The solution configures the three access points (APs) to meet all specified requirements:

1. Subnet: A CIDR notation of /27 is used for the IP addresses (e.g., 192.168.1.2/27). This creates a subnet with a mask of 255.255.255.224, which provides exactly 30 usable host IP addresses (25−2=30), satisfying the maximum device requirement.
2. Interference: The APs are set to channels 1, 6, and 11. In the 2.4 GHz spectrum, these are the standard three non-overlapping channels, which prevents co-channel interference and ensures stable performance.
3. Security & Speed: The security is set to WPA using the passphrase S3cr3t!. This is because the requirement is to support only TKIP, which is the encryption protocol native to WPA. The wireless mode is set to G (802.11g) to provide the maximum possible speed (54 Mbps) for a TKIP-based configuration.

Kurose, J. F., & Ross, K. W. (2021). Computer Networking: A Top-Down Approach (8th ed.). Pearson.

Chapter 4, Section 4.3: Explains IP addressing and subnetting. The formula for calculating usable hosts in a subnet, 2

h

−2 (where h is the number of host bits), is detailed. For a /27 prefix, there are 32−27=5 host bits, yielding 2

5

−2=30 hosts.

IEEE Std 802.11™-2020. (2020). IEEE Standard for Information Technology--Telecommunications and Information Exchange between Systems Local and Metropolitan Area Networks--Specific Requirements Part 11: Wireless LAN Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) Specifications.

Annex E, Section E.1: Provides information on channelization. For the 2.4 GHz band, it shows the center frequencies for channels 1 through 14. A channel separation of five channels (e.g., 1, 6, and 11) is required to prevent significant spectral overlap, thus minimizing interference.

IEEE Std 802.11i™-2004. (2004). IEEE Standard for Information technology— Telecommunications and information exchange between systems— Local and metropolitan area networks— Specific requirements— Part 11: Wireless Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) specifications Amendment 6: Medium Access Control (MAC) Security Enhancements.

Section 8.3.2: Defines the Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP) as a cipher suite for a Transitional Security Network (TSN). This standard established TKIP as the encryption method for WPA, designed to improve upon WEP for legacy hardware.