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I do know a couple of folks who have done the CWNA first have said it made the CCNA-Wireless fairly simple to do as a follow-up.

to be (vendor neutral) or not to be, that is the question ;)

Go for vendor independence, Cisco is good but does not own the World...

I agree the neutrality of CWNA is great, it also goes alot deeper into the whole subject matter standards etc.

Dont get me wrong I deploy Cisco but they should add more theory to theiir WLAN training and certification, as it is they really only scratch the surface and focus on their deloyment models.

Both are valid, I am here because I love CWNP, I do Cisco as a job, OK I love that too but for different reasons. CWNP wil make you a good engineer, Cisco will show you how to deploy Cisco. They do not even look at WLAN packet analysis never mind the depthe of the CWNA.

If you want to be a good/great wireless engineer, CWNP all day

The CCNA Wireless is a really simple and basic EXAM obviously focused on the CISCO Kit but even then it is so basic I doubt any Current CCNA with no Wireless experience could actually configure a fully blown multi-controller cisco network after doing the CCNA Wireless training the CCNA Wireless is equivelant I would say to the CWTS.
the CWNA certification is THE Foundation resource for any Wireless certification and indeed is recommended as a pre-requisite to many WLAN vendors official product training courses

JD

Good discussion! I'm currently in a site support role and have my CWTS. I'm hoping to move into a network engineer role and have been contemplating what sequence of certifications to get. I've been working my way through the excellent CWNA study guide and wasn't sure what to focus on after I pass it. My employer is a very large healthcare organization and is an all Cisco shop so I wasn't sure if I should focus more on the CCNA or the vendor neutral. I was pointed to the CWNP by our main wireless guru who is a CWNA and CWSP so I took his advice and went the vendor neutral route. I've decided this field- wireless - is where I'd like to focus and become as knowledgeable as I can. I think the CWNA definitely gives you the tools to apply to any of the vendor solutions. My plan is to study for the CCNA after I get the CWNA so I have a good overall network understanding.

[quote]My plan is to study for the CCNA after I get the CWNA so I have a good overall network understanding.[/quote]

EXCELLENT plan, though you might consider getting CCNA [i]before[/i] CWNA. CWNA requires a solid knowledge of IP networking.

Good luck!

If your interested in working for a company that deals with Cisco wireless, then I would definitely recommend getting your CCNA-Wireless.

If your not, then I'd focus on getting a CWNA+CCNA, and then eventually your CCNP...Knowledge of IP routing and switching are tremendously important for a wireless engineer.

We really need a "like" button. Well said, 802.11Chef.

This is pretty much where I am at, ok I love CWNP and need to get those certs and I constantly refer to the CWNA/CWSP material, I have bought the CWAP and CWDP books but nit had time to look at them. I am currently doing my CCNP having done the CCNA CCDA etc but I work for a Cisco partner so these are must haves for me, not even like to haves.

The CWNP is best to learn and understand the technology and is more difficult that the CCNA or CCNP wireless certs which focus mostly on the deployment of Cisco products, even the CCNP wireless site survey exam is pretty straight forward if you have experience but the CWNP will really give you an understanding of the technology.

That said you will need a solid understanding of IP networking even at a fundamenntal level however when you get a little deeper and you are implementing you may find yourself doing work on WIndows, Cisco and other RADIUS and TACACS servers, firewalls, switches, some routing, a bit of Group Policy, some certificate servers and no doubt a bit of linux etc. The IP networking side is a definite bonus as are other security certs for network security to help develope your career.

Unfortunately there simply are not enough hours in the day.