Certified Wireless Network Administrator (CWNA®)

The Certified Wireless Network Administrator (CWNA®) examination is a basic level wireless LAN certification for the CWNP Program. This certification is designed to examine the candidate’s capability to understand the fundamentals of RF behaviour and to explain the features and functions of WLAN components as they utilize to WLAN administration. Also, a candidate’s ability to install, configure, and troubleshoot WLAN hardware peripherals and protocols in small business and enterprise deployments is examined.

Exam Overview

The Certified Wireless Network Administrator (CWNA®) examination consists of 60 multiple choice / multiple answers. The time limit to complete the examination is 90 minutes. Also, this examination is available in the English language only. You need to get a minimum percentage of 70% to pass the examination. This examination will cost you $225. Also, the exam code is CWNA-107.

Certified Wireless Network Administrator (CWNA®) exam details

Exam Registration for Certified Wireless Network Administrator

Since you are planning to register for the examination, you can follow the below mentioned steps:

Go to the official page of Certified Wireless Network Administrator (CWNA®)
Then scroll down to exam registration
You will be diverted to the Pearson VUE page. Then schedule your examination according to your need.
If you already have an account with Pearson VUE sign in else sign up for a new account. Select the exam Code.
Follow the given instruction and complete the process.
You will receive confirmation from the mail after the registration.

Certified Wireless Network Administrator FAQ

For more information, click Certified Wireless Network Administrator (CWNA®) FAQ

Course Outline for Certified Wireless Network Administrator

Radio Frequency (RF) Technologies – 15%

Define and explain the basic characteristics of RF and RF behavior

Wavelength, frequency, amplitude, phase, sine waves
RF propagation and coverage
Reflection, refraction, diffraction and scattering
Multipath and RF interference
Gain and loss
Amplification
Attenuation
Absorption
Voltage Standing Wave Ratio (VSWR)
Return Loss
Free Space Path Loss (FSPL)
Delay Spread
Modulation (ASK and PSK)

Apply the basic concepts of RF mathematics and measurement

Watt and milliwatt
Decibel (dB)
dBm, dBd and dBi
Noise floor
SNR and SINR
RSSI
Signal metric conversions
System Operating Margin (SOM), fade margin, and link budget calculations
Intentional Radiator compared with Equivalent Isotropically Radiated Power (EIRP)

Identify RF signal characteristics as they relate to antennas

RF and physical line of sight and Fresnel zone clearance
Beamwidths
Azimuth and Elevation charts
Passive gain vs. active gain
Isotropic radiator
Polarization
Antenna diversity types
Radio chains
Spatial multiplexing (SM)
Transmit Beam Forming (TxBF)
Maximal Ratio Combining (MRC)
MIMO and MU-MIMO

Explain and apply the functionality of RF antennas and antenna systems and the mounting options and antenna accessories available

Omni-directional antennas
Semi-directional antennas
Highly directional antennas
Sectorized antennas and antenna arrays
Reading antenna charts for different antenna types
Pole/mast mount
Ceiling mount
Wall mount
Indoor vs. outdoor mounting
RF cables, connectors and splitters
Amplifiers and attenuators
Lightning arrestors and grounding rods/wires
Towers, safety equipment and related concerns

WLAN Regulations and Standards – 10%

Explain the roles of WLAN and networking industry organizations

IEEE
Wi-Fi Alliance
IETF
Regulatory domains and agencies

Explain the IEEE standard creation process including working groups, naming conventions, drafts and ratification

Explain and apply the various Physical Layer (PHY) solutions of the IEEE 802.11-2016 standard as amended including supported channel widths, spatial streams, data rates, and supported modulation types

DSSS – 802.11
HR-DSSS – 802.11b
OFDM – 802.11a
ERP – 802.11g
HT – 802.11n
DMG – 802.11ad
VHT – 802.11ac
TVHT – 802.11af
S1G – 802.11ah

Identify and apply 802.11 WLAN functional concepts

Modulation and coding
Co-location interference
Channel centers and widths (all PHYs)
Primary channels
Adjacent overlapping and non-overlapping channels
Throughput vs. data rate
Bandwidth
Communication resilience

Describe the OSI model layers affected by the 802.11-2016 standard and amendments

Define the frequency bands used by the 802.11 PHYs

Identify and comply with regulatory domain requirements and explain how to determine constraints within a regulatory domain

Available channels
Output power constraints
Dynamic Frequency Selection (DFS)
Transmit Power Control (TPC)

Explain basic use case scenarios for 802.11 wireless networks

Wireless LAN (WLAN) – BSS and ESS, PAN (WPAN), bridging and Ad-Hoc (IBSS)
Wireless Mesh (MBSS)

