New Training: Troubleshooting Wireless Networks

In this 4-video skill, CBT Nuggets trainer Jeremy Cioara teaches you how to troubleshoot common wireless connectivity and performance issues. Watch this new networking training.

Watch the full course: CompTIA Network+

This training includes:

• 4 videos

• 28 minutes of training

You’ll learn these topics in this skill:

• Troubleshooting Wireless: The Nature of Airwaves

• Troubleshooting Wireless: Fighting Frequencies

• Troubleshooting Wireless: Understanding Antenna Types

• Troubleshooting Wireless: Misconfigurations

Radio Communication Requires Different Types Of Antennas For Different Jobs

Wireless networking can be more difficult in some ways than a traditional wired network to maintain and troubleshoot. That's due to the nature of how wireless network-equipped devices have to communicate with each other. Controlling radiowaves can be much more difficult than controlling the electrons being pushed through a copper wire. So, IT pros will need to understand the different types of antennas that wireless network equipment can use and which type of antenna is best for each use case.

For example, a typical wireless router found inside a consumer's home uses an antenna that spreads a WiFi signal out like a flat ball. This ensures that WiFi signals are spread as evenly throughout the home as possible.

On the other hand, if a farmer needs to shoot a WiFi signal to an IoT device on a piece of farm equipment across a field, they might use an antenna that focuses that WiFi signal more like a shotgun blast. With these types of antennas, the WiFi signal does become more spread the longer it travels, but it is focused in a single direction. This type of antenna allows radio waves to travel a longer distance at the cost of coverage.

There are other types of antennas as well. Likewise, there are ways of controlling interference and spread for the various types of antennas, too. IT pros will need to understand what types of antennas are available for radio equipment and how each antenna works to pick the right one for the job. Different types of radio equipment will have different antenna requirements, too, so a Yagi antenna meant for a WiFi network may not work for a communications device like a CB radio. IT Pros will need to understand those differences as well.