AWCC cheat sheet

The AWCC exam validates vendor-neutral competency in designing, deploying, operating, and securing wireless LANs in enterprise environments.

Domains weight roughly: objectives/scope, core concepts, platform/tools, configuration, operations/troubleshooting, and security/best practices.

Questions test applied judgment on RF design, client onboarding, roaming, and WLAN security rather than product-specific menu paths.

Certification is aimed at network engineers and administrators with practical WLAN deployment experience.

Expect scenario items: given a symptom set, choose the diagnostic step or configuration change that resolves it.

Regulatory domain knowledge (channels, power limits, DFS) is in scope because it constrains design choices.

Wireless security standards (WPA2/WPA3, 802.1X, EAP methods, RADIUS) are core exam content.

Knowing the difference between design-time, deployment-time, and run-time tasks helps classify questions quickly.

802.11 bands: 2.4 GHz (channels 1-13/14 by region, 3 non-overlapping), 5 GHz (UNII-1 to UNII-3 plus DFS), 6 GHz (Wi-Fi 6E, PSC channels).

Channel width trade-off: wider channels raise throughput but reduce available non-overlapping channels and increase noise susceptibility.

RSSI is a negative dBm value; -50 dBm is strong and -80 dBm is weak. SNR = signal dBm minus noise floor dBm.

Roaming is client-driven; the AP cannot force a roam except via 802.11k neighbor reports, 802.11v BSS transition, and 802.11r fast transition.

MCS index maps modulation and coding scheme to data rate; higher MCS requires higher SNR.

MU-MIMO and OFDMA (Wi-Fi 6) improve efficiency by serving multiple clients per transmit opportunity.

BSSID identifies an AP radio; SSID identifies the network; ESS is a set of BSSs sharing an SSID.

Hidden SSID is not a security control; it only removes the SSID from beacons and can hinder client association.

Site survey tools fall into predictive (simulation), passive (listen-only), and active (associate and test) categories.

Spectrum analyzers show non-802.11 interference (microwave, Bluetooth, cordless phones) that a Wi-Fi adapter cannot see.

A protocol analyzer in monitor mode captures 802.11 frames including management and control frames.

WLC architectures: centralized (CAPWAP tunneled), distributed/flex, and cloud-managed controllers each change traffic paths.

CAPWAP uses UDP 5246 (control) and 5247 (data); firewall rules must permit these for AP join.

PoE budget planning: 802.3af ~15.4 W, 802.3at ~30 W, 802.3bt up to 90 W at the PSE; AP power class limits radio chains.

RADIUS servers (UDP 1812 auth, 1813 accounting) authenticate 802.1X supplicants.

DHCP option 43 and DNS discovery are common ways APs locate a controller.

WLAN profile binds SSID, security policy, VLAN mapping, and QoS; AP group assigns profiles to radios.

802.1X configuration requires: supplicant, authenticator (AP/WLC), and authentication server (RADIUS) with shared secret.

WPA3-Enterprise uses 192-bit security suite; WPA3-Personal uses SAE instead of PSK 4-way handshake.

Fast roaming 802.11r requires matching mobility domain and key configuration across APs to avoid handshake failures.

Dynamic VLAN assignment is driven by RADIUS attributes (Tunnel-Type, Tunnel-Medium-Type, Tunnel-Private-Group-ID).

Guest networks should be isolated on a separate VLAN with client isolation and captive portal enforcement.

Channel and power plans: set 2.4 GHz to 20 MHz, 5 GHz to 40/80 MHz per density, and avoid co-channel overlap.

Band steering and load balancing influence client band selection but can cause association failures if misconfigured.

Troubleshooting order: physical/power, RF coverage, association, authentication, DHCP/IP, then application.

Client cannot associate: check SSID match, security mismatch, MAC filtering, and AP capacity.

Association succeeds but no IP: verify VLAN mapping on the WLAN, DHCP scope, and trunk configuration.

Authentication failures: verify RADIUS reachability, shared secret, certificate validity, and EAP method match.

Low throughput causes: retries, low SNR, co-channel interference, excessive channel width, and legacy client rates.

Monitor retry rate, client count per AP, channel utilization, and noise floor as leading indicators.

Roaming problems often stem from sticky clients or asymmetric power; verify 802.11k/v/r support on both sides.

Packet captures at AP and switch uplink distinguish RF issues from wired path issues.

WEP is broken and must never be used; TKIP is deprecated; prefer CCMP (AES) or GCMP.

WPA2-Personal uses PSK vulnerable to offline dictionary attacks; WPA3-SAE adds forward secrecy and resists them.

802.1X with EAP-TLS is strongest because it uses mutual certificate authentication; PEAP/MSCHAPv2 requires server certificate validation.

Disable WPS, default credentials, and unneeded management interfaces on APs and controllers.

Rogue AP detection compares on-channel and off-channel scans to identify unauthorized BSSIDs.

Regulatory compliance requires operating only permitted channels and power levels for the deployment country.

Management frame protection (802.11w/PMF) mitigates deauthentication and disassociation attacks.

Log authentication events and review for brute-force or repeated EAP failures as a monitoring control.