CWAP-404 Certified Wireless Analysis Professional Questions and Answers

The CRC is calculated over the MAC Header and Frame Body only. The CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Check) is a 32-bit value that is used for error detection in wireless transmissions. The CRC is calculated over the MAC Header and Frame Body of a PSDU, which are the parts of the data unit that contain information such as source and destination addresses, frame type, frame control, sequence number, payload, etc. The CRC is appended to the end of the PSDU as a FCS (Frame Check Sequence) field. The CRC is not calculated over the PHY Header or PHY Preamble, which are parts of the PPDU that contain information such as modulation, coding, data rate, etc. The PHY Header and PHY Preamble are added or removed by the PHY layer during the conversion between PSDU and PPDU. References: [Wireless Analysis Professional Study Guide CWAP-404], Chapter 4: 802.11 Physical Layer, page 97-98

Real-time packet decodes are not a consideration when configuring a long-term, forensic packet capture and saving all packets to disk. Real-time packet decodes are useful for live analysis and troubleshooting, but they consume CPU and memory resources that could affect the performance of the capture process. For a long-term, forensic packet capture, it is more important to consider the analyzer location, the total capture storage space, and the individual trace file size. These factors affect the quality and quantity of the captured packets and the ease of post-capture analysis34 References:

• CWAP-404 Study Guide, Chapter 2: Protocol Analysis, page 49
• CWAP-404 Objectives, Section 2.1: Configure protocol analyzers

The device finder is a common feature of a spectrum analyzer that helps locate a non-802.11 interference source. The device finder uses a directional antenna to measure the signal strength of a specific frequency or signal source. By pointing the antenna in different directions, the device finder can indicate the direction and distance of the interference source. The device finder can also filter out other signals that are not related to the interference source. The other options are not correct, as they do not help locate a non-802.11 interference source. Max hold and min hold are features that show the maximum and minimum RF power levels over time,respectively. Location filter is a feature that filters out signals that are not from a specific location or area. References: [Wireless Analysis Professional Study Guide CWAP-404], Chapter 3: Spectrum Analysis, page 77-78

The first step in any troubleshooting process is to define the problem. This involves gathering information from various sources, such as users, network administrators, network documentation, and network monitoring tools. Defining the problem helps to narrow down the scope of the issue and identify the symptoms, causes, and effects of the problem12 References:

• CWAP-403 Study Guide, Chapter 1: Troubleshooting Methodology, page 7
• CWAP-403 Objectives, Section 1.1: Define the problem

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

Before a retransmission, the CWmax (Contention Window maximum) value doubles and increases by 1. The CWmax is a parameter that determines the upper limit of the random backoff time that a STA (station) has to wait before attempting to access the medium. The random backoff time is chosen from a range of values between CWmin (Contention Window minimum) and CWmax. The CWmin and CWmax values depend on the AC (Access Category) of the traffic and the PHY type of the STA. If a transmission fails due to a collision or an error, the STA has to retransmit the frame after waiting for another random backoff time. However, to reduce the probability of another collision, the STA increases its CWmax value by doubling it and adding 1. This increases the range of possible backoff values and spreads out the STAs more evenly. The STA resets its CWmax value to its original value after a successful transmission or after reaching a predefined limit. References: [Wireless Analysis Professional Study Guide CWAP-404], Chapter 7: QoS Analysis, page 196-197

A PS-Poll (Power Save Poll) frame is not an 802.11 management frame. A PS-Poll frame is a type of control frame that is used by a STA in power save mode to request data frames from an AP. A STA in power save mode can conserve battery power by periodically sleeping and waking up. When a STA sleeps, it cannot receive any data frames from the AP, so it informs the AP of its power save status by setting a bit in its MAC header. The AP then buffers any data frames destined for the sleeping STA until it wakes up. When a STA wakes up, it sends a PS-Poll frame to the AP, indicating its association ID and requesting any buffered data frames. The AP thenresponds with one or more data frames, followed by an ACK or BA frame from the STA. The other options are not correct, as they are types of 802.11 management frames. An Action frame is used to perform various management actions, such as spectrum management, QoS management, radio measurement, etc. A Beacon frame is used to advertise the presence and capabilities of an AP or BSS. An Authentication frame is used to establish or terminate an authentication relationship between a STA and an AP. References: [Wireless Analysis Professional Study Guide CWAP-404], Chapter 6: 802.11 Frame Exchanges, page 169-170

802.11k Neighbor Requests and Neighbor Reports are sent in Action frames. An Action frame is a Management frame that is used to perform various operations or functions related to the operation or maintenance of a wireless network. An Action frame consists of a Category field that indicates the type of action being performed, and a variable-length Action Details field that contains specific information related to the action. For example, an Action frame with a Category field value of 5 indicates a Radio Measurement action, and the Action Details field may contain a Neighbor Request or a Neighbor Report subelement . References: CWAP-404 CertifiedWireless Analysis Professional Study and Reference Guide, Chapter 6: MAC Sublayer Frame Exchanges, page 207; CWAP-404 Certified Wireless Analysis Professional Study and Reference Guide, Chapter 6: MAC Sublayer Frame Exchanges, page 208; CWAP-404 Certified Wireless Analysis Professional Study and Reference Guide, Chapter 12: 802.11k/v/r/u/w/ai Amendments, page 434.

