CWNA - Wireless LAN Administration Course

On This Page:

	Course Summary
	Introduction
	Course Outline
	Hands-on Lab Exercises

Course Summary

Associated Certifications:	CWNA
Duration:	5 days, Classroom
Prerequisites:	Basic networking knowledge, including OSI model and IP subnetting

Introduction

The Wireless LAN Administration course, whether in an academic format or a 5-day fast-track format, provides the networking professional a complete foundation of knowledge for entering into or advancing in the wireless networking industry. From basic RF theory to 802.11 frame exchange processes, this course delivers hands on training that will benefit the novice as well as the experienced network professional.

Course Outline

The following list contains the materials covered in the lecture portion of the course:

Introduction to 802.11 WLANs

Discuss the standards organizations responsible for shaping the 802.11 Wireless LAN protocol
Learn how standards compliance is enforced for 802.11 WLAN vendors
Examine the 802.11 standard and various amendments
Discuss additional networking standards that are commonly used to enhance 802.11 WLANs

Radio Frequency Fundamentals

Physical aspects of RF propagation
Types of losses and attenuation that affect RF communications
Types of modulation used for wireless communications
How channels and bandwidth are related to each other in wireless networks
Three types of Spread Spectrum used in wireless networking

RF Math and System Operating Margin

RF units of measure
Basic RF mathematics
RF signal measurements
Understand link budgets
Define and calculate System Operating Margin (SOM)

802.11 Service Sets

Explain three types of service sets defined for use within 802.11 WLANs
Roaming within a WLAN
Load-balancing as a method to improve congestion in WLANs

Challenges Addressed by 802.11n

802.11n PHY/MAC layer enhancements
MIMO and SISO systems
802.11n coexistence mechanisms
802.11n integration and deployment considerations
802.11n site surveying and anlaysis

RF Power Output Regulations

Understand international, regional, and local RF spectrum management organizations
Understand RF channels in the unlicensed 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequency ranges
How power output limitations are enforced by the FCC for Point-to-Multipoint (PtMP) and Point-to-Point (PtP) wireless connections

Power over Ethernet

Recognize the two types of devices used in Power over Ethernet (PoE)
Recognize the differences between the two types of Power Sourcing Equipment (PSE)
Understand the two ways in which power can be delivered using PoE
Understand the importance of planning to maximize the efficiency of Power over Ethernet

Wireless LAN Operation

Ad Hoc networks
Infrastructure networks
Bridged networks
Repeater networks
Mesh networks
WLAN switched networks
Enterprise Wireless Gateway networks
Enterprise Encryption Gateway networks
Virtual AP networks
Evolution of WLAN architectures
WLAN Management

WLAN Security

Security Policy and Procedures
Legacy 802.11 Security Components
802.11i Security Components
WPA-Personal
WPA-Enterprise
WPA2-Personal
WPA2-Enterprise
Baseline Security Practices (SOHO, SMB, Enterprise)

802.11 Analysis and Troubleshooting

Introduction to 802.11 Protocol Analysis
802.11 Data Frames
802.11 Control Frames
802.11 Management Frames
Frame Fragmentation
Power Saving operations
Transmission Rates

Coordinating 802.11 Frame Transmissions

Differences between CSMA/CD and CSMA/CA
Distributed Coordination Function (DCF)
Quality of Service in 802.11 WLANS

Antennas

Antenna characteristics and behaviors
Types of antennas commonly used with WLANs
Advanced antenna systems
Antenna placement and mounting
Antenna safety
Types of antenna cables, connectors, and accessories

Site Surveying

Understanding the need for a site survey
Defining business requirements and justification
Facility analysis
Interviewing network management and users
Identifying bandwidth requirements
Determining contours of RF coverage
Documenting installation problems
Locating interference
Reporting methodology and procedures
Understanding specifics of each vertical market
Understanding the customer's network topology
Creating appropriate documentation during and after the site survey
Understanding safety hazards
Using appropriate hardware and software to perform the survey
Understanding the need for spectrum analysis
Manual RF site surveys
Predictive site surveys
Dense AP deployment

Hands-on Lab Exercises

These are the actual labs taught in the course:

Infrastructure Mode Throughput Analysis

This lab is built around measuring WLAN throughput under various circumstances that are broken into three separate areas:

Pure mode throughput (802.11b vs. 802.11g vs. 802.11a vs. 802.11n)
Mixed mode throughput
Adjacent and co-channel interference

Understanding the "speeds and feeds" of all Wi-Fi technologies is crucial to optimizing WLAN installations, applications, and good network design. This lab demonstrates the varying throughputs for Wi-Fi connectivity standards by using FTP to transfer large files from client devices to servers. You will see and compare actual throughputs of each different technology, and the impact of using mixed technologies within the same radio spectrum.

These comparisons are done using four different network architectures:

Autonomous APs and client devices in pure mode
Autonomous APs and client devices in mixed mode
WLAN Controller with Lightweight APs and client devices in pure mode
WLAN Controller with Lightweight APs and client devices in mixed mode

Co-channel and adjacent channel interference affects throughput of Wi-Fi systems dramatically. Proper network design eliminates most channel interference. The affects of channel interference are demonstrated in this exercise.

Wireless LAN Security

The Wi-Fi Alliance has standardized security mechanisms for SOHO and SMB/enterprise environments. Two distinct classes of security mechanisms exist:

WPA compliant
WPA2 compliant

Wi-Fi Alliance security mechanisms are only applicable at Layer 2 of the OSI model. Each of these mechanisms will be configured and tested in this lab exercise.

Other security mechanisms for WLANs exists such as VPNs (PPTP, IPSec) and secure applications (FTP/SSH, HTTPS, POP3/SSL). This lab exercise will demonstrate VPN technology using Microsoft's PPTP/MS-CHAPv2/MPPE-128 (RC4).

Site Surveying

Two specific classes of site survey methodology exist and are used in the WLAN market today:

Manual site surveys (often called the "walkabout")
Predictive analysis (often hailed as "the site survey method of the future")

Within each class exist two distinct categories. Manual site surveying can be categorized as either active mode or passive mode, and one or both modes can be used at any given time.

Predictive analysis software tools are based on a mathematical model of a facility blueprint and can be performed in two distinct ways. First, importing and AutoCAD (vectorized graphic) drawing allows the predictive analysis software tool to understand detailed complex layers of a facility's construction, including wall attenuation, attenuation between floors, and channel interference. Second, importing of raster graphics, such as .jpg or .bmp, allows for faster but less accurate modeling.

Neither methodology is 100% accurate, since each has its own individual weaknesses. Used together, the surveyor can create a more complete RF snapshot of any facility.

In this exercise, students will conduct both manual and predictive analysis surveying, using software and hardware tools (determined by the instructor or specific class needs).

SpectroTech are the only authorised provider of official CWNA - Wireless LAN Administration training courses within Australia and New Zealand.