MAIN TOPICS

1.0 Radio Frequency (RF) Technologies

• 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

2.0 WLAN Regulations and Standards

• Define and 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 – 11
  • HR-DSSS – 11b
  • OFDM – 11a
  • ERP – 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
  • Wireless PAN (WPAN)
  • Wireless bridging
  • Wireless Ad-Hoc (IBSS)
  • Wireless Mesh (MBSS)

3.0  WLAN Protocols and Devices

• 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
  • Acknowledgement (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
  • 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
  • 11 VoIP handsets
  • Specialty devices (handheld scanners, push-to-talk, IoT)
  • Configure Windows, Linux, Chrome OS, and macOS clients

4.0  WLAN Network Architecture

• 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 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

5.0  WLAN Network Security

• 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
  • 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

6.0 Radio Frequency (RF) Validation

• 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, )
  • Wireless design software (Ekahau Site Survey, iBwave Wi-Fi, AirMagnet Survey Pro, TamoSoft Survey, Aruba RFPLan)
  • Protocol analyzers
  • Spectrum analyzers

7.0  WLAN Troubleshooting

• 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 issue