WLAN Protocols and Devices – 20%

Describe the components that make up an 802.11 wireless service set

Stations (STAs)
Basic Service Set (BSS)
Basic Service Area (BSA)
SSID
BSSID
Extended Service Set (ESS)
Ad Hoc mode and IBSS
Infrastructure mode
Distribution System (DS)
Distribution System Media (DSM)
Roaming (Layer 1 and Layer 2)

Identify and explain the basic frame types defined in the 802.11-2016 standard

General frame format
MAC addressing
Beacon frame
Association frames
Authentication frames
Data frames
Acknowledgment (ACK) frames
Block ACK frames

Explain the process used to locate and connect to a WLAN

Scanning (active and passive)
Authentication
Association
Open System Authentication and Shared Key authentication
802.1X/EAP and Pre-Shared Key authentication
BSS selection

Define terminology related to the 802.11 MAC and PHY

MSDU, MPDU, PSDU, and PPDU
A-MSDU and A-MPDU
Guard Interval
Interframe spaces
Fragmentation
PHY preamble

Explain 802.11 channel access methods

DCF
EDCA
RTS/CTS
CTS-to-Self
NAV
Physical carrier sense and virtual carrier sense
Channel width operations
HT Operation Modes
VHT Operating Mode field
HT and VHT protection mechanisms
Power save modes

Describe features of, select and install WLAN infrastructure devices

Autonomous Access Points (APs)
Controller-based APs
Cloud-based APs
Distributed APs
Management systems
Mesh APs and routers
WLAN controllers
Remote office controllers and/or APs
PoE injectors and PoE-enabled Ethernet switches
WLAN bridges
Home WLAN routers

Identify the features, purpose, and use of the following WLAN client devices and adapters

USB adapters
PCI, Mini-PCI, Mini-PCIe and Half Mini-PCIe cards
Laptops, tablets and mobile phones
802.11 VoIP handsets
Specialty devices (handheld scanners, push-to-talk, IoT)
Configure Windows, Linux, Chrome OS, and macOS clients

WLAN Network Architecture – 20%

Identify technology roles for which WLAN solutions are appropriate and describe the typical use of WLAN solutions in those roles

Corporate data access and end-user mobility
Enterprise network extension
WLAN bridging
Last-mile data delivery – Wireless ISP
Small Office/Home Office (SOHO) use
Mobile offices
Educational/classroom use
Industrial
Healthcare
Hotspots
Hospitality
Conference/convention/arena/stadium and large high density deployments
Transportation networks (trains, planes, automobiles)
Law enforcement networks

Describe and implement Power over Ethernet (PoE)

IEEE 802.3-2012, Clause 33, including 802.3af-2003 and 802.3at-2009
Power Source Equipment
Powered Device
Midspan and endpoint PSEs
Power levels
Power budgets and powered port density

Define and describe controller-based, distributed, cloud-based, and controller-less WLAN architectures

Core, Distribution and Access layer forwarding
Centralized data forwarding
Distributed data forwarding
Control, Management and Data planes
Scalability and availability solutions
Intra- and Inter-controller STA roaming handoffs (OKC and FT)
Advantages and limitations of each technology
Tunneling, QoS and VLANs

Define and describe a multiple channel architecture (MCA) network model and contrast it with a single channel architecture (SCA) model

BSSID and ESS configuration
Channel selection
AP placement
Co-channel and adjacent channel interference
Cell sizing (output power, antenna selection)

Match WLAN deployment requirements commonly specified to technology solutions

Data
Voice
Video
Real-Time Location Services (RTLS)
Mobile devices (tablets and smartphones)
High density
Airtime Fairness
Band steering
HotSpot 2.0/Passpoint certification
Radio Resource Management (RRM) and Adaptive Radio Management (ARM)
BYOD
Guest access
Mobile device management (MDM)
Network Access Control (NAC)

Determine and document required network services supporting the WLAN

DHCP
DNS
NTP
VLANs
RADIUS
Access Control Lists
Wired network capacity requirements
Cable lengths
Cable types

WLAN Network Security – 10%

Identify weak security options that should not be used in enterprise WLANs

WEP
Shared Key authentication
SSID hiding
MAC filtering
Improper use of WPA (TKIP/RC4)
Open System authentication alone, with the exception of intentional public networks
Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS)

Identify and configure effective security mechanisms for enterprise WLANs

WPA2 (CCMP/AES)
WPA2-Personal
WPA2-Enterprise
802.1X/EAP framework
RADIUS servers
EAP methods
Effective pre-shared key (PSK) and passphrase usage
Per-User PSK (PPSK)

Describe and select common security enhancements and tools used in WLANs

Captive portals
BYOD and guest networks
Protected management frames
Fast Secure Roaming methods
Wireless Intrusion Prevention System (WIPS)
Protocol and spectrum analyzers

