Before integrating an access point (AP) into a production environment, it's imperative to apply a baseline configuration. This configuration ensures that the AP adheres to the organization's security policies and network standards, mitigating potential vulnerabilities upon deployment. Implementing a baseline configuration aids in maintaining network integrity and simplifies future troubleshooting.
Reference: CWDP-305 Official Study and Reference Guide, Chapter on Post-Design ValidationandTroubleshooting

In public WLAN environments, security and privacy are paramount. To prevent clients from communicating directly with each other, many WLANs implement peer-to-peer blocking (also known as client isolation).
This feature ensures that each client can communicate with the internet but not with other clients on the same network, thereby enhancing security.
The CWDP-305 Official Study and Reference Guide discusses this feature:
"Client isolation prevents wireless clients from communicating directly with each other, which is especially important in public or guest networks to protect user privacy and security." Therefore, the inability to detect other devices on the subnet is likely due to peer-to-peer blocking being enabled on the WLAN infrastructure.
Reference: CWDP-305 Official Study and Reference Guide, Chapter on Post-Design Validation and Troubleshooting

Centralized forwarding in WLAN architectures means that all client traffic is tunneled back to a central controller for processing.This design simplifies management and can enhance security but places significant demand on the network's infrastructure.
To support the increased traffic load resulting from centralized forwarding, it's essential to havehigh-speed Ethernet links, such as Gigabit or higher, especially between access points, switches, and controllers.This ensures that the network can handle the aggregated traffic without becoming a bottleneck.
Reference: CWDP-305 Official Study and Reference Guide, Chapter on Infrastructure Design

In the 5 GHz band, all Wi-Fi traffic (802.11a/n/ac/ax) uses OFDM or OFDMA modulation. If multiple APs use overlapping or identical channels, this results in Co-Channel Interference (CCI). Legacy technologies like HR/DSSS and ERP operate in 2.4 GHz and do not contribute to CCI in 5 GHz.
From CWDP-305:
"CCI occurs when multiple devices share the same channel. In 5 GHz, all compliant Wi-Fi traffic uses OFDM- based PHYs, so other nearby OFDM networks are a primary source of CCI."
- Reference: CWDP-305 Official Study and Reference Guide, Chapter on Post-Design ValidationandTroubleshooting

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation:
In WLAN architecture, theManagement Planeis responsible for overseeing and configuring the network's operational aspects, including automated RF management tasks such as:
Dynamic Channel Assignment
Transmit Power Control
Load Balancing
Coverage Hole Detection and Correction
These functions ensure optimal performance and reliability of the wireless network by adapting to changing RF conditions.
Reference:CWDP-305 Study Guide, Chapter on Infrastructure Design - Operational Planes in WLAN Architecture.