CWDP Exam!, A pinch of common sense and a lot of experience!
Why CDWP?
CWDP is one of the professional level exams along with CWAP and CWSP to qualify towards CWNP qualification. It focusses on Wi-Fi Planning, Defining Requirements, Designing, WLAN validation (also known as Site Survey) and some troubleshooting.
Personal Experience
I’d like to share my experience with the recently certified CWDP-303 exam. The exam by itself is not difficult when compared to CWAP. If you have been doing wireless design/audit and troubleshooting for a while CWDP should test you on the experience. A lot of questions in the CWDP exam test your knowledge on the wireless design and deployment as a project on the whole. I’ve been exposed to wireless design and WLAN audit and validation for around 3 years. This has certainly boosted my knowledge and confidence required to clear this exam. The exam is very enjoyable and some questions tend to cheer you as they test common sense that is required in carrying out WLAN audit and design.
Tips for Preparation.
The key is to focus on and prioritise the Exam Objectives as detailed on the CWNP website. If you have been performing site surveys it will make a lot of sense in this exam. Many of the objectives will come easier to you during your preparation. Metrics such as SNR, signal strength, CCI, data rates, etc. “Design the WLAN” covers 45% of the exam syllabus that roughly covers 27 questions out of 60 so you should focus the chunk of preparation in this area along with “Define Specifications for the WLAN” which covers 25%~15 questions. Covering both of these topics should make one in a good position to certify this exam. Some helpful resources for the exam.
- CWDP Certified Wireless Design Professional Official Study Guide, Shawn M Jackman – Though its not the latest book it is still good enough for covering the topics of the current exam (CWDP-303).
- CWNP Practice Tests
- Blog posts from CTS and videos from WLAN Pros should not only help towards CWDP but other certifications as well.
