CWNA study guide
CWNA · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Certified Wireless Network Administrator (CWNA) is the foundational enterprise Wi-Fi certification in the CWNP program and the entry point to CWNP's vendor-neutral certification path. It validates that a candidate understands the fundamentals of wireless technology, how WLANs work, how they are managed day to day, and whether the candidate can install, configure, troubleshoot, and maintain wireless networks in small business or enterprise deployments. The CWNA study guide has 9 sections and about 2,589 words.
01Radio Frequency (RF) Technologies
RF is alternating electromagnetic energy. Frequency and wavelength are inversely related (λ = c / f): about 12.5 cm at 2.4 GHz and 6 cm at 5 GHz.
312 words, about 2 min02Antenna Concepts
An antenna is passive: it cannot amplify. Gain (dBi) is directivity - energy focused into a narrower pattern at the expense of coverage elsewhere.
308 words, about 2 min03Wireless LAN Hardware and Software
Access points ship as autonomous/standalone, controller-managed, or cloud-managed devices. Controller architectures use a split MAC: management, roaming and security logic stays at the controller while real-time 802.11 framing stays at the AP.
272 words, about 1 min04Network Design, Installation, and Management
Decide first whether the design is coverage-driven (warehouse, outdoor) or capacity-driven (dense office, auditorium). Capacity designs shrink cells, add APs, and plan for client count and airtime per AP rather than signal alone.
287 words, about 1 min05Wireless Standards and Organizations
IEEE writes the 802.11 standards. The Wi-Fi Alliance certifies interoperability and security (Wi-Fi CERTIFIED, WPA2, WPA3, WMM, Passpoint).
253 words, about 1 min06802.11 Network Architecture
A BSS is one AP plus its clients, identified by the BSSID (the AP radio's MAC address). An ESS links BSSs through a distribution system under one SSID.
292 words, about 1 min07Wireless LAN Security
WEP (RC4, 24-bit IV) is broken and must never be used. WPA added TKIP with a Michael MIC as a firmware stopgap.
267 words, about 1 min08Troubleshooting
Use a structured approach - bottom-up (cable, PoE, switch port, AP), top-down (application, authentication, IP), or divide-and-conquer - and document what changed. Define the symptom precisely: no association, association but no DHCP, address but no throughput, or intermittent drops.
288 words, about 1 min09How to Perform Site Surveys
Gather requirements first: applications, client types and counts, coverage and capacity targets, roaming needs, security and physical constraints. Obtain an accurate, scaled floor plan - an unscaled drawing invalidates a predictive survey.
310 words, about 2 min