CWNA Certified Wireless Network Administrator Study Guide

DAVID D. COLEMAN, CWNE #4, David D. Coleman, CWNE #4, is a technology evangelist and public speaker who specializes in Wi-Fi and cloud technologies. David is also Director of Product Marketing for Extreme Networks. He is the author of numerous books, white papers and videos about Wi-Fi technology. DAVID A. WESTCOTT, CWNE #7, is an independent consultant and WLAN technical trainer of thirty years. He provides vendor and custom wireless training to government agencies, corporations and universities around the world.

• Foreword xxxvIntroduction xxxviiAssessment Test lviChapter 1 Overview of Wireless Standards, Organizations, and Fundamentals 1History of Wireless Local Area Networks 3Standards Organizations 5Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 8Core, Distribution, and Access 22Communications Fundamentals 24Summary 33Exam Essentials 33Review Questions 34Chapter 2 IEEE 802.11 Standard and Amendments 39Original IEEE 802.11 Standard 42IEEE 802.11-2020 Ratified Amendments 44IEEE 802.11 Draft Amendments 63Defunct Amendments 66IEEE Task Group m 68Summary 69Exam Essentials 69Review Questions 70Chapter 3 Radio Frequency Fundamentals 75What Is a Radio Frequency Signal? 77Radio Frequency Characteristics 78Radio Frequency Behaviors 87Summary 103Exam Essentials 103Review Questions 104Chapter 4 Radio Frequency Components, Measurements, and Mathematics 109Components of RF Communications 112Units of Power and Comparison 115RF Mathematics 123Noise Floor 130Signal-to-Noise Ratio 130Received Signal Strength Indicator 131Link Budget 135Summary 140Exam Essentials 142Review Questions 143Chapter 5 Radio Frequency Signal and Antenna Concepts 147Azimuth and Elevation Charts (Antenna Radiation Envelopes) 150Interpreting Polar Charts 152Beamwidth 155Antenna Types 157Visual Line of Sight 169RF Line of Sight 169Fresnel Zone 170Earth Bulge 174Antenna Polarization 175Antenna Diversity 176Multiple-Input, Multiple-Output 177Antenna Connection and Installation 179Antenna Accessories 187Regulatory Compliance 192Summary 194Exam Essentials 194Review Questions 195Chapter 6 Wireless Networks and Spread Spectrum Technologies 199Throughput vs. Bandwidth 201Narrowband and Spread Spectrum 202Frequency-Hopping Spread Spectrum 205Direct-Sequence Spread Spectrum 208Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing 211Industrial, Scientific, and Medical Bands 2185 GHz Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure Bands 22060 GHz for Wi-Fi 223Below 1 GHz 2242.4 GHz Channels 2245 GHz Channels 2276 GHz Channels 232Summary 239Exam Essentials 239Review Questions 240Chapter 7 Wireless LAN Topologies 245Wireless Networking Topologies 247802.11 Stations 251802.11 Service Sets 255802.11 Configuration Modes 267Summary 269Exam Essentials 269Review Questions 271Chapter 8 802.11 Medium Access 275CSMA/CA vs. CSMA/CD 276Collision Detection 277Distributed Coordination Function 278Hybrid Coordination Function 286Wi-Fi Multimedia 288Airtime Fairness 290Summary 292Exam Essentials 292Review Questions 293Chapter 9 802.11 MAC 297Packets, Frames, and Bits 299Data-Link Layer 300Physical Layer 301802.11 and 802.3 Interoperability 302802.11 MAC Header 303802.11 Frame Body 315802.11 Trailer 316802.11 State Machine 317Management Frames 318Control Frames 333Data Frames 341Power Management 344Summary 350Exam Essentials 350Review Questions 352Chapter 10 MIMO Technology: HT and VHT 357MIMO 360Multi-User MIMO 371Channels 376Guard Interval 382256-QAM Modulation 384802.11n/ac PPDUs 388802.11n/ac MAC 390HT/VHT Protection Mechanisms 399Wi-Fi Alliance Certification 400Summary 403Exam Essentials 403Review Questions 405Chapter 11 WLAN Architecture 409WLAN Client Devices 411Management, Control, and Data Planes 421WLAN Architecture 423Specialty WLAN Infrastructure 437Cloud Networking 445Application Programming Interface 448Infrastructure Management 451Summary 456Exam Essentials 457Review Questions 458Chapter 12 Power over Ethernet (PoE) 463History of PoE 464PoE Devices 467Planning and Deploying PoE 484Summary 490Exam Essentials 491Review Questions 492Chapter 