CWNP CWAP-404 Certified Wireless Analysis Professional Exam Practice Test

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

The function of the PHY preamble is to allow the receiver to detect and synchronize with the signal. 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 adjust its parameters, such as frequency, timing, and gain, to match the incoming signal. The PHY preamble also helps the receiver to estimate the channel conditions and noise level. References: [Wireless Analysis Professional Study Guide CWAP-404], Chapter 4: 802.11 Physical Layer, page 99-100

The configured Minimum Basic Rate (MBR) of a BSS can be identified by looking at the Supported Rates and Extended Supported Rates elements in a Beacon frame. A Beacon frame is a type of management frame that is transmitted by an AP to advertise its presence and capabilities to potential clients. A Beacon frame contains various information elements (IEs) that provide details about the BSS configuration and operation. The Supported Rates andExtended Supported Rates IEs list the data rates that are supported by the AP for data transmission. The MBR is the lowest data rate among these supported rates that is required for all clients to join and communicate with the BSS. The MBR is usually marked with a flag bit in these IEs to indicate its mandatory status. The other options are not correct, as they do not exist or do not indicate the MBR of a BSS. References: [Wireless Analysis Professional Study Guide CWAP-404], Chapter 5: 802.11 MAC Sublayer, page 123-124

Two frames are exchanged for 802.11 authentication in the 6 GHz band when WPA3-Enterprise is not used, and a passphrase is used instead. Authentication is a process that establishes an identity relationship between a STA (station) and an AP (access point) before joining a BSS (Basic Service Set). There are two types of authentication methods defined by 802.11: Open System Authentication and Shared Key Authentication. Open System Authentication does not require any credentials or security information from a STA to join a BSS, and it consists of two frames: an Authentication Request frame sent by the STA to the AP, and an Authentication Response frame sent by the AP to the STA. Shared Key Authentication requires a shared secret key from a STA to join a BSS, and it consists of four frames: two challenge-response frames in addition to the request-response frames. However, Shared Key Authentication uses WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) as its encryption algorithm, which is insecure and deprecated. In the 6 GHz band, which is a newly available frequency band for WLANs, Shared Key Authentication is prohibited by the 802.11 standard, as it poses security and interference risks for other users and services in the band. The 6 GHz band requires all WLANs to use WPA3-Personal or WPA3-Enterprise encryption methods, which are more secure and robust than previous encryption methods such as WPA2 or WEP. WPA3-Personal uses a passphrase to derive a PMK (Pairwise Master Key), while WPA3-Enterprise uses an authentication server to obtain a PMK. Both methods use SAE (Simultaneous Authentication of Equals) as their authentication protocol, which replaces PSK (Pre-Shared Key) or EAP (Extensible Authentication Protocol). SAE consists of two frames: an SAE Commit frame sent by both parties to exchange elliptic curve parameters and nonces, and an SAE Confirm frame sent by both parties to verify each other’s identities and generate a PMK. Therefore, when WPA3-Enterprise is not used, and a passphrase is used instead in the 6 GHz band, only two frames are exchanged for 802.11 authentication: an SAECommit frame and an SAE Confirm frame. References: [Wireless Analysis Professional Study Guide CWAP-404], Chapter 8: Security Analysis, page 220-221

A STA that supports 802.11k Radio Measurement would send a Neighbor Request to an AP to request a list of neighboring APs which the STA can use as roaming candidates. A Neighbor Request is an Action frame that contains a subelement specifying the type of information that the STA wants to receive from the AP. A Neighbor Report is an Action frame that contains a subelement with a list of neighboring APs that match the criteria specified in the Neighbor Request. The Neighbor Report provides information such as BSSID, channel, operating class, and PHY type of each neighboring AP. This information helps the STA to perform intelligent roaming decisions based on signal quality, load, and compatibility . References: CWAP-404 Certified Wireless Analysis Professional Study and Reference Guide, Chapter 12: 802.11k/v/r/u/w/ai Amendments, page 434; CWAP-404 Certified Wireless Analysis Professional Study and Reference Guide, Chapter 12: 802.11k/v/r/u/w/ai Amendments, page 435.

