CWAP-405 Certified Wireless Analysis Professional Questions and Answers

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- 405 ], Chapter 6: 802.11 Frame Exchanges, page 167-168

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, Open Authentication 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- 405 ], Chapter 8: Security Analysis, page 220-221

The DHCP server should be configured to provide the IP address information to the APs, but it may also be required to pass information for option 43. Option 43 is a vendor information option and can be used for any vendor purpose. The vendor class identifier (VCI) (for example, “Cisco AP c3600”) is used with option 60 to determine the appropriate information to return with option 43.

The beamformee transmits a Feedback Matrix within the Compressed Beamforming frame to the beamformer. The Feedback Matrix contains information about the channel state between the beamformee and each spatial stream of the beamformer.  This information is used by the beamformer to adjust its transmit weights and optimize its signal for the beamformee 3 4 . References: CWAP- 405 Certified Wireless Analysis Professional Study and Reference Guide, Chapter 11: 802.11n/ac/ax PHYsical Layer Frame Exchanges, page 403 3 ; CWAP- 405 Certified Wireless Analysis Professional Study and Reference Guide, Chapter 11: 802.11n/ac/ax PHYsical Layer Frame Exchanges, page 406 4 .

A very common problem for WLANs is DHCP pool depletion. This occurs because many wireless clients come-and-go from the network quickly. If a client connects for only two or three minutes and the lease duration is set to multiple days (3-8 days is not uncommon), the IP address will be lost for that entire time. To resolve such issues, create more pools and reduce the lease duration to hours instead of days. Look for DHCP negative acknowledgement or server log errors to determine if the IP pool is depleted.

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 analysis 3 4  References:

CWAP-405 Study Guide, Chapter 2: Protocol Analysis, page 49

CWAP-405 Objectives, Section 2.1: Configure protocol analyzers

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 later 3 4  References:

CWAP-403 Study Guide, Chapter 2: Protocol Analysis, page 37

CWAP-403 Objectives, Section 2.3: Apply display filters

The default 802.11 authentication method for a STA when using Pre-RSNA is Open System. This is the simplest and most common authentication method, which does not provide any security or encryption. In Open System authentication, the STA sends an Authentication Request frame to the AP, and the AP responds with an Authentication Response frame with a status code of success. After this, the STA can proceed to association with the AP . References: CWAP- 405 Certified Wireless Analysis Professional Study and Reference Guide, Chapter 6: MAC Sublayer Frame Exchanges, page 181; CWAP- 405 Certified Wireless Analysis Professional Study and Reference Guide, Chapter 6: MAC Sublayer Frame Exchanges, page 183.

The PHY layer provides framing by adding a header to create a PPDU. 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 (PHY Service Data Unit) and a PHY header, which contains information such as modulation, coding, and data rate. The PHY layer adds the PHY header to the PSDU to create a PPDU for transmission, or removes the PHY header from the PPDU to extract the PSDU for reception. The other options are not correct, as they are not created by adding a header at the PHY layer. An MPDU (MAC Protocol Data Unit) is created by adding a MAC header and FCS to an MSDU (MAC Service Data Unit) at the MAC layer. An MSDU is the data unit that is passed from the LLC sublayer to the MAC sublayer or vice versa.  References:  [Wireless Analysis Professional Study Guide CWAP- 405 ], Chapter 4: 802.11 Physical Layer, page 97-98

The length of an AIFS (Arbitration Interframe Space) is calculated by multiplying the AIFSN (Arbitration Interframe Space Number) by the Slot Time and adding the SIFS (Short Interframe Space). An AIFS is a variable interframe space introduced by 802.11e to help prioritize medium access for different Access Categories (ACs). An AC is a logical queue that corresponds to a QoS (Quality of Service) level for different types of traffic. Each AC has a different AIFSN value, which determines how long it has to wait before attempting to access the medium. A lower AIFSN value means a higher priority and a shorter waiting time. The Slot Time is a fixed value that depends on the PHY type and channel width. The SIFS is the shortest interframe space that is used for high-priority transmissions, such as ACKs or CTSs. The formula for calculating the AIFS length is: AIFS = AIFSN * Slot Time + SIFS.  References:  [Wireless Analysis Professional Study Guide CWAP- 405 ], Chapter 7: QoS Analysis, page 194-195

