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Everyone looking to take the CWNA test after 10/30/2006 should probably navigate to the CWNA certification area on the website and take a look at the new naming conventions that will be used and the revised topics that will be covered.

In my professional opinion the changes made are a great move to keep the exam and practice test as current as possible. Surely there will be complaints about people who rely solely on the study guide to pass the test, but in my view it's better to keep the exam current than to cling on to older material just because it's in a study guide.

As far as the actual changes go, probably the biggest adjustment will be removing well-known terms like 802.11b and 802.11g and replacing them with arcane terms like ERP-OFDM that are not widely used in the industry. Using these rarely seen terms is good if you are going to stick to the strict language of the IEEE documents, but for people who come from a real-world background this will be a major adjustment.

It is important to note that the changes are not driven by the program but by the IEEE rolling the amendments up into the standard as required by their guidlines. The CWNP program and certifications are as valuable as they are today in part due to staying current with the industry. As Ben pointed out, it's better to keep the exam current than to cling on to older material just because it's in a study guide.

This is also why all future study guides should clearly state that purchasers should visit the website for errata and updates. They should be informed that they will be tested on current objectives in light of IEEE standards and that the books are aids in this process.

I'm with you Bryan and Ben... we need to keep all the exams fresh. The Wireless# exam will be a really interesting one. Since it covers so many technologies, I wonder if we can wait 3 years for new versions of the study guide. We'll have to wait and see. For example, I'm sure there will be huge changes to the WiMAX stuff in the next two years as it is being more heavily implemented in the real world. Same with Zigbee technology and RFID with the current massive rollouts.

Thanks for the gear turning Ben and, CWNP rulers!, thanks for keeping this certification program real and useful.

Tom Carpenter

all coments are right..but making clearification makes easy for us..like me many are there who are going to give the certification...like poe,authentication modes..and all that it all helps to be clear and to understand the interrelationship of these terms...thanks to authority who made it clear..thanx indeed

http://www.cwnp.com/exams/exam_terms.html

Please be sure to read and understand these terms BEFORE sitting for the exam. thanks!

Devinator