Pass the CWNP CWNA CWNA-109 Questions and answers with CertsForce

An IEEE 802.11 amendment is a proposed change or addition to the existing 802.11 standard, which defines the specifications and protocols for wireless LANs. An amendment goes through several stages of development, such as draft, sponsor ballot, and final approval, before it is ratified by the IEEE Standards Association and becomes part of the standard. Until then, it has no official impact on the standard, although some vendors may release products based on draft amendments to gain a competitive edge or to influence the final outcome of the amendment . References: [CWNA-109 Study Guide], Chapter 1: Overview of Wireless Standards, Organizations, and Fundamentals, page 25; [CWNA-109Study Guide], Chapter 1: Overview of Wireless Standards, Organizations, and Fundamentals, page 23; [IEEE website], IEEE-SA Standards Development Process.

USB 3 devices in the user’s work area are the most likely cause of this interference when using a spectrum analyzer to look for non-Wi-Fi interference sources. A spectrum analyzer is a tool that measures and visualizes the radio frequency activity and interference in the wireless environment. A spectrum analyzer can show the spectrum usage and energy levels on each frequency band or channel and help identify and locate the sources of interference. Interference is any unwanted signal that disrupts or degrades the intended signal on a wireless channel. Interference can be caused by various sources, such as other Wi-Fi devices, non-Wi-Fi devices, or natural phenomena. Interference can affect WLAN performance and quality by causing signal loss, noise, distortion, or errors. USB 3 devices are non-Wi-Fi devices that use USB 3.0 technology to transfer data at high speeds between computers and peripherals, such as hard drives, flash drives, cameras, or printers. USB 3 devices can generate electromagnetic radiation that interferes with Wi-Fi signals in the 2.4 GHz band, especially when they are close to Wi-Fi devices or antennas. USB 3 devices can cause significant interference across the entire 2.4 GHz band (not on a few select frequencies) within the desktop area of a user’s workspace, but the interference disappears quickly after just 2 meters. This is because USB 3 devices emit broadband interference that affects all channels in the 2.4 GHz band with a high intensity near the source but a low intensity at a distance due to attenuation. The other options are not likely to cause this interference pattern when using a spectrum analyzer to look for non-Wi-Fi interference sources. Bluetooth devices in the user’s work area are non-Wi-Fi devices that use Bluetooth technology to communicate wirelessly between computers and peripherals, such as keyboards, mice, headphones, or speakers. Bluetooth devices can cause interference with Wi-Fi signals in the 2.4 GHz band, but they use frequency hopping spread spectrum (FHSS) technique that changes frequencies rapidly and randomly within a range of 79 channels. Therefore, Bluetooth devices do not cause significant interference across the entire 2.4 GHz band (not on a few select frequencies), but rather intermittent interference on some channels at different times. Excess RF energy from a nearby AP is not a non-Wi-Fi interference source but rather a Wi-Fi interference source that occurs when an AP transmits more power than necessary for its coverage area. Excess RF energy from a nearby AP can cause co-channel interference (CCI) with other APs or client devices that use the same channel within range of each other. CCI reduces performance and capacity because it causes contention and collisions on the wireless medium,

The guard interval is a short period of time inserted between the symbols of an OFDM signal to prevent inter-symbol interference and improve the robustness of the transmission1. The guard interval can have different values depending on the 802.11 standard and the configuration of the device. For example, 802.11n supports two guard intervals: 800 ns (normal) and 400 ns (short)2. 802.11ac supports the same guard intervals as 802.11n, plus an optional 200 ns guard interval for 80 MHz and 160 MHz channels3. 802.11ax supports three guard intervals: 800 ns, 1600 ns, and 3200 ns4.

The guard interval affects the data rate because it determines the duration of each symbol. A shorter guard interval means more symbols can be transmitted in a given time, resulting in a higher data rate. However, a shorter guard interval also means less protection against inter-symbol interference, which may degrade the signal quality and increase the error rate. Therefore, there is a trade-off between data rate and reliability when choosing the guard interval.

The MCS tables for HT and VHT PHY devices show the data rates for different combinations of modulation, coding, channel width, spatial streams, and guard intervals. For example, for a VHT device using MCS 9 with QAM-256 modulation, 5/6 coding rate, 80 MHz channel width, and one spatial stream, the data rate is 433.3 Mbps with a normal guard interval (800 ns) and 486.7 Mbps with a short guard interval (400 ns)2. Therefore, the guard interval impacts the data rate according to the MCS tables.

The device in the bridge implementation that acts as the 802.1X Authenticator is the root bridge. The root bridge is the bridge that connects to the wired network and acts as the central point for all other bridges in the point-to-multipoint topology. The root bridge authenticates the non-root bridges using 802.1X/EAP and forwards their authentication requests to the RADIUS server. The non-root bridges act as the 802.1X Supplicants and use EAP methods such as EAP-TLS or EAP-PEAP to authenticate with the root bridge. References: [CWNP Certified Wireless Network Administrator Official Study Guide: ExamCWNA-109], page 459; [Cisco Aironet Wireless Bridges FAQ], question 29.

MU-MIMO capabilities of the bridges are not a factor considered when calculating the Link Budget for an outdoor point-to-point WLAN bridge link. The Link Budget is acalculation of the expected signal strength at the receiver based on various factors that affect the RF transmission. Some of these factors are operating frequency, transmit power, receive antenna gain, free space path loss, cable loss, connector loss, and environmental loss. MU-MIMO stands for Multi-User Multiple Input Multiple Output, which is a technology that allows multiple devices to communicate simultaneously using multiple spatial streams. MU-MIMO is not relevant for a point-to-point link, where there are only two devices involved. References: 1, Chapter 2, page 59; 2, Section 2.2

The factors that will have the most significant impact on the amount of wireless bandwidth available to each station within a BSS are:

The number of client stations associated to the BSS

The presence of co-located (10m away) access points on non-overlapping channels

The number of client stations associated to the BSS affects the wireless bandwidth because each station shares the same channel and medium with other stations in the same BSS. The more stations there are, the more contention and collision there will be for the channel access, which reduces thethroughput and efficiency of the wireless communication. The wireless bandwidth available to each station depends on how the access point allocates the channel resources and how the stations use the channel time. For example, if the access point uses a round-robin scheduling algorithm, each station will get an equal share of the channel time regardless of its data rate or traffic demand. However, if the access point uses a proportional fair scheduling algorithm, each station will get a share of the channel time that is proportional to its data rate and traffic demand, which may result in higher or lower bandwidth for different stations.

The presence of co-located (10m away) access points on non-overlapping channels affects the wireless bandwidth because even though they use different channels, they may still cause interference and noise to each other due to channel leakage or imperfect filtering. The interference and noise can degrade the signal quality and SNR of the wireless communication, which reduces the data rate and throughput of the wireless communication. The wireless bandwidth available to each station depends on how well the access point and the station can cope with the interference and noise from other channels. For example, if the access point and the station support dynamic frequency selection (DFS) or adaptive radio management (ARM), they can switch to a less congested channel or adjust their output power or antenna gain to avoid or minimize interference from other channels.

References:1, Chapter 3, page 94;2, Section 3.2