Pass the CWNP CWAP Wi-Fi Analysis CWAP-404 Questions and answers with CertsForce

Receive sensitivity is the minimum signal level that a receiver can detect and decode. Different devices may have different receive sensitivity levels depending on their hardware specifications and antenna configurations. In this scenario, the portable analyzer has a lower receive sensitivity than the AP, meaning that it requires a stronger signal to capture the packets from the client STA. The AP, on the other hand, has a higher receive sensitivity and can receive the packets from the client STA even if they have a weaker signal. This explains why the portable analyzer can only see unidirectional traffic from the AP to the client when capturing near the AP5 References:

CWAP-403 Study Guide, Chapter 4: PHY Layer Analysis, page 121

CWAP-403 Objectives, Section 4.3: Analyze PHY layer metrics

One way to confirm if you have missing packets in your packet capture is to look for gaps in the sequence number in MAC headers. The sequence number is a 12-bit field in the MAC header that is used to identify and order data frames within a traffic stream. The sequence number is incremented by one for each new data frame transmitted by a STA, except for retransmissions, fragments, and control frames. The sequence number can range from 0 to 4095, and then wraps around to 0. If you see a jump or a gap in the sequence number between two consecutive data frames from the same STA, it means that you have missed some packets in between. The other options are not correct, as they do not confirm if you have missing packets in your packet capture. CRC errored packets are packets that have been corrupted during transmission and have failed the error detection check. Protocol analyzers may show the number of CRC errored packets in their statistics view, but not the number of missing packets. Retransmissions are an indication of packet loss or collision, but not necessarily of missing packets in your capture. References: [Wireless Analysis Professional Study Guide CWAP-404], Chapter 5: 802.11 MAC Sublayer, page 114-115

The data rate at which the PHY preamble was transmitted is 6 Mbps. The PHY preamble is a part of the PPDU that is transmitted before the PHY header and the PSDU. The PHY preamble consists of a series of training fields that help the receiver to detect and synchronize with the signal. The PHY preamble is always transmitted at a fixed data rate that depends on the type of PPDU (e.g., OFDM, HT, VHT, HE). For an 802.1 lac data frame on channel 52, which uses VHT PPDUs, the data rate for the PHY preamble is 6 Mbps. This data rate does not depend on MCS (Modulation and Coding Scheme), which only affects the data rate for the PSDU. References: [Wireless Analysis Professional Study Guide CWAP-404], Chapter 4: 802.11 Physical Layer, page 99-100

A capture visualization tool is a software application that can open a packet capture file and display various graphs, charts, tables, and statistics that illustrate the characteristics and behavior of the wireless network. A capture visualization tool can help a network administrator with little knowledge of 802.11 protocols to evaluate the overall health and performance of their wireless network by providing a visual and intuitive representation of the captured data. A spectrum analyzer is a hardware device that measures the radio frequency signals in a given frequency range and displays their amplitude, frequency, and modulation. A spectrum analyzer can help identify sources of interference and noise in the wireless environment, but it cannot open a packet capture file. Python is a programming language that can be used to write scripts or applications that manipulate or analyze packet capture files, but it requires coding skills and knowledge of 802.11 protocols. A WLAN scanner is a software application that scans for available wireless networks and displays information such as SSID, BSSID, channel, signal strength, security type, and vendor. A WLAN scanner can help discover wireless networks and their basic parameters, but it cannot open a packet capture file345 References:

