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Exam Information
Official specifications published by CWNP
Exam Format
Registration
Validity
Skills this practice test covers
- Set up a protocol analyzer with capture filters, packet slicing, channel scanning and display filters.
- Read spectrum analyzer views to find the noise floor, the SNR and sources of RF interference.
- Decode PHY headers, MCS values and the pseudo-headers a protocol analyzer adds to each frame.
- Validate a BSS from captured frames, including its country code, basic rates, WMM and RSN settings.
- Explain DCF and EDCA contention and check QoS mappings end to end in a capture.
- Trace authentication, association, key exchange and roaming frames to the point where they fail.
Explore related topics
CWAP-405 exam content
6 domains · 31 topics · 240 of 300 questions are written for CWAP-405
Protocol Analysis15%37 questions
This domain is about getting a useful capture and reading it well. Candidates select capture devices and locations, set analyzer options such as packet slicing and capture filters, and follow a troubleshooting method from defining the problem to documenting the fix.
Skills tested
- Select capture devices, monitor mode drivers and capture locations for a given problem.
- Set save-to-disk, buffer, event trigger and channel dwell time options before a capture.
- Apply display filters, colorization, custom columns and expert mode to a capture.
- Use the analyzer's decryption procedure to read protected frames.
- Follow the troubleshooting steps from defining the problem to documenting the resolution.
Questions by topic
- Ensure appropriate troubleshooting methods are used with all analysis types7
- Understand and apply the common capture configuration parameters available in protocol analysis tools8
- Understand and apply common protocol analyzer features and functions8
- Implement protocol analyzer decryption procedures6
- Capture roaming events4
- Capture 802.11 frames using the appropriate methods4
Spectrum Analysis10%26 questions
Some Wi-Fi problems come from RF energy, not from frames. Candidates capture spectrum data with handheld, laptop-based and infrastructure tools, read the common analyzer views, and identify Wi-Fi and non-Wi-Fi transmitters by their signatures.
Skills tested
- Measure signal amplitude, the RF noise floor and the SNR in a spectrum capture.
- Locate sources of RF interference and judge their effect on channel utilization.
- Recognize DSSS, OFDM and OFDMA signals, channel widths and frequency hopping devices.
- Use AP-based and sensor-based spectrum analysis.
Questions by topic
- Analyze spectrum captures to identify various device signatures11
- Analyze spectrum captures to identify relevant RF information and issues10
- Capture RF spectrum data and understand the common views available in spectrum analyzers5
PHY Layers and Technologies10%28 questions
This domain covers the physical layer, from DSSS to EHT. Candidates describe each PHY and its PHY protocol data units, apply that knowledge to captured data and pseudo-headers, and know which PHY details a protocol analyzer cannot capture.
Skills tested
- Describe the DSSS, HR/DSSS, OFDM, ERP, HT, VHT, HE and EHT PHYs.
- Read preambles, training fields, data rates and the MCS index in captured data.
- Use the PHY information in the pseudo-headers that the analyzer adds.
- Pick a capture adapter that supports the PHYs and spatial streams in use.
Questions by topic
- Identify and use PHY information provided in pseudo-headers within protocol analyzers9
- Understand and describe the functions of the PHY layer and the PHY protocol data units (PPDUs)13
- Apply the understanding of PHY technologies (including PHY headers, preambles, training fields, frame aggregation and data rates) to captured data4
- Apply the understanding of PHY technologies (including PHY headers, preamles, training fields, frame aggregation and data rates) to captured data2
MAC Sublayer and Functions25%55 questions
This domain covers the frames themselves. Candidates read management, control and data frame formats, explain A-MSDU and A-MPDU aggregation, validate BSS capabilities from captures, and find CRC errors and retransmitted frames.
Skills tested
- Identify management, control and data frames and read the fields of each MAC header.
- Compare A-MSDU and A-MPDU aggregation in captured traffic.
- Check a BSS's country code, beacon interval, supported rates, WMM and RSN settings.
- Find FCS errors and retransmitted frames and explain their likely causes.
Questions by topic
- Identify and use MAC information in captured data for analysis21
- Validate BSS capabilities through protocol analysis9
- Identify and analyze CRC error frames and retransmitted frames9
- 802.11 Management Frame Formats5
- Understand frame encapsulation and frame aggregation7
- 802.11 Control Frame Formats4
WLAN Medium Access10%29 questions
This domain explains how stations share the medium. Candidates describe DCF and EDCA contention in depth, including WMM, and check from capture files that QoS is set and mapped correctly end to end.
Skills tested
- Explain DCF, physical and virtual carrier sense, and random backoff.
- Describe EDCA access categories and their WMM parameters, such as AIFSN.
- Verify QoS parameters and QoS mappings from a capture file.
Questions by topic
- Analyze QoS configuration and operations9
- Understand 802.11 contention algorithms in-depth and know how they impact WLANs19
- Analyze behavior and resolve problems related to MAC layer operations1
802.11 Frame Exchanges30%65 questions
The largest domain follows complete frame sequences. Candidates analyze BSS discovery and joining, including 802.1X/EAP, SAE and OWE, then roaming, data and Block Acknowledgement exchanges, MIMO and OFDMA transmissions, power save and protection mechanisms.
Skills tested
- Analyze 802.1X/EAP and pre-shared key exchanges, the four-way handshake and the group key exchange.
- Diagnose sticky clients and excessive roaming from a multiple channel capture.
