Timeframe for CWNA

Aquabat [banned]

Hi, i don't know much about the exam besides that it's 60 questions. What is normal study time? To give you guys an idea of me it took me 5 months for ccna. Of course this all depends on experience.

mabye 2-3 months for cwna?

Cherper

Sounds about right. The study guide books alone probably won't cut it, so check out a bunch of the white papers on the CWNP.com site.

Aquabat [banned]

cherper i never see you, you must stick to the other forums lol.

do you recommened sybex cwna?

Cherper

The Sybex book covers the material well. The 4th Edition of the CWNA book from Planet3 Wireless just came out and covers everything too. Either should work, but neither go into a great deal of depth, so supplement.

ConstantlyLearning

I'm going to do my best to try and pass this cert by the end of March.

I plan on getting the Sybex book, another book and some equipment.

Which other book would be best to get? What equipment should I get?

Currently have a basic wireless network at home. netopia DSL modem and Dell wireless router connected to the main PC. Two laptops in the house connect wirelessly to the router.


Thanks a mill.

Cherper

The tests themselves are vendor neutral so there isn't anything specific to any hardware. The CWNA focuses a great deal on the theory and basic implementation of wireless networking. I was lucky in that I have a great deal of Cisco wireless equipment at work to play with, and my training classes had lots of different vendors.

If you understand the theory of how wireless works, how stations authenticate to access points, differences between the different types of network (A,B,&N) and some of the basic security theories, you should do just fine.

ConstantlyLearning

Cheers for that Cherper. There's plenty of 802.11 books out that so besides from the Sybex one thats geared towards the CWNA I'll just get one that I think I'll find interesting.

I really want to do a lot of hands while studying for this cert. It's something I didn't do enough of while studying for other certs.

Cherper

One of the books that I found rather helpful was Hacking Wireless Exposed. It gives you a pretty good overview of wireless along with wireless security.

ConstantlyLearning

I've come across it few times while browsing in shops. Didn't have the CWNA on my mind then though. I might get it actually because I've always had any interest in security.

Don 79 TA

don't take this exam lightly
i spent ALOT of time preparing for this exam, and all i can say is WOW
is it tough

not something i would want to try again lol

i used rob carpenters book as well as many web searches too

Cherper

I will agree with Don. CWNA is a lot harder than CWSP. Much like CCNA being harder than the individual CCNP tests. The focus is very broad so you need to understand it all, not just a portion.