Forum

Hello colleagues,

Here is my study plan for the CWAP exam, please comment if you have any advice.

1. CWAP objectives - http://www.cwnp.com/wp-content/uploads/pdf/pw0270_objectives_v1.0.pdf
2. Old CWAP Study Guide - http://www.cwnp.com/wp-content/uploads/pdf/CWAP_WLAN_ANALYSIS.pdf
3. IEEE 802.11-2012 - http://standards.ieee.org/getieee802/download/802.11-2012.pdf - It's a huge doc, can someone please advise me on the most important topics here?
4. CWAP Beta class videos - http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLF867F06AE2591288
5. 802.11n: A Survival Guide - http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920021988.do
6. CWAP Study Guide - http://www.cwnp.com/product/cwapsg/
7. Google some specific topics
8. CWAP objectives - http://www.cwnp.com/wp-content/uploads/pdf/pw0270_objectives_v1.0.pdf

Thanks and have a good day

Leonardo,

Hello my friend. I hope things are well. Im already in progress <CWAP>. Drop me a line if I can help. Also I made my chapter 1 quizs available on flashcardexchange.com. Simply search CWAP. I will be finishing up a few more questions on Chapter 1 and then working on the other chapters. 

Hello George,

Your flash cards will help me a lot, thanks.I've just started reading Devin's CWAP book.

CWNP has not stated what their policy will be regarding 802.11 Clause numbering either on their tests or in their training.  They said once they were going to do something about this, but I haven't seen ANYTHING about it since.

It has changed enough that if you were to memorize the 802.11-2012 numbers, you would probably get the test questions wrong - if all you went by were the clause numbers.   

Practically the only one the same is clause 20 - HT or aka 802.11n.
I'd suggest you memorize the Mnemonics HR, HT, DSSS, etc. Those are the same, and are usually given in the same questions.

Actually, we do not test on clause numbers. We test on concepts, technologys and PHYs (by name). There used to be some references to Clause 8 in the literature in relation to security, but we have tested on the security solutions and not the clause. That is, if you did not know which clause number spoke of a given fact, it would not impact your ability to answer a question - as long as you know the fact :)

 

As to the "most important" part of 802.11-2012. For CWAP, it is very frame format oriented (from the standards perspective) so make sure you know the 802.11 frames well. Know the features, modulation and coding schemes for the PHYs too. These are the two biggest categories for the standard, though other sections are open for usage as well. You can often search for terms from the objectives list, find them in the standard, and locate useful sections that way too.

Hope this helps.

Frames Are Food,

Tom

I didn't mean that the clause numbers were used by themselves, but they were used in the text of the exams in relation to DSSS, OFDM, HR, and HT etc.

Glad you got rid of them.

Hi Tom,

I swear the CWAP mentions that it will not call out standards, rather clauses. Let me see if I can find that ..

The objectives currently list things like, "Clause 15 - DSSS" and "Clause 19 - ERP," but you do not have to remember the clause number that matches the PHY "name" to answer questions appropriately. PHY names will be sufficient. That's our standard going forward and currently applies to the existing CWAP exam too. The same is true for the single current reference to "Clause 8" in the objectives for CWAP.

Frames Are Food,
Tom

Tom,

I have been waiting for your "official Statement".   Here is the last repsonse I got on this issue.

I beleive the post was 61654:

"As to the PHYs, we will continue to use the names as we have. For example, 802.11g is still ERP and 802.11n is still HT, and so forth, as we have been doing. As to the other items, we will review the impact of it as new certifications are released. We are also in the process of reviewing existing questions to ensure that the language in them will not be dependent on “Clause 8″ and the like. Look for an official statement about this soon.

Frames Are Food,
Tom"

You have it now :-)

 

"All future exams published after October, 2012 will completely ignore clause numbers. All future objectives published after October, 2012  will also completely ignore clause numbers. Current exams do not require knowing 802.11 clause numbers to pass the exam, but we desire to remove confusion so we will not reference clause numbers in objectives in the future."

 

I should add that that ugly "Clause 33" rears it's head on occassion :-)

 

But we will even be ridding the future exams of that. It's just too dangerous to play with clause numbers when the IEEE shifts them.

 

Consider this the official stance. If you want clarification further or have other suggestions, please let me know.

 

Frames Are Food,
Tom