How Secure Is Your Wireless Network? Safeguarding Your Wi-Fi LAN

RTS/CTS

Request to Send/Clear to Send (RTS/CTS) is a traffic management technique which helps minimize overlapping transmissions in a crowded environment. The process is similar to raising your hand in a busy classroom. The client will transmit an RTS frame to request permission to speak. Then the AP will transmit a CTS frame to grant permission to speak. The client will then proceed transmitting the message. Other classroom participants can see this activity and understand that they should not start speaking when somebody else has been called on and received a CTS frame.

While this may seem like a lot of overhead and wasted bandwidth, you can actually increase total throughput in a noisy environment because the number of retransmissions will ...