All data frames will be retransmitted in this scenario. This is because the AP uses a Block Ack (BA) mechanism to acknowledge the receipt of multiple data frames from a client in a single frame. The BA contains a bitmap that indicates which data frames were received correctly and which were not. If the BA is not received by the AP due to frame corruption, the AP will assume that none of the data frames were received by the client and will retransmit all of them. The other options are not correct, as they do not account for the loss of the BA or the use of the bitmap. References: [Wireless Analysis Professional Study Guide CWAP-404], Chapter 6: 802.11 Frame Exchanges, page 167-168

If the SSID element has a length of 0 in a Beacon frame decode, it means that the beacon is from a BSS configured to hide the SSID. The SSID element is a part of the Beacon frame that contains the name or identifier of the BSS. The SSID element has two fields: length and value. The length field indicates how many bytes are used for the value field, which contains the actual SSID string. If the length field is 0, it means that there is no value field or SSID string in the element. This is a common technique used by some APs to hide their SSID from passive scanning clients or potential attackers. However, this technique does not provide much security, as there are other ways to discover or reveal the hidden SSID, such as active scanning or capturing probe response or association frames. References: [Wireless Analysis Professional Study Guide CWAP-404], Chapter 5: 802.11 MAC Sublayer, page 122-123

The HT protection mode in which an AP is operating can be identified by looking at the HT Operations element in a Beacon frame. The HT Operations element is a part of the Beacon frame that contains information about the High Throughput (HT) capabilities and operation of an 802.11n BSS. The HT Operations element has a field called HT Protection, which indicates how the BSS protects its HT transmissions from interference or collisions with non-HT devices or BSSs. The HT Protection field can have four values: No Protection, Nonmember Protection, 20 MHz Protection, or Non-HT Mixed Mode. The other options are not correct, as they do not contain information about the HT protection mode. The HT Protection element does not exist, the ERP Information element is used for Extended Rate PHY (ERP) protection mode for 802.11g devices, and the HT Capabilities element is used for indicating the supported HT features of an individual device. References: [Wireless Analysis Professional Study Guide CWAP-404], Chapter 5: 802.11 MAC Sublayer, page 125-126

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

An RTS (Request to Send) frame should be acknowledged by a CTS (Clear to Send) frame. An RTS and CTS frame are types of control frames that are used to implement a virtual carrier sense mechanism called RTS/CTS. RTS/CTS is a technique that helps to avoid collisions and hidden node problems in wireless transmissions. When a STA (station) wants to send a data frame, it first sends an RTS frame to the intended receiver, indicating the duration of the transmission. The receiver then responds with a CTS frame, also indicating the duration of the transmission. The other STAs in the vicinity hear either the RTS or the CTS frame and update their NAV (Network Allocation Vector) timers accordingly, deferring their access to the medium until the transmission is over. The sender then sends the data frame, followed by an ACK (Acknowledgement) frame from the receiver. The other options are not correct, as they are not used to acknowledge an RTS frame. An ACK frame is used to acknowledge a data frame, not an RTS frame. An RTS-Ack frame does not exist, as there is no such type of control frame in 802.11. A Block Ack (BA) frame is used to acknowledge multiple data frames in a single frame, not an RTS frame. References: [Wireless Analysis Professional Study Guide CWAP-404], Chapter 6: 802.11 Frame Exchanges, page 166-167

Display filters are applied after the capture is completed and they only hide the packets from view. The filtered packets are still present in the capture file and can be enabled for view later by changing or removing the display filter. This is an advantage over capture-time filters, which discard the packets that do not match the filter criteria and cannot be recovered later34 References:

• CWAP-403 Study Guide, Chapter 2: Protocol Analysis, page 37
• CWAP-403 Objectives, Section 2.3: Apply display filters

The data rate at which the PHY preamble was transmitted is 6 Mbps. 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 detect and synchronize with the signal. The PHY preamble is always transmitted at a fixed data rate that depends on the type of PPDU (e.g., OFDM, HT, VHT, HE). For an 802.1 lac data frame on channel 52, which uses VHT PPDUs, the data rate for the PHY preamble is 6 Mbps. This data rate does not depend on MCS (Modulation and Coding Scheme), which only affects the data rate for the PSDU. References: [Wireless Analysis Professional Study Guide CWAP-404], Chapter 4: 802.11 Physical Layer, page 99-100