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 and Extended 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- 405 ], Chapter 5: 802.11 MAC Sublayer, page 123-124

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 strength are measured by the receiver based on its own capabilities and environment.  References:  [Wireless Analysis Professional Study Guide CWAP- 405 ], Chapter 4: 802.11 Physical Layer, page 101-105

The function of 802.11 management frames is to manage the BSS. A BSS (Basic Service Set) is a group of STAs (stations) that share a common SSID (Service Set Identifier) and communicate with each other through an AP (access point) or directly in an ad hoc mode. Management frames are one of the three types of 802.11 frames, along with control and data frames. Management frames are used to establish, maintain, and terminate associations between STAs and APs, as well as to advertise and discover BSSs, exchange security information, report errors, and perform other management functions. The other options are not correct, as they are not functions of 802.11 management frames. Prioritizing network administration traffic, communicating configuration changes between WLAN controller and APs, and managing the flow of data are functions of other types of frames or protocols.  References:  [Wireless Analysis Professional Study Guide CWAP- 405 ], Chapter 5: 802.11 MAC Sublayer, page 120-121

The Swept Spectrogram plot is a spectrum analysis plot that shows the RF power present at a particular frequency over the course of time. It can help identify trends and patterns in the RF spectrum over a longer period of time. It can also show how the RF environment changes over time and how different sources of RF signals affect each other. The other options are not correct, as they describe different types of plots or information that are not related to the Swept Spectrogram plot.  References:  [Wireless Analysis Professional Study Guide], Chapter 3: Spectrum Analysis, page 72-73

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- 405 ], Chapter 5: 802.11 MAC Sublayer, page 125-126

 In the 2.4 GHz band, probe requests are usually sent at the minimum basic rate from an unassociated STA. A probe request is a type of management frame that is transmitted by a STA to discover available BSSs in its vicinity. A probe request can be sent on one or more channels in either passive or active scanning mode. In passive scanning mode, a STA listens for beacon frames from APs on each channel. In active scanning mode, a STA sends probe requests on each channel and waits for probe responses from APs. A probe request is usually sent at the minimum basic rate, which is the lowest data rate among the supported rates that is required for all STAs to join and communicate with a BSS. The minimum basic rate can vary depending on the configuration of each BSS, but it is typically one of these values: 1 Mbps, 2 Mbps, 5.5 Mbps, or 11 Mbps in the 2.4 GHz band. The other options are not correct, as they do not reflect how probe requests are usually sent in the 2.4 GHz band. MCS 0 is a modulation and coding scheme used by 802.11n/ac devices in either band, but it is not a data rate per se. 6 Mbps is a data rate used by OFDM devices in either band, but it is not usually configured as a minimum basic rate in the 2.4 GHz band.  References:  [Wireless Analysis Professional Study Guide CWAP- 405 ], Chapter 5: 802.11 MAC Sublayer, page 123-124

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- 405 ], Chapter 4: 802.11 Physical Layer, page 108-109

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- 405 Certified Wireless Analysis Professional Study and Reference Guide, Chapter 6: MAC Sublayer Frame Exchanges, page 207; CWAP- 405 Certified Wireless Analysis Professional Study and Reference Guide, Chapter 6: MAC Sublayer Frame Exchanges, page 208; CWAP- 405 Certified Wireless Analysis Professional Study and Reference Guide, Chapter 12: 802.11k/v/r/u/w/ai Amendments, page 434.

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- 405 ], Chapter 6: 802.11 Frame Exchanges, page 166-167