This is an original planning guide. It is not a vendor manual, an official standard, or legal advice. Example addresses use documentation ranges. Review every command before you paste it.
What this hour is for
WPA3 replaces the shared handshake weaknesses of WPA2-Personal and adds a stronger enterprise mode. Older clients may only do WPA2. A transition mode exists so both can join, and it also keeps the older weakness for those clients. Write whether you accept that.
The compatibility checker reads a client list you already have. It is not a sweep of devices in a building you do not run. A pre-shared key in the note is prompt-for-this.
One WLAN. Guest does not share the staff key. Enterprise, if you use it, points at a RADIUS you operate. The 802.1X page owns that server.
Do not publish the key, and do not weaken the WLAN to capture a handshake.
The change you can finish
Apply nothing during the writing of the note. When the lab window opens, it is one change on the device named in the ticket. Read the draft, then the device, then decide.
Rollback is the file or the revision you saved first. You do not invent a rollback after the only copy is gone.
- Name the WLAN.
- List the clients that are only WPA2.
- Choose WPA3 or a written transition.
- Keep the key out of the note.
- Separate guest.
- Do not change the live WLAN yet.
Mistakes that outlive the command
WPA2 vs WPA3 goes wrong in a small set of ways. The list is here so the ticket can forbid them before the window.
- Transition mode with no client reason.
- A key saved in the ticket.
- A handshake captured to test the choice.
- Guest on the staff key.
- A building you do not administer.
Decisions to write down
One decision for WPA2 vs WPA3: The WLAN is yours. Old clients are listed. The mode matches that list. The key is not in the note. And no handshake was captured.
Checks before you call it done
Confirm this before you call the change done: One WLAN is named. The mode is written. The leftover clients are named. The key is prompt-for-this. And the live WLAN is unchanged. If one of those fails, stop.
| Mode | What you gain | What you still accept |
|---|---|---|
| WPA2 | Clients you already have | The older handshake |
| WPA3 | A stronger personal and enterprise mode | Clients that cannot join |
| Transition | Both client generations | The older weakness for older clients |
Before you leave the device
WPA2 vs WPA3 ends when the hostname on the device matches the hostname in the ticket. If it does not, you are on the wrong box. Stop. A command that succeeded on the wrong box is not progress.
The draft stays a draft until a person has read the names in it. A generator does not log into the device and does not know which interface is the uplink. You delete a line that names a device, a zone, or a prefix you did not write down.
0.0.0.0/0 is not kept because a sample included it. A source you can say is the source you keep. 192.0.2.0/24, 198.51.100.0/24, 203.0.113.0/24, and 2001:db8::/32 are documentation. They belong in the note. They are not prefixes you type onto a production device because they appeared in a draft.
prompt-for-this is a reminder that a secret is missing. It is not a password, a key, a community string, or a pre-shared key you save in the ticket or in git. The real secret stays in the store.
One change is the window. A VLAN and a routing protocol and a VPN do not share it. If two things move and the result is wrong, you will not know which one did it. The next feature waits for its own page.
If the same step fails twice, stop for the day. The failure is the result. Adding a forum command beside a half-applied config produces a device nobody can rebuild. Restore the copy you took first.
A second person reads the device name and the change aloud. If they cannot find them in the ticket, the note is not done. Silence is not agreement. Then leave the device alone.
This page is a planning guide. It is not a vendor manual, not an official standard, and not a permission to touch a network you do not administer. The pillar guide owns the wider design. This page owns one lab proof.
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