CWNP CWNA-108 Questions Answers

 A Wi-Fi scanner is a basic tool that can be used to easily locate areas of high co-channel interference. A Wi-Fi scanner is a software application that can run on a laptop, tablet, smartphone, or other device that has a Wi-Fi adapter. A Wi-Fi scanner can scan the wireless environment and display information about the detected access points and client stations, such as their SSID, BSSID, channel, signal strength, security, and data rate. A Wi-Fi scanner can also show the channel utilization and overlap of different access points, which can indicate the level of co-channel interference. Co-channel interference is a type of interference that occurs when multiple access points use the same or adjacent channels within the same coverage area. Co-channel interference can reduce the throughput and performance of the WLAN, as the access points and client stations have to contend for the channel access and avoid collisions. To identify areas of high co-channel interference, a Wi-Fi scanner can be used to measure the signal strength and channel utilization of different access points and compare them with a threshold or a baseline. Alternatively, a Wi-Fi scanner can also use a color-coded heat map to visualize the co-channel interference level in different locations. References: 1, Chapter 7, page 279; 2, Section 4.3

In an 802.11 2.4 GHz system, channels 1 and 5 are considered non-overlapping. In the 2.4 GHz band, there are 14 channels defined by the IEEE 802.11 standard, but only 11 of them are available in North America and most other regions. Each channel has a bandwidth of 22 MHz, but they are spaced only 5 MHz apart from each other. This means that adjacent channels overlap with each other and cause interference. To avoid interference, it is recommended to use only non-overlapping channels, which are channels that do not share any frequency range with each other. In the 2.4 GHz band, there are only three non-overlapping channels: channel 1, channel 6, and channel 11. However, some devices can use channel bonding to combine two adjacent channels into one wider channel of 40 MHz, which can provide higher throughput but also more interference. In this case, there are only two non-overlapping channels: channel 1+5 and channel 6+10. References: 1, Chapter 3, page 86; 2, Section 3.2

When a station scans for available wireless networks, it listens for beacon frames sent by APs. A beacon frame contains information about the BSS, such as SSID, supported rates, channel, security, etc. The station also measures the signal strength of the beacon frames, which indicates how well the station can communicate with the AP. The signal strength is usually expressed in dBm or RSSI units. The higher the signal strength, the better the connection quality and performance. Therefore, the station can use the signal strength of AP beacons as the primary metric to select the best AP for connectivity to the desired BSS12. References: CWNA-109 Study Guide, Chapter 6: Wireless LAN Devices and Topologies, page 249; CWNA-108 Study Guide, Chapter 6: Wireless LAN Devices and Topologies, page 243.

A 5 GHz channel should be used for this AP because channels 1 and 6 are 2.4 GHz channels and they have no impact on the decision. The 5 GHz frequency band offers more non-overlapping channels than the 2.4 GHz frequency band, which reduces interference and improves performance. The 5 GHz frequency band also supports higher data rates and wider channel bandwidths than the 2.4 GHz frequency band, which increases capacity and throughput. The 5 GHz frequency band also has less interference from other devices and sources than the 2.4 GHz frequency band, which enhances reliability and quality of service. Therefore, it is recommended to use the 5 GHz frequency band for WLANs whenever possible. Channels 1 and 6 are two of the three non-overlapping channels in the 2.4 GHz frequency band (the other one is channel 11). They are used by a neighbor network in this scenario, but they do not affect the channel selection for this AP because they operate in a different frequency band than the 5 GHz frequency band. Channel 6 is not always best to use; it depends on the interference and congestion level in the environment. Channel 1 is not best to use because it has a lower frequency than channel 6; frequency does not determine channel quality or performance. Channel 11 is not best to use because it is also a 2.4 GHz channel and it may interfere with channels 1 and 6. References: CWNA-109 Study Guide, Chapter 4: Antenna Systems and Radio Frequency (RF) Components, page 113