CWAP-404 Study Guide, Chapter 2: Protocol Analysis, page 63

CWAP-404 Objectives, Section 2.5: Use capture visualization tools

CWAP-404 Study Guide, Chapter 4: Spectrum Analysis and Troubleshooting, page 117

CWAP-404 Objectives, Section 4.1: Use spectrum analysis tools

CWAP-404 Study Guide, Chapter 2: Protocol Analysis, page 33

CWAP-404 Objectives, Section 2.2: Analyze field values

The CRC is calculated over the MAC Header and Frame Body only. The CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Check) is a 32-bit value that is used for error detection in wireless transmissions. The CRC is calculated over the MAC Header and Frame Body of a PSDU, which are the parts of the data unit that contain information such as source and destination addresses, frame type, frame control, sequence number, payload, etc. The CRC is appended to the end of the PSDU as a FCS (Frame Check Sequence) field. The CRC is not calculated over the PHY Header or PHY Preamble, which are parts of the PPDU that contain information such as modulation, coding, data rate, etc. The PHY Header and PHY Preamble are added or removed by the PHY layer during the conversion between PSDU and PPDU. References: [Wireless Analysis Professional Study Guide CWAP-404], Chapter 4: 802.11 Physical Layer, page 97-98

The Swept Spectrogram plot is a spectrum analysis plot that shows the RF power present at a particular frequency over the course of time. It can help identify trends and patterns in the RF spectrum over a longer period of time. It can also show how the RF environment changes over time and how different sources of RF signals affect each other. The other options are not correct, as they describe different types of plots or information that are not related to the Swept Spectrogram plot. References: [Wireless Analysis Professional Study Guide], Chapter 3: Spectrum Analysis, page 72-73

The HT protection mode in which an AP is operating can be identified by looking at the HT Operations element in a Beacon frame. The HT Operations element is a part of the Beacon frame that contains information about the High Throughput (HT) capabilities and operation of an 802.11n BSS. The HT Operations element has a field called HT Protection, which indicates how the BSS protects its HT transmissions from interference or collisions with non-HT devices or BSSs. The HT Protection field can have four values: No Protection, Nonmember Protection, 20 MHz Protection, or Non-HT Mixed Mode. The other options are not correct, as they do not contain information about the HT protection mode. The HT Protection element does not exist, the ERP Information element is used for Extended Rate PHY (ERP) protection mode for 802.11g devices, and the HT Capabilities element is used for indicating the supported HT features of an individual device. References: [Wireless Analysis Professional Study Guide CWAP-404], Chapter 5: 802.11 MAC Sublayer, page 125-126

The function of the PHY layer is to convert PSDUs to PPDUs for transmissions and PPDUs to PSDUs for receptions. A PSDU (PHY Service Data Unit) is the data unit that is passed from the MAC layer to the PHY layer for transmission, or from the PHY layer to the MAC layer for reception. A PPDU (PHY Protocol Data Unit) is the data unit that is transmitted or received over the wireless medium by the PHY layer. A PPDU consists of a PSDU and a PHY header, which contains information such as modulation, coding, and data rate. The PHY layer adds or removes the PHY header to or from the PSDU during the conversion process. References: [Wireless Analysis Professional Study Guide CWAP-404], Chapter 4: 802.11 Physical Layer, page 97-98

Display filters are applied after the capture is completed and they only hide the packets from view. The filtered packets are still present in the capture file and can be enabled for view later by changing or removing the display filter. This is an advantage over capture-time filters, which discard the packets that do not match the filter criteria and cannot be recovered later34 References:

CWAP-403 Study Guide, Chapter 2: Protocol Analysis, page 37

CWAP-403 Objectives, Section 2.3: Apply display filters

Before a retransmission, the CWmax (Contention Window maximum) value doubles and increases by 1. The CWmax is a parameter that determines the upper limit of the random backoff time that a STA (station) has to wait before attempting to access the medium. The random backoff time is chosen from a range of values between CWmin (Contention Window minimum) and CWmax. The CWmin and CWmax values depend on the AC (Access Category) of the traffic and the PHY type of the STA. If a transmission fails due to a collision or an error, the STA has to retransmit the frame after waiting for another random backoff time. However, to reduce the probability of another collision, the STA increases its CWmax value by doubling it and adding 1. This increases the range of possible backoff values and spreads out the STAs more evenly. The STA resets its CWmax value to its original value after a successful transmission or after reaching a predefined limit. References: [Wireless Analysis Professional Study Guide CWAP-404], Chapter 7: QoS Analysis, page 196-197