Explain and use secure management protocols

HTTPS
SNMPv3
SSH2
VPN

RF Validation – 10%

Explain the importance of and the process of a post-implementation validation survey

Verify design requirements
- Coverage
- Capacity
- Throughput
- Roaming
- Delay
- Jitter
- Connectivity
- Aesthetics
Document actual WLAN implementation results

Locate and identify sources of RF interference

WLAN devices
- Co-Channel Interference (CCI)
- Adjacent Channel Interference (ACI)
Non-Wi-Fi devices
- Airtime utilization
- Frequencies used
Interference solutions
Spectrum analysis

Perform application testing to validate WLAN performance

Network and service availability
VoIP testing
Real-time application testing
Throughput testing
Load testing

Understand and use the basic features of validation tools

Throughput testers (iPerf, TamoSoft Throughput Tester, etc.)
Wireless design software (Ekahau Site Survey, iBwave Wi-Fi, AirMagnet Survey Pro,
TamoSoft Survey, Aruba RFPLan)
Protocol analyzers
Spectrum analyzers

WLAN Troubleshooting – 15%

Define and apply industry and vendor recommended troubleshooting processes to resolve common 802.11 wireless networking problems

Identify the problem
Discover the scale of the problem
Define possible causes
Narrow to the most likely cause
Create a plan of action or escalate the problem
Perform corrective actions
Verify the solution
Document the results

Describe and apply common troubleshooting tools used in WLANs

Protocol analyzer
Spectrum analyzer
Centralized management consoles
WLAN monitoring solutions

Identify and explain how to solve the following WLAN implementation challenges using features available in enterprise-class WLAN equipment and troubleshooting tools

System throughput
CCI and ACI
RF noise and noise floor
RF interference
Hidden nodes
Insufficient PoE power
Lack of coverage

Troubleshoot common connectivity problems in WLANs (both WLAN connectivity and network connectivity for wireless clients)

No signal or weak signal
Security configuration mismatch
Improper AP configuration
Improper client configuration
Faulty drivers/firmware
Hardware failure
DHCP issues
Captive portal issues

Exam Policies

Since you are planning to give the examination, it is a suggestion to check and read the exam policies. For Certified Wireless Network Administrator (CWNA®) you can check the official website. We have provided a few of them to help you out.

Exam Reschedule Policy

Candidates who want to reschedule their online proctored exam must contact Pearson VUE or access an online Pearson VUE account to reschedule the exam up until the scheduled start time of your appointment. However, failure to reschedule before your appointment time or failure to appear for your appointment will result in the forfeiture of your exam fee.

Cancellation Policy

To cancel the online proctored exam candidates must contact Pearson VUE or access your online Pearson VUE account to cancel your exam up until the scheduled start time of your appointment. However, failure to cancel before your appointment time or failure to appear for your appointment will result in the forfeiture of your exam fee.

Preparatory Guide for Certified Wireless Network Administrator (CWNA®)

It is now time to prepare for the Certified Wireless Network Administrator (CWNA®). To help you out with your preparation, our experts have designed this preparatory guide for you. Boost your chances to qualify Certified Wireless Network Administrator with expert learning resources.

Refer the Exam Guide

Now you are planning to prepare, however, before starting your preparation you need to aware of the exam objectives. To solve your problem we have provided with the exam objectives for Certified Wireless Network Administrator (CWNA®).

Radio Frequency (RF) Technologies
Antenna Concepts
Wireless LAN Hardware and Software
Network Design, Installation, and Management
Wireless Standards and Organizations
802.11 Network Architecture
Wireless LAN Security
Troubleshooting
How to Perform Site Surveys

Learning Resources

Since you are now aware of the exam objectives, it is time to start your preparation. We have provided you with learning resources that will help you ace the examination.

Live Training

The Live Training Wireless Network Certification Class is specially designed to help you prepare for the Certified Wireless Network Administrator (CWNA®) examination. You can choose your location and class timings according to your comfort. This training will help you develop all the necessary skills to clear the examination.

Reference Books

Books play an important role when it comes to preparing for any examination. To help you prepare for the Certified Wireless Network Administrator (CWNA®) we have provided a few of the reference books. You can buy these books from all leading online stores.

Cwna-107: Certified Wireless Network Administrator by Tom Carpenter

Join a Community

Engaging oneself in a study group will encourage and help the candidate to learn more. The discussions in the group will help them to develop the necessary knowledge required to clear the examination. Interacting with the people who have the same career path will be an added advantage. Therefore, practice, discuss and study to become a successful Certified Wireless Network Administrator (CWNA®).

Practice Test

To ace anything you need to practice it and for the practice, you need sample papers and test series which will give you the experience of the real-time examination. We at Testprep provides you with the test series, specially designed for Certified Wireless Network Administrator (CWNA®). Start practicing now!