- Read RTS/CTS, QoS data and Block Acknowledgement exchanges.
- Identify MIMO and OFDMA transmissions in captured frames.
- Analyze power save operations and protection mechanisms.
Questions by topic
- Capture, understand, and analyze BSS discovery and joining frame exchanges23
- Analyze data frame exchanges9
- Analyze behavior and resolve problems related to MAC layer operations12
- Analyze roaming behavior and resolve problems related to roaming9
- Identify MIMO and multiuser-specific transmission methods5
- Fast secure roaming mechanisms3
- Opportunistic Wireless Encryption (OWE)2
- 802.1X/EAP exchanges1
- Simultaneous Authentication of Equals (SAE)1
Requirements
- Required: a valid CWNA certification that has not expired.
- Recommended: one to two years of experience with enterprise wireless LANs.
- Recommended: hands-on use of protocol analyzers such as Wireshark and of spectrum analysis tools.
About the CWAP-405 exam
CWNP's CWAP-405 exam checks whether a wireless engineer can trace a Wi-Fi problem to its cause with 802.11 frame captures and RF spectrum data. It covers protocol and spectrum analysis, PHY technologies from DSSS to EHT, the MAC sublayer, medium access and complete frame exchanges. CWNP awards CWAP to candidates who pass and hold a valid CWNA certification. CWAP also counts toward the expert-level CWNE.
802.11 Frame Exchanges and the MAC sublayer hold the most questions in the PlanetCert practice test, as they carry the most weight on the exam. The explanations walk through the frames in a sequence, such as an SAE exchange or a Block Ack session, and point to the field that shows the fault. Study Mode suits the PHY and pseudo-header questions, where each header field needs a careful read. Brainy AI Assistant can decode an unfamiliar Radiotap field or explain why a client keeps roaming.
How to earn the certification
- Earns
- Certified Wireless Analysis Professional (CWAP)Professional
CWAP is valid for three years.
- Before
- CWNA-109 Certified Wireless Network Administrator (CWNA)
Required. CWNP awards CWAP only to candidates who also hold this certification, and it must be valid.
- CWNA-109 Certified Wireless Network Administrator (CWNA)
How to prepare for CWAP-405
- 1
Build a capture laptop
Install a protocol analyzer, a monitor mode driver and an adapter that supports the PHYs and spatial streams on the network. The other steps all depend on this setup.
- 2
Capture a client joining end to end
Record one client from BSS discovery through authentication, association and the four-way handshake. Repeat it with SAE and with 802.1X/EAP, then compare the frames.
- 3
Give frame exchanges the most time
802.11 Frame Exchanges is the largest domain. Capture roaming across channels, then data, RTS/CTS and Block Ack exchanges, until the job of each frame is clear.
- 4
Map known RF sources
Run a spectrum analyzer near a microwave oven, a Bluetooth device and a busy channel. Match each signature on the waterfall view to its source.
- 5
Study by domain, then switch to timed
Work through the CWAP-405 practice test one domain at a time in Study Mode, then take a run in Timed Mode. Ask Brainy AI Assistant about every frame field or QoS value that was misread.
Start a timed CWAP-405run
Who CWAP-405 is for
- Wireless network engineers who troubleshoot enterprise WLANs from captures.
- WLAN analysts and network support engineers who read protocol and spectrum data.
- Wireless security staff who analyze authentication and key exchanges.
- CWNA holders who are working toward the expert-level CWNE.
Typical job titles: Wireless network engineer · Wireless LAN analyst · Network support engineer · Wireless security engineer · Network administrator
CWAP-405 glossary
17 terms from the exam objectives and the vendor's official material, each defined in a sentence.
- A-MPDU
- Aggregation that sends several MAC frames in one transmission, each frame with its own MAC header and FCS.
- A-MSDU
- Aggregation that packs several data payloads into one MAC frame under a single MAC header.
- Block Acknowledgement
- One acknowledgement frame that confirms many received frames at once, used with frame aggregation.
- Distributed Coordination Function (DCF)
- The basic 802.11 contention method, in which stations sense the medium and wait a random backoff before they transmit.
- Enhanced Distributed Channel Access (EDCA)
- The QoS form of contention, which gives each access category its own wait times and contention window.
- Four-way handshake
- The four-frame key exchange that proves both sides hold the same master key and derives the keys for the session.
- MCS index
- A number that stands for a combination of modulation and coding rate, which helps set the data rate of a transmission.
- Monitor mode
- A wireless adapter mode that captures every 802.11 frame on a channel, not only the adapter's own traffic.
- Noise floor
- The level of background RF energy on a channel when no wanted signal is present.
- OFDMA
- A method that divides a channel into resource units, so an access point can serve several clients in one transmission.
- Opportunistic Wireless Encryption (OWE)
- A method that encrypts traffic on an open network without a password.
- Packet slicing
- Saving only the first part of each frame, usually the headers, to keep capture files small.
- PHY protocol data units (PPDUs)
- The units the PHY layer transmits: a preamble and PHY header, followed by the MAC frame.
- Pseudo-header
- Extra data a capture adapter adds to each frame, such as signal strength, channel and data rate.
- Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR)
- How far a received signal rises above the noise floor, measured in decibels.
- Simultaneous Authentication of Equals (SAE)
- The password-based key exchange of WPA3-Personal, which resists offline password guessing.
- Sticky clients
- Clients that stay on a distant access point when a closer one would give a better connection.
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