Transition Mode eases an organization‘s transition from WPA2 to WPA3 Wi-Fi security by connecting newer client
hardware with the latest security standards, while still allowing legacy client devices
to access the same SSID using older standards.
Important
Transmission mode with Auto Protected Frame Management across all
radios (including 6 GHz) requires IQ Engine 10.7.3. If you push the
Auto setting to an AP with IQ Engine below 10.7.3, the AP defaults to
the best available 802.11w setting available, so Protected Management Frames will be set
to Mandatory.
There are three distinct types of transition modes, each functioning in its own unique
way:
Open to Enhanced Open
(OWE): Supports both OWE and open standards. Newer devices can
connect using OWE, while older client devices can connect without encryption.
This is provided through two distinct SSIDs: a visible open network and a
similarly-named hidden OWE network. All clients attempt to join the visible open
network, but clients that support OWE receive an an information element in the
open network‘s SSID probe response to join the hidden OWE network instead.
WPA2/WPA3
Personal (PSK to SAE): Supports both WPA2 and WPA3 on a single
passphrase protected SSID. Devices supporting WPA3 can connect using WPA3 with
SAE, while older devices can still connect using WPA2 with PSK. 802.11w
(Protected Frame Management, or PMF) is set to optional on these SSIDs, enabling
newer clients to use Protected Frames, while older clients do not.
WPA2/WPA3
Enterprise: Supports both WPA2-Enterprise and WPA3-Enterprise on
the same SSID. While all clients use the same backwards-compatible encryption
(AES 128), 802.11w is set to Optional on these SSIDs. Newer clients use PMF,
while older clients do not.
Transition Mode is only supported on the legacy radio bands (2.4 and 5 GHz), while 6 GHz
networks are required to use the newer security standards. To simplify the adoption and
use of the same SSIDs across all radios, ExtremeCloud IQ intelligently applies PMF settings
on an SSID within an Enterprise network, based on the selected security and radio
settings.
Table 1. Transition Mode Security and Radio
Settings