13 WLAN Design Concepts 497WLAN Coverage Design 499Roaming Design 505Channel Design 512Capacity Design 534Voice vs. Data 546Dual 5 GHz and Software-Defined Radios 5486 GHz WLAN Design 551Physical Environment 557Antennas 558Outdoor Design 562Summary 563Exam Essentials 564Review Questions 565Chapter 14 Site Survey and Validation 569WLAN Site Survey and Design Interview 572Vertical Market Considerations 582Legacy AP-on-a-Stick Survey 585Hybrid Survey 595Validation Survey 599Site Survey Tools 604Documents and Reports 609Summary 614Exam Essentials 615Review Questions 616Chapter 15 WLAN Troubleshooting 621Five Tenets of WLAN Troubleshooting 623Layer 1 Troubleshooting 629Layer 2 Troubleshooting 636Security Troubleshooting 648Roaming Troubleshooting 661Channel Utilization 665Layers 3–7 Troubleshooting 667WLAN Troubleshooting Tools 671Summary 679Exam Essentials 679Review Questions 680Chapter 16 Wireless Attacks, Intrusion Monitoring, and Policy 687Wireless Attacks 688Intrusion Monitoring 706Wireless Security Policies 712Summary 716Exam Essentials 717Review Questions 718Chapter 17 802.11 Network Security Architecture 723802.11 Security Basics 725Legacy 802.11 Security 729Robust Security 736Management Frame Protection 757WPA 2 757WPA 3 758Enhanced Open 7616 GHz Wi-Fi Security 762Traffic Segmentation 763VPN Wireless Security 766Summary 770Exam Essentials 770Review Questions 772Chapter 18 Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) and Guest Access 777Mobile Device Management 780Company-Issued Devices vs. Personal Devices 781Self-Service Device Onboarding for Employees 795Guest WLAN Access 798Hotspot 2.0 and Passpoint 811Network Access Control 816Summary 824Exam Essentials 825Review Questions 826Chapter 19 802.11ax: High Efficiency (HE) 831802.11ax = Wi-Fi 6 833Wi-Fi Traffic Congestion 834HE Overview 836Multi-User 837OFDMA 838MU-MIMO 851BSS Color and Spatial Reuse 855Target Wake Time 861Additional 802.11ax PHY and MAC Capabilities 862Wi-Fi 6 Key Questions 867Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6 873Summary 874Review Questions 875Chapter 20 WLAN Deployment and Vertical Markets 879Deployment Considerations for Commonly Supported WLAN Applications and Devices 881Corporate Data Access and End-User Mobility 885Network Extension to Remote Areas 886Bridging: Building-to-Building Connectivity 887Wireless ISP: Last-Mile Data Delivery 888Small Office/Home Office 888Temporary Office Networking 889Branch Offices 890Teleworker Wi-Fi 890Educational/Classroom Use 891Industrial: Warehousing and Manufacturing 892Retail 892Healthcare 894Municipal Networks 895Hotspots: Public Network Access 895Stadium Networks 897Transportation Networks 897Law Enforcement Networks 898First-Responder Networks 899Managed Service Providers 900Fixed Mobile Convergence 900WLAN and Health 901Internet of Things 901WLAN Vendors 902Summary 904Exam Essentials 904Review Questions 905Appendix A Answers to Review Questions 909Chapter 1: Overview of Wireless Standards, Organizations, and Fundamentals 910Chapter 2: IEEE 802.11 Standard and Amendments 911Chapter 3: Radio Frequency Fundamentals 914Chapter 4: Radio Frequency Components, Measurements, and Mathematics 915Chapter 5: Radio Frequency Signal and Antenna Concepts 918Chapter 6: Wireless Networks and Spread Spectrum Technologies 919Chapter 7: Wireless LAN Topologies 922Chapter 8: 802.11 Medium Access 924Chapter 9: 802.11 Mac 926Chapter 10: MIMO Technology: HT and VHT 929Chapter 11: WLAN Architecture 932Chapter 12: Power over Ethernet (PoE) 934Chapter 13: WLAN Design Concepts 937Chapter 14: Site Survey and Validation 940Chapter 15: WLAN Troubleshooting 943Chapter 16: Wireless Attacks, Intrusion Monitoring, and Policy 946Chapter 17: 802.11 Network Security Architecture 948Chapter 18: Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) and Guest Access 951Chapter 19: 802.11ax: High Efficiency (HE) 954Chapter 20: WLAN Deployment and Vertical Markets 957Appendix B Abbreviations and Acronyms 961Certifications 962Organizations and Regulations 962Measurements 963Technical Terms 964Index 981

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