CCNA Wireless Official Exam Certification Guide

In addition, this book uses quite a different style from typical certification-preparation books. The newer Cisco certification exams have adopted a style of testing that essentially says, "If you do not know how to do it, you will not pass this exam." This means that most of the questions on the certification exam require you to deduce the answer through reasoning or configuration rather than just memorization of facts, figures, or syntax from a book. To accommodate this newer testing style, I have written this book as a "real-world" explanation of Cisco wireless topics. Whenever possible, key concepts are explained using real-world examples rather than showing tables full of syntax options and explanations, which are freely available at Cisco.com. As you read through this book, you will definitely get a feeling of, "This is how I candothis" rather than, "There is the general syntax I need to memorize," which is exactly what you need for the newer Cisco exams.

Who Should Read This Book?
This book is designed to provide a twofold purpose. The primary purpose is to tremendously increase your chances of passing the CCNA Wireless certification exam. The secondary purpose is to provide the information necessary to deploy a CUWN and a Cisco Mobility Express (CME) network as part of the Smart Business Communications System (SBCS). The new Cisco exam approach provides an avenue to write the book with both a real-world and certification-study approach at the same time. As you read through this book and study the configuration examples and exam tips, you will truly understand how you can deploy a wireless network, while at the same time feel equipped to pass the CCNA Wireless certification exam.

Strategies for Exam Preparation
Strategies for exam preparation will vary depending on your existing skills, knowledge, and equipment available. Of course, the ideal exam preparation would consist of building a small wireless lab with a 2106 wireless LAN controller and an 1131AP, as well as a Cisco Mobility Express (CME) 526 controller and 521 AP. You would also need a switch and a few wireless clients so that you could work through configurations as you read through this book. However, not everyone has access to this equipment, so the next best step you can take is to read through the chapters in this book, jotting notes down with key concepts or configurations on a separate notepad. Each chapter begins with a "Do I Know This Already?" quiz designed to give you a good idea of the chapter content. In some cases, you might already know most of or all the information covered in a given chapter.
After you have read this book, look at the current exam objectives for the CCNA Wireless exam listed on the Cisco website (http://www.cisco.com/certification). If you see areas shown in the certification exam outline that you would still like to study, find those sections in the book and review them. When you feel confident in your skills, attempt the practice exam included on the book CD. As you work through the practice exam, note the areas where you lack confidence, and review those concepts or configurations in the book. After you have reviewed the areas, work through the practice exam a second time and rate your skills. Keep in mind that the more you work through the practice exam, the more familiar the questions will become and the less accurate the practice exam will measure your skills. After you have worked through the practice exam a second time and feel confident with your skills, schedule the real IUWNE (640-721) exam through VUE (http://www.vue.com). You should typically take the exam within a week from when you consider yourself ready to take it so the information is fresh in your mind.
Cisco exams are difficult. Even if you have a solid grasp of the information, many other factors play into the testing environment (stress, time constraints, and so on). If you pass the exam on the first attempt, fantastic! If not, know that this is happens to many people. The next time you attempt the exam, you have a major advantage: You have experienced the exam firsthand. Although future exams might have different questions, the topics and general "feel" of the exam will remain the same. Take some time to study areas from the book where you felt weak on the exam. You must wait a certain period between attempts, so use that time to make yourself more prepared in the areas in which you scored low.

640-721 IUWNE Exam Topics

Table I-1 lists the exam topics for the 640-721 IUWNE exam. This table also lists the book parts where each exam topic is covered.
Table I-1Exam Topics for 640-721 IUWNE Exam

Exam Topic

Describe WLAN fundamentals

Part I

Describe basics of spread spectrum technology (modulation, DSS, OFDM, MIMO, Channels reuse and overlap, Rate-shifting, CSMA/CA)

Part I

Describe the impact of various wireless technologies (Bluetooth, WiMAX, ZigBee, cordless phone)

Part I

Describe wireless regulatory bodies, standards and certifications (FCC, ETSI, 802.11a/b/g/n, WiFi Alliance)

Part I

Describe WLAN RF principles (antenna types, RF gain/loss, EIRP, refraction, reflection, ETC)

Part I

Describe networking technologies used in wireless (SSID —> WLAN_ID —> Interface — >VLAN, 802.1Q trunking)

Part I

Describe wireless topologies (IBSS, BSS, ESS, Point-to-Point, Point-to-Multipoint, basic Mesh, bridging)

Part III

Describe 802.11 authentication and encryption methods (Open, Shared, 802.1X, EAP, TKIP, AES)

Part I

Describe frame types (associated/unassociated, management, control, data)

Install a basic Cisco wireless LAN

Part II

Describe the basics of the Cisco Unified Wireless Network architecture (Split MAC, LWAPP, stand-alone AP versus controller-based AP, specific hardware examples)

Part II

Describe the Cisco Mobility Express Wireless architecture (Smart Business Communication System — SBCS, Cisco Config Agent — CCA, 526WLC, 521AP - stand-alone and controller-based)

Part II

Describe the modes of controller-based AP deployment (local, monitor, HREAP, sniffer, rogue detector, bridge)

Part II

Describe controller-based AP discovery and association (OTAP, DHCP, DNS, Master-Controller, Primary-Secondary-Tertiary, n+1 redundancy)

Part II