802.11 PROTOCOL INTELLIGENCE

The 802.11
Protocol Library

Reference, tools, and visualizers for Wi-Fi engineers, from your first beacon frame to Wi-Fi 8 UHR.

Free. No login. No ads. Written by a Wi-Fi engineer with 15 years of 802.11 protocol analysis. Field notes on every page.

Browse the full library → Start: 802.11 crash course
75 reference pages
5 interactive tools
10 animated visualizers
160 quiz questions
8 crash course modules
// find your level
Expert
Protocol deep dives, Wi-Fi 7, security analysis.
4-Way Handshake
Animated EAPOL visualizer
→
State Machine
802.11 three-state transitions
→
OFDMA RU Allocator
Click-to-allocate Wi-Fi 6 RUs
→
MLO Modes
Wi-Fi 7 MLSR/EMLSR/STR/NSTR
→
TWT Schedule
Wake schedule + mantissa/exp math
→
BSS Color SR
OBSS_PD + constant product rule
→
Preamble Puncturing
80/160/320 MHz bitmap + DFS/OBSS/AFC
→
MU-MIMO Beamforming
Array factor + null steering for SU/MU
→
MLO 4-Way Handshake
Wi-Fi 7 per-link GTK, MLD-level PTK
→
Wi-Fi 7 Track
802.11be MLO, 320 MHz, EHT
→
Wi-Fi 8 UHR
MAPC, DRU, ELR, SMD, WPA3
→
Exchange Timing & SLA
Auth/EAPOL/FT/DHCP WARN+FAIL thresholds
→
CCI vs CCC
Co-channel contention mechanics, CCA, NAV, BSS Color
→
Severity Model
CRITICAL → INFO classification + nDPI mapping
→
Top N Analysis
Weighted ranking - worst clients first
→
// interactive tools
MCS Rate Calculator
Select standard, width, streams -- instant data rate with full IEEE spec math
Handshake Visualizer
Watch WPA2/WPA3 EAPOL M1-M4 animate between AP and client in real time
State Machine
Click any state or transition -- frames, failure points, Wireshark filters
Frame Control Decoder
Enter any hex FC value -- decode all 16 bits instantly
Exchange Timing & SLA
Enter a measured timing -- instant PASS/WARN/FAIL against IEEE SLA thresholds
// about this library
SK
Shankar K.
Wi-Fi engineer, 15 years · Irving, TX

I spend most of my free time figuring out how to make 802.11 protocol concepts click. The spec is dense, the failure modes are subtle, and most engineers learn by reading Wireshark output until something makes sense. Everything I work out ends up here as interactive visualizers, reference pages, and frame-level walkthroughs.

// companion tool
WiFi Analyser

This library teaches you what to look for. WiFi Analyser finds it automatically, 212+ protocol checks, PCAP upload, free, browser-based.

+EAPOL analysis
+BSS Color collision
+Rogue AP detection
+MCS per frame
+Retry analysis
+RSN IE mismatch
open wifi analyser ↑
// preparing for a wi-fi interview?

71 questions with real spoken engineer answers covering fundamentals through Wi-Fi 7 MLO and PCAP scenario questions. Free PDF, sent on request.

Request the guide →
// field notes -- one email every two weeks
New pages, new PCAPs, Wi-Fi 7 observations
When Frame Lab launches and new reference pages go live, you'll hear first.
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