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Elevators are a common building item that frequently causes RF shadow and must be accounted for in coverage plans. RF shadow is a term that describes an area where wireless signals are blocked or significantly weakened by an obstacle or an object that absorbs or reflects RF energy. RF shadow can cause lack of coverage or poor performance in a WLAN because wireless devices in those areas may not be able to communicate with access points or other devices. RF shadow can be mitigated by adjusting access point placement, antenna orientation, transmit power level, or channel selection to avoid or overcome the obstacle or object that causes it. Elevators are a common building item that frequently causes RF shadow because they are made of metal and they move up and down within a shaft. Metal is a material that has high attenuation and reflection values, which means it can block or bounce off wireless signals very effectively. A moving elevator can create dynamic RF shadow that changes depending on its position and direction. Therefore, elevators must be accounted for in coverage plans to ensure adequate WLAN coverage and performance throughout the facility. The other options are not common building items that frequently cause RF shadow or must be accounted for in coverage plans. Wooden doors are not likely to cause RF shadow because they are made of wood, which is a material that has low attenuation and reflection values, which means it can pass through or slightly weaken wireless signals. Carpeted floors are not likely to cause RF shadow because they are made of fabric, which is a material that has low attenuation and reflection values, which means it can pass through or slightly weaken wireless signals. Cubicle partitions are not likely to cause RF shadow because they are made of thin plastic or cardboard, which are materials that have low attenuation and reflection values, which means they can pass through or slightly weaken wireless signals. References: CWNA-109 Study Guide, Chapter 13: Wireless LAN Site Surveys - Types & Processes , page 433

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-109Study Guide, Chapter 6: Wireless LAN Devices and Topologies, page 243.

 The frame type that is used to reserve the wireless medium for the transmission of high data rate frames that may not be understood by all clients connected to the BSS is RTS. RTS stands for Request to Send and is a control frame that is sent by a station to request access to the medium for a specified duration. The RTS frame contains the source and destination MAC addresses, as well as a Network Allocation Vector (NAV) value that indicates how long the medium will be occupied. The destination station responds with a Clear to Send (CTS) frame that echoes the NAV value and grants permission to the source station. All other stations in the BSS hear either the RTS or CTS frame and update their NAV timers accordingly, deferring their transmissions until the medium is free. The RTS/CTS mechanism can be used to prevent hidden node problems, reduce collisions, and protect high data rate frames that use features such as 802.11n or 802.11ac that may not be compatible with legacy stations. ACK, Beacon, and PS-Poll are not used to reserve the medium for high data rate frames. References: [CWNP Certified Wireless Network Administrator Official Study Guide: ExamCWNA-109], page 112; [CWNA: Certified Wireless Network Administrator Official Study Guide: ExamCWNA-109], page 102.

What prevents each station from using all the airtime when other client stations are actively communicating in the same BSS is CSMA/CA. CSMA/CA stands for Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance and is a media access control method used by WLAN devices to share the wireless medium. CSMA/CA works by having each station sense the medium before transmitting a frame. If the medium is busy (i.e., another station is transmitting), the station defers its transmission until the medium is idle. If the medium is idle, the station waits for a random backoff period before transmitting. This way, CSMA/CA reduces the chances of collisions and ensures fair access to the medium for all stations. CSMA/CA also uses positive acknowledgements to confirm successful transmissions and retransmissions to recover from errors. CSMA/CD, DOS prevention, and OFDMA are not used by WLAN devices in a BSS. References: [CWNP Certified Wireless Network Administrator Official Study Guide: ExamCWNA-109], page 108; [CWNA: Certified Wireless Network Administrator Official Study Guide: ExamCWNA-109], page 98.

Cellular/LTE/5G is the best method for implementing a network backhaul for communications across the Internet in a remote area that is affected by a natural disaster. This is because cellular/LTE/5G networks are wireless and do not depend on physical infrastructure that may be damaged or unavailable in such scenarios. Cellular/LTE/5G networks also offer high-speed data transmission and wide coverage area, which are essential for emergency response operations. 802.11 bridging to the response team headquarters is not feasible because it requires line-of-sight and has limited range. Turning up the output power of the WLAN at the response team headquarters is not effective because it may cause interference and does not guarantee reliable connectivity. Temporary wired DSL is not practical because it requires installing cables and equipment that may not be available or accessible in a remote area. References: CWNA-109 Study Guide, Chapter 7: Wireless LAN Topologies, page 2031

The client STA can use Beacon frames transmitted by the AP to verify that an AP supports the same data rates that it supports. Beacon frames are management frames that are periodically broadcasted by the APs to announce their presence, capabilities, and parameters. Oneof the information elements contained in the Beacon frames is the Supported Rates or Extended Supported Rates, which lists the data rates that the AP can use for communication. The client STA can compare its own data rates with those advertised by the AP to determine if they are compatible. Data frames, authentication frames, and probe request frames do not contain information about data rates. References: [CWNP Certified Wireless Network Administrator Official Study Guide: ExamCWNA-109], page 133; [CWNA: Certified Wireless Network Administrator Official Study Guide: ExamCWNA-109], page 123.

