A student phone sends a probe request for the campus SSID before it associates. Which kind of frame is that probe request?
Select an answer to reveal the explanation.
Short Explanation
You’re asking who is offering the campus name before you join the cell. That probe is a management frame, not client data. The phone sends the request; the access point sends the beacon.
Full Explanation
A probe request is a management frame: the phone sends it to discover a BSS before it associates. A data frame carries client payload after the station is in the BSS, so the data-frame description does not fit this pre-association discovery. A control frame such as an ACK acknowledges a received frame; the phone’s probe request is not an acknowledgement. A beacon is also a management frame, but the access point sends it; the phone does not send a beacon so the access point can find the SSID. Keep the request distinct from the beacon and from an ACK when reading a capture. Exam caveat: a probe response is also a management frame, but it comes from the access point, so do not swap the request and response. Practical check: filter a live capture for the phone and confirm its probe request is labeled management and appears before association; verify on one client before changing anything else.