the challenges of balancing industry needs with reasonable security measures. There was some back and forth over security compromises for specific deployments the audience had. It's rare to get that instant feedback between vendors, regulators, and wireless customers in the same room. I'd love to see more events like this next year.
The Miscellany
The Food Y'all
When I tell you I ate a lot, I ATE a lot. Off the top of my head, I had tacos, chicken and waffles, and the many many things at the hotel. The chicken and waffles took me by surprise, having traveled throughout the southeast. I might have inhaled it. Sadly, I did not get around to Aunt Chilada's this year. Coming from the east coast, even the mediocre Mexican/TexMex food is light years beyond what we have. My favorite thing at the hotel was the lunch they had the first day with fingerling potatoes and salmon. Both were delicious, but I don't think I could make it at home with all the butter and oil required. I may be in the minority here, but the catering at this place was really good.
Sights & Fitness
This may be the first time I've made a genuine effort at doing something active each morning despite events going on from 8 am - 9-10pm + the afterparties. But I did so anyway despite my better judgement. I went on a hike that resulted in me twisting my foot and fearing for my ability to get down the hillside, but the views were beautiful.
All About the People
Every time I come to one of these things, I leave with 10 more projects and events that other people are working on. This community has some of the most exuberant, passionate, and kind people I've met. I'm truly grateful to be a part of it.
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