An HE TB PPDU (High Efficiency Trigger-Based Packet Data Unit) is used to respond with an uplink transmission to an MU-RTS trigger frame in the 802.11ax PHY (Physical Layer). An MU-RTS trigger frame is a frame that initiates a multi-user transmission opportunity (MU-TXOP) by requesting multiple stations (STAs) to send clear-to-send (CTS) frames on different spatial streams or resource units (RUs). An HE TB PPDU is a frame that contains data from multiple STAs that have been allocated RUs by an MU-RTS trigger frame or another type of trigger frame. An HE SU PPDU (High Efficiency Single User Packet Data Unit) is a frame that contains data from a single STA using all available spatial streams or RUs. An HE MU PPDU (High Efficiency Multi User Packet Data Unit) is a frame that contains data from multiple STAs using different spatial streams or RUs without being triggered by another frame. A VHT PPDU (Very High Throughput Packet Data Unit) is a frame that uses the 802.11ac PHY and does not support multi-user transmissions.References:

• CWAP-404 Study Guide, Chapter 3: 802.11 MAC Layer Frame Formats and Technologies, page 101
• CWAP-404 Objectives, Section 3.4: Analyze multi-user transmissions
• CWAP-404 Study Guide, Chapter 3: 802.11 MAC Layer Frame Formats and Technologies, page 99

Every Beacon frame must contain a DTIM is not a true statement concerning DTIMs. DTIM stands for Delivery Traffic Indication Message, and it is a subfield within the TIM (Traffic Indication Map) element in a Beacon frame. The DTIM indicates how many Beacon frames (including the current one) will appear before the next DTIM. For example, if the DTIM interval is set to 3, it means that every third Beacon frame will contain a DTIM. Buffered broadcast and multicast traffic will be transmitted following a DTIM, so that STAs in power save mode can wake up and receive them. The DTIM interval can also dictate when an STA will wake up to listen to Beacon frames, as some STAs may choose to only listen to Beacon frames that contain a DTIM . References: CWAP-404 Certified Wireless Analysis Professional Study and Reference Guide, Chapter 6: MAC Sublayer Frame Exchanges, page 200; CWAP-404 CertifiedWireless Analysis Professional Study and Reference Guide, Chapter 6: MAC Sublayer Frame Exchanges, page 201.

The 4-way handshake is the process that establishes the pairwise transient key (PTK) between the client and the AP in WPA2-PSK. The PTK is derived from the PSK, the SSID, and some random numbers exchanged in the handshake frames. The PTK is used to encrypt and decrypt the data frames between the client and the AP. Therefore, in order to decrypt WPA2-PSK data packets, a protocol analyzer needs to capture the 4-way handshake frames and have the PSK and SSID configured in the analyzer software12 References:

• CWAP-404 Study Guide, Chapter 3: 802.11 MAC Layer Frame Formats and Technologies, page 87
• CWAP-404 Objectives, Section 3.5: Analyze security exchanges

An 802.11 wireless adaptor is required for Wi-Fi integration in laptop-based spectrum analyzer software in addition to the spectrum analysis adapter. The spectrum analysis adapter is a hardware device that captures the RF signals in the wireless environment and sends them to the spectrum analyzer software for analysis and display. The 802.11 wireless adapter is a hardware device that connects the laptop to the wireless network and allows the spectrum analyzer software to correlate the RF data with the Wi-Fi data, such as SSID, channel, and BSSID. This enables the spectrum analyzer software to provide more context and insight into the spectrum activity and its impact on the Wi-Fi network. A firmware upgrade for the spectrum analysis adapter is not required for Wi-Fi integration, but it may be needed to fix bugs or add features to the device. A directional antenna is an antenna that focuses the RF energy in a specific direction and has a high gain and a narrow beamwidth. A directional antenna can be used with a spectrum analysis adapter to pinpoint the location or source of interference or noise in the wireless environment, but it is not required for Wi-Fi integration. SNMP read credentials to the WLAN controller or APs are not required for Wi-Fi integration, but they may be useful for obtaining additional information about the wireless network configuration and performance from the network devices.References:

• CWAP-404 Study Guide, Chapter 4: Spectrum Analysis and Troubleshooting, page 123
• CWAP-404 Objectives, Section 4.2: Integrate Wi-Fi data with spectrum analysis data
• CWAP-404 Study Guide, Chapter 4: Spectrum Analysis and Troubleshooting, page 131

The channel number is not transmitted in an HT PPDU header. An HT PPDU header is a part of the PPDU that contains information such as modulation, coding, data rate, and number of spatial streams for an 802.11n transmission. The channel number is not included in the HT PPDU header, as it is determined by the frequency band and channel width that are used by the transmitter and receiver. The channel number can be inferred from the frequency band and channel width, which are indicated by bits in different fields of the HT PPDU header, such as HT-SIG and HT-LTF. The other options are not correct, as they are transmitted in an HT PPDU header. The number of spatial streams, PPDU length, and MCS index are indicated by bits in the HT-SIG field of the HT PPDU header. References: [Wireless Analysis Professional Study Guide CWAP-404], Chapter 4: 802.11 Physical Layer, page 108-109

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 STA is discovering a list of available BSSs by sending a Probe Request with an empty SSID element. This is also known as a broadcast Probe Request, as it does not specify any particular SSID to probe for. Any AP that receives this Probe Request will respond with a Probe Response containing its own SSID and other information about its BSS. This way, the STA can learn about all the BSSs in its vicinity and choose which one to associate with . References: CWAP-404 Certified Wireless Analysis Professional Study and Reference Guide, Chapter 6: MAC Sublayer Frame Exchanges, page 191; CWAP-404 Certified Wireless Analysis Professional Study and Reference Guide, Chapter 6: MAC Sublayer Frame Exchanges, page 193.