 VSWR stands for Voltage Standing Wave Ratio, which is a measure of how well the impedance of the RF cable and connectors matches the impedance of the transmitter and the antenna. Impedance is the opposition to the flow of alternating current in an RF circuit, and it depends on the frequency, resistance, capacitance, and inductance of the components. A perfect impedance match would have a VSWR of 1:1, meaning that all the power is transferred from the transmitter to the antenna, and none is reflected back. However, in reality, there is always some degree of mismatch, which causes some power to be reflected back to the transmitter, creating standing waves along the cable. This reduces the efficiency and performance of the wireless system, and can also damage the transmitter. Excessive VSWR can be caused by using poor quality or damaged cables and connectors, or by using components that have different impedance ratings123. References: CWNA-109 Study Guide, Chapter 2: Radio Frequency Fundamentals, page 90; CWNA-109Study Guide, Chapter 2: Radio Frequency Fundamentals, page 86; CWNP website, CWNA Certification.

OFDMA is a new modulation scheme introduced in 802.11ax that allows multiple users to share the same channel by dividing it into smaller subchannels called resource units (RUs). This improves the efficiency and capacity of the WLAN by reducing contention and overhead. However, to use OFDMA, both the AP and the client must support 802.11ax and negotiate the parameters of the subchannel allocation. Therefore, the customer needs to upgrade the clients that require OFDMA to 802.11ax devices12.

The other options are not correct because they do not reflect the reality of OFDMA. Option B is incorrect because OFDMA is a mandatory feature of 802.11ax for both downlink and uplink transmissions, and all 802.11ax APs must support it1. Option C is incorrect because OFDM and OFDMA are different modulation schemes, and OFDM does not allow multiple users to share the same channel. Option D is incorrect because 802.11ac devices cannot support OFDMA through driver upgrades, as they lack the hardware and firmware capabilities to do so2.

References: 1:CWNA-109Official Study Guide, page 144 2: OFDMA

CCI is still a possibility in this network because the client devices connected to one of the channel 1 APs will transmit frames that reach the other channel 1 AP as well as clients connected to the other channel 1 AP. CCI stands for co-channel interference, which is a type of interference that occurs when two or more devices transmit on the same channel within range of each other. CCI reduces performance and capacity because it causes contention and collisions on the wireless medium, which leads to retransmissions and delays. CCI can be mitigated by increasing physical separation between devices using the same channel or byreducing transmit power levels to limit coverage area. In this scenario, three access points are used within a facility. One access point is on channel 11 and the other two are on channel 1. The two access points using channel 1 are on either side of the access point using channel 11 and sufficiently apart so that they do not interfere with each other when they transmit frames. However, this does not prevent CCI from occurring between their client devices that are connected on channel 1. For example, if a client device connected to one of the channel 1 APs sends a frame to another device on the wired network or on another wireless network (such as an Internet server or a VoIP phone), that frame will be heard by both channel 1 APs as well as any other client devices connected to either of them on channel 1. This will cause CCI because these devices will have to wait for the channel to be clear before they can transmit their own frames. The answer that CCI only occurs in the 5 GHz frequency band is incorrect; CCI can occur in any frequency band where devices use the same channel. The answer that channel 11 loops around and causes CCI with channel 1 is also incorrect; channel 11 does not loop around and it operates in a different frequency band than channel 1. References: CWNA-109 Study Guide, Chapter 5: Radio Frequency Signal and Antenna Concepts, page 147

Weak signal strength is the likely cause of the low data rate issue for the client that has a signal strength of -84 dBm and a noise floor of -96 dBm. The client is an 802.11ac client and connects to an 802.11ac AP. Both the client and AP are 2x2:2 devices. Signal strength is the measure of how strong the RF signal is at the receiver. Signal strength can affect the reliability and performance of the wireless connection, as well as the data rate and throughput of the traffic. The higher the signal strength, the better the signal quality and the higher the data rate. The lower the signal strength, the worse the signal quality and the lower the data rate.

The data rate of an 802.11ac connection depends on several factors, such as channel bandwidth, modulation and coding scheme (MCS), spatial streams, guard interval, and beamforming. However, these factors are also influenced by the signal strength, as they require a certain signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) to operate properly. SNR is the ratio of the signal strength to the noise floor, which is the measure of the background noise or interference in the RF environment. The higher the SNR, the more robust and efficient the communication. The lower the SNR, the more prone and vulnerable to errors and retries.

According to the CWNA Official Study Guide , Table 3.7, page 112, an 802.11ac connection with a channel bandwidth of 80 MHz, an MCS of 9, two spatial streams, a short guard interval, and no beamforming can achieve a maximum data rate of 867 Mbps. However, this data rate requires a minimum SNR of 30 dB to maintain a sufficient signal quality. If the signal strength is -84 dBm and the noise floor is -96 dBm, then the SNR is only 12 dB (-84 dBm - (-96 dBm) = 12 dB), which is far below the required SNR for this data rate. Therefore, the data rate will drop significantly to match the lower SNR and signal quality.

To solve this problem, the signal strength should be increased to improve the SNR and data rate. This can be done by adjusting the output power or channel assignment of the AP or client, relocating or reorienting some APs or antennas to reduce attenuation or interference, updating or replacing some faulty oroutdated hardware or software components, etc. References: , Chapter 3, page 112; , Section 3.2