Stop by your local newsstand and flip through the latest computer or business magazines. More than likely, you'll find news items or articles about wireless computing. Lately, the media has concentrated a lot of attention on wireless technology, with an emphasis on reporting the potential benefits and advantages for business people who are constantly on the move.
Book publishers also are capitalizing on the interest in wireless technology. If your present job (or one that you aspire to) involves working with wireless networks, you should add "CWNA Certified Wireless Network Administrator Official Study Guide (Exam PW0-100)" to your reading list. Now in its second edition, this text targets IT professionals responsible for administering, installing, designing, managing, and supporting wireless networks. The book is vendor neutral and provides the information you need to know to obtain wireless network training and certification. Anyone who wants to take the PW0-100 Certified Wireless Network Administrator (CWNA) certification exam should regard this book as mandatory reading. If you don't plan to pursue a full-time career as a wireless network administrator but you want to find out what wireless computing entails and why the technology has generated so much interest, the book's opening two chapters are worth reading.
Chapter 1, "Introduction to Wireless LANs," begins with a history of wireless LANs (WLANs) and looks at current WLAN standards. The chapter then explores the use of wireless technology. For example, you might set up a WLAN as the entry point to a conventional wired network. Alternatively, you might deploy a wireless network as an extension to an existing wired network because additional wiring is too expensive or because your building's structure makes installing more cable difficult or impossible.
A very popular reason for using wireless is the mobility that it provides to users. A common example is warehouse workers who use handheld wireless devices to update stock entries as they fill orders.
Chapter 2, "Radio Frequency (RF) Fundamentals," explores RF behaviors, the principles of antennas, and the mathematics that underpin RF. The chapter looks at the four areas of RF mathematics and how each area pertains to the calculation of WLAN power requirements. Some IT professionals might argue that such grassroots knowledge of RF is unnecessary, but the authors of this book believe that "to a wireless LAN administrator, an understanding of RF concepts [such as these] is essential to the implementation, expansion, maintenance, and troubleshooting of the wireless network."
The book's principal author is Devin Akin, the chief technology officer (CTO) and cofounder of Planet3 Wireless, a company that has created both the Certified Wireless Network Professional (CWNP) program and the CWNA exam. Eight other Planet3 Wireless employees coauthored the book.
The book's layout mirrors how the official CWNA course is taught. The book's early chapters cover the basic building blocks of WLANS, and subsequent chapters discuss the convergence of RF and networking technologies. Each chapter is divided into sections that correspond to the topics you can expect to see in the CWNA exam. Other than the first page, which lists the CWNA exam objectives that the chapter covers, each chapter consists primarily of explanations and of figures, diagrams, and tables that support the theory being discussed.
Each chapter includes a list of key terms discussed in the chapter. Before taking the CWNA exam, you should be familiar with all the terms and know what they mean. After each list of key terms, you'll find a set of review questions (plus answers). These multiple-choice questions have been carefully chosen not only to help you prepare for the exam but also to give you insights into the use of wireless technology in the real world.
Other topics the book covers include wireless network architectures, how WLANs communicate, troubleshooting WLAN installations, how existing WLAN organizations have been set up, and overviews of competing technologies (e.g., HomeRF, Bluetooth, Infrared Data Association--IrDA, and Wireless LAN Interoperability Forum--WLIF). The authors also share their recommendations for ensuring WLAN security.
The book's final chapter concentrates on site-survey fundamentals. A site survey (aka a facilities analysis) is an involved procedure in which the surveyor examines RF behavior, coverage, and interference and makes sure that the appropriate type and amount of hardware is strategically set up. According to the authors, failure to perform a thorough site survey could result in a WLAN installation that "might never work properly." The authors add that "you (or your client) could spend thousands of dollars on hardware that doesn't do the intended job."
A feature of "CWNA: Certified Wireless Network Administrator Official Study Guide" is its only appendix: "RF in Perspective." The appendix points out that, throughout the book, the authors have "provided the technical facts, specifications, and many 'how to' descriptions of wireless LANs; however, without experience working with RF networks, it may still be difficult to understand the big picture." Although the appendix is brief (five and a half pages in length), the information it contains will be helpful to anyone new to wireless technology. The appendix ends with eight points that you should remember when implementing wireless links--for example, "Clear, unobstructed line of sight is required, except perhaps for clients in close proximity to the tower." The book concludes with a handy glossary that defines a variety of wireless terms ranging from protocols and standards (e.g., 802.1d, 802.1x, 802.2, 802.3, 802.5) to Wireless Metropolitan Area Network (WMAN) and wireless workgroup bridge.
For more information about the book, you can visit the CWNP Web site ( http://www.cwne.com ). You'll find links to the book's front and back covers, its introductory pages, the table of contents, its full index, and an excerpt from the chapter about antennas. For those who prefer to read books in electronic format, a downloadable PDF version of this book is available from the Web site.
To test the knowledge you've acquired from reading the book, you can purchase a license for the CWNA Practice Test. This test consists of more than 300 practice questions compiled by the people who create the real CWNA exam. To take the practice test, Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) 5.0 or later must be installed on your system.
Principal author: Devin Akin
Publisher: McGraw-Hill/Osborne
Published: February 2003
ISBN: 0072229020
Paperback, 557 Pages
Price: $69.99