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my first post

thanks in advance,

We know that when using a controller based architecture  that the 802.11 frames (management/control/data) are encapsulated back to the wlc for distribution as 802.3 frames

On a distributed architecture only the data frames are routed back to the wlc while control and management frames are sent directly to other ap's.

Ok,....   that's the split mac part, some of the layer 2 work is done at the wlc and some is done at the ap

but ... In a distributed architecture, Are the Management and Control frames converted to 802.3 frames before sent to the other ap's and then converted back to 802.11 frames or are they encapsulated also.

 What ? nobody can answer my question ?

 What is this board for ?   just to post "I passed/failed my test?"

 pretty much worthless if real questions concerning the subject matter doesn't get answered

 Thanks for nothing

Good question, but I think you are in too much of a rush, and snotty.    So, we won't miss you.

 if you don't know just say so howard,

 this is a great wireless technical forum, just look at all the great wireless technical questions being posted in it

 great post Howard

... and don't worry about the correct answer

 it has already been answered by someone with actual knowledge on the subject matter

Yes I know, that's why I've entered thousands.   I just wasn't willing to respond with an answer to your tasteless post.

Don't worry, I won't bother you with any answers from now on.

Cheers

Hello Jim,

I'm so sorry your post went unanswered for a few days. We usually try to make sure our forums are moderated on a daily basis, but those employees that have the knowledge you were looking for have been experiencing health issues. So it might take a little longer than usual to get the answers you are looking for. 

That being said, please refrain from insulting comments toward our other members. Especially one who has contributed as much as Howard has.

We value all of our members and their contributions towards the increased knowledge of the wireless industry. Insulting comments detract from that goal, and will not be tolerated.

Thank you for your consideration and respect moving forward. 

Please let us know if there's anything else we might be able to assist you with.

Jim you catch more flies with honey than vinegar.

Many of us haven't even been able to get on the internet for a couple of days. I have been in disaster mode for about 2 days and just catching up.

Just because people don't respond to your questions, doesn't mean they don't know them. Insulting people is a great way to make sure you don't get a proper answer.

For those who may see this post and want an actual answer rather than witty banter...

The traffic between the controller and AP is generally tunneled/encapsulated, and often encrypted.  This allows the controller and AP to pass the 802.11 headers without concern for the underlying network.

The payload obviously contains the necessary 802.11 data, but I'm not sure one can make a blanket statement about how all controller-based solutions behave.  Some may copy the necessary data elements into the application-layer.  Others may send raw 802.11 frames encapsulated in an L2 frame with a different ethertype that leads to proprietary kernel code.  Or maybe some do a mix of both.

Jim, if you please, could you share what you've learned so that the CWNP community can benefit?

Jim,

In the distributed architecture, the AP need not send the management frames/ control frames to the other APs. The AP talk to each other with the help of some protocols (Mostly proprietary protocols). The APs exchange the data and other stats using this protocol (For example sharing of PMK credentials, AP neighborship, if the STA negotiated tspec, it will be valid when MU roams, provided the other AP have enough admission left). Hence based on the data and statistics obtained from other APs, the AP can itself send the frames.

There may be vendor exists where they tunnel the entire frames (I am not sure about this. Again this puts more overhead on the network).

Hope I answered your question.

-Sathwik