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

Open Authentication without encryption is not allowed when operating a BSS in the 6 GHz band, according to the 802.11 standard. Open Authentication is a type of authentication method that does not require any credentials or security information from a STA (station) to join a BSS (Basic Service Set). Open Authentication can be used with or without encryption, depending on the configuration of the BSS and the STA. Encryption is a technique that scrambles the data frames using an algorithm and a key to prevent unauthorized access or eavesdropping. However, in the 6 GHz band, which is a newly available frequency band for WLANs, OpenAuthentication without encryption is prohibited by the 802.11 standard, as it poses security and interference risks for other users and services in the band. The 6 GHz band requires all WLANs to use WPA3-Personal or WPA3-Enterprise encryption methods, which are more secure and robust than previous encryption methods such as WPA2 or WEP. The other options are not correct, as they do not describe scenarios where Open Authentication without encryption is not allowed by the 802.11 standard. When operating a BSS in the CBRS band, which is another newly available frequency band for WLANs, Open Authentication without encryption is allowed, but not recommended, as it also poses security and interference risks for other users and services in the band. When operating a BSS in FIPS mode, which is a mode that complies with the Federal Information Processing Standards for cryptographic security, Open Authentication without encryption is allowed, but not compliant, as it does not meet the FIPS requirements for encryption algorithms and keys. When operating a BSS in a government facility, Open Authentication without encryption is allowed, but not advisable, as it may violate the government policies or regulations for wireless security. References: [Wireless Analysis Professional Study Guide CWAP-404], Chapter 8: Security Analysis, page 220-221

The most likely cause of higher airtime utilization on the first 20 MHz of the 80 MHz channel is non-Wi-Fi interference. Non-Wi-Fi interference can prevent an AP from using its full channel width, as it will degrade the signal quality and increase the noise floor on some parts of the channel. This will force the AP to fall back to a narrower channel width, such as 20 MHz or 40 MHz, to maintain communication with its clients. The waterfall plot can help identify non-Wi-Fi interference by showing spikes or bursts of RF energy on specific frequencies or sub-channels. The other options are not correct, as they do not explain why only the first 20 MHz of the channel has higher airtime utilization. References: [Wireless Analysis Professional Study Guide], Chapter 3: Spectrum Analysis, page 74-75

The statement that the Frame Control field contains subfields, and some 1-bit flags is true. The Frame Control field is a 2-byte field in the MAC header that contains information about the type, subtype, and characteristics of a frame. The Frame Control field is divided into several subfields, each with a specific function and length. Some of these subfields are 1-bit flags, which can be set to 0 or 1 to indicate a certain condition or status. For example, the To DS and From DS subfields are 1-bit flags that indicate whether a frame is destined for or originated from the DS (Distribution System). The other statements are not true, as they do not describe the Frame Control field correctly. All types of frames (management, control, and data) have a Frame Control field, not just control frames. The Frame Control field is not used to communicate the duration value, which is a separate field in the MAC header. The Frame Control field is not always set to 0, as it varies depending on the type, subtype, and characteristics of each frame. References: [Wireless Analysis Professional Study Guide CWAP-404], Chapter 5: 802.11 MAC Sublayer, page 113-114

Observing the problem is the most important step in the WLAN troubleshooting methodology among those listed. This step involves capturing and analyzing the relevant data from the wireless network, such as packets, frames, spectrum, and performance metrics. Observing the problem helps to verify the existence and scope of the issue, identify the root cause and possible solutions, and validate the results of any actions taken. The other steps are also important, but they are not as critical as observing the problem12 References:

• CWAP-404 Study Guide, Chapter 1: Troubleshooting Methodology, page 15
• CWAP-404 Objectives, Section 1.2: Observe the problem

One of the information that is communicated by bits in the PHY header is data rate. Data rate is the speed at which data is transmitted or received over the wireless medium. Data rate depends on factors such as modulation, coding, channel width, spatial streams, and guard interval. Data rate is indicated by bits in different fields of the PHY header, depending on the type of PPDU (e.g., OFDM, HT, VHT, HE). The receiver uses these bits to determine how to decode and demodulate the rest of the PPDU. The other options are not correct, as they are not communicated by bits in the PHY header. SNR (Signal-to-Noise Ratio), noise, and signal strengthare measured by the receiver based on its own capabilities and environment. References: [Wireless Analysis Professional Study Guide CWAP-404], Chapter 4: 802.11 Physical Layer, page 101-105