CWNP Updated CWNA-109 Exam Questions and Answers by sahib

The RF energy that exists in the environment from intentional and unintentional RF radiators that forms the baseline above which the intentional signal of your WLAN must exist is the best explanation of the noise floor noted in the report. The noise floor is a term that describes the level of background noise or interference in a wireless channel or band. The noise floor is measured in dBm (decibel-milliwatts) and it represents the minimum signal strength that can be detected or received by a wireless device. The noise floor is influenced by various factors, such as the sensitivity of the receiver, the antenna gain, the cable loss, and the ambient RF environment. The ambient RF environment consists of intentional and unintentional RF radiators that emit RF energy in the wireless spectrum. Intentional RF radiators are devices that are designed to transmit RF signals for communication purposes, such as Wi-Fi access points, Bluetooth devices, microwave ovens, or cordless phones. Unintentional RF radiators are devices that are not designed to transmit RF signals but generate electromagnetic radiation as a by-product of their operation, such as USB 3 devices, PC power supplies, or fluorescent lights. The noise floor affects WLAN performance and quality because it determines the minimum signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) that is required for a successful wireless transmission. SNR is the difference between the signal strength of the desired signal and the noise floor of the channel. SNR is also measured in dB and it indicates how much the signal stands out from the noise. A higher SNR means a better signal quality and a lower bit error rate. A lower SNR means a worse signal quality and a higher bit error rate. Therefore, to achieve a reliable WLAN connection, the intentional signal of your WLAN must exist above the noise floor by a certain margin that depends on the data rate and modulation scheme used. The other options are not accurate or complete explanations of the noise floor noted in the report. The noise caused by elevators, microwave ovens, and video transmitters is not the noise floor but rather examples of interference sources that contribute to the noise floor. The extra energy radiated by access points and client devices beyond that intended for the signal is not the noise floor but rather an example of spurious emissions that cause interference to other devices or channels. The energy radiated by flooring materials that causes interference in the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands is not the noise floor but rather an example of attenuation or reflection that reduces or changes the direction of the signal. References: CWNA-109 Study Guide, Chapter 5: Radio Frequency Signal and Antenna Concepts, page 139

TVHT stands for Television Very High Throughput and it is a PHY defined by the 802.11af amendment. It uses the TV white space (TVWS) spectrum in the VHF and UHF bands between 54 and 790 MHz, which are not in use by broadcast video signals at the time. It can provide long-range and low-power connectivity for WLAN devices.

TWT is the feature of 802.11ax (HE) that is managed with beacon and trigger frames and is primarily a power management method, but also provides more efficient access to the channel used within a BSS. TWT stands for target wake time, which is a mechanism that allows an access point and a client device to negotiate and schedule specific times for data transmission and reception. This enables the client device to enter a low-power sleep mode when it is not expected to communicate with the access point, which saves battery life and reduces power consumption. TWT also reduces contention and interference on the channel used within a BSS, as it coordinates the transmissions of multiple client devices and avoids collisions. TWT is managed with beacon and trigger frames, which are two types of management frames that are used to announce and initiate data exchanges. A beacon frame is a frame that is periodically sent by an access point to advertise its presence, capabilities, and parameters to client devices. A trigger frame is a frame that is sent by an access point or a client device to request or initiate a data transmission with another device. BSS color, UL-MU-MIMO, and OFDMA are other features of 802.11ax (HE) that are not primarily power management methods, but rather performance enhancement methods. BSS color is a feature that assigns a color code to each BSS to differentiate it from other BSSs that use the same channel. This reduces interference and improves spatial reuse of the channel. UL-MU-MIMO is a feature that allows an access point to receive multiple simultaneous transmissions from different client devices using multiple spatial streams. This increases capacity and throughput of the uplink direction. OFDMA is a feature that divides a channel into smaller subchannels called resource units (RUs) that can be allocated to different devices for concurrent transmissions. This increases efficiency and flexibility of the channel utilization. References: CWNA-109 Study Guide, Chapter 10: Wireless LAN Operation, page 323

The center frequency of channel 4 in the 2.4 GHz band is 2.427 GHz (2427 MHz). The center frequency of a channel is the midpoint of its frequency range, where the signal strength is highest and most concentrated. The center frequency of channel 1 in the 2.4 GHz band is 2.412 GHz (2412 MHz), as given in the question. The center frequency of each subsequent channel is obtained by adding 5 MHz to the previous channel’s center frequency, since the channels are spaced 5 MHz apart from each other in this band. Therefore, to find the center frequency of channel 4, we need to add 15 MHz (5 MHz x 3) to the center frequency of channel 1:

2.412 GHz + 0.015 GHz = 2.427 GHz

Alternatively, we can use a formula to calculate the center frequency of any channel in the 2.4 GHz band:

Center frequency (GHz) = 2.407 + (0.005 x Channel number)

Using this formula for channel 4, we get:

Center frequency (GHz) = 2.407 + (0.005 x 4)

Center frequency (GHz) = 2.407 + 0.02

Center frequency (GHz) = 2.427 References: 1, Chapter 3, page 85; 2, Section 3.2