Cuyamaca College
CIS Department

Fundamentals of Wireless Networking
CIS-262

Fall 2012

Office Hours: by appointment
Class Hours: Monday 6:00pm – 8:55pm

Changes to this syllabus may occur anytime during the semester.
Notification of changes will be provided via Blackboard announcements

 I. COURSE DESCRIPTION
 

This introductory course is designed for anyone wanting to learn wireless networking with an emphasis on earning the vendor-neutral Certified Wireless Network Administrator (CWNA) certification.  Wireless technology is an important component in modern networking topologies and earning a CWNA certification is a key initial step towards a successful career in the wireless field.  The CWNA certification is the foundation level enterprise Wi-Fi certification for the Certified Wireless Network Professional (CWNP) Program, and the CWNA certification is required for the Certified Wireless Security Professional (CWSP) and Certified Wireless Networking Expert (CWNE) certifications. This course covers Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) topics including: basic wireless principles; wireless technology concepts; wireless networking devices; 802.11 antenna technology; and WLAN Security. This course focuses on introducing students to 802.11 WLAN communication technologies available today.  Along with learning wireless technology terms, concepts, and principles students beginning in the technology will get hands-on experience configuring a variety of WLAN networking devices and topologies.

·        Radio Frequency (RF) Technologies

·        Antenna Concepts

·        Wireless LAN Hardware and Software

·         Network Design, Installation, and Management

·         Wireless Standards and Organizations

·         802.11 Network Architecture

·         Wireless LAN Security

·        Troubleshooting

·        How to Perform Site Surveys

II. Prerequisite
 CIS-125; or CIS-201; or possess a current CCNA or Network+ or CCENT certification; or equivalent. Students should have a functional knowledge of: PC hardware; PC operating systems; basic LAN networking principles, topologies, media, and components.

III. COURSE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
 

Students will be able to:

1)      Define and describe the concepts associated with IEEE 802.11WLAN radio technologies and topologies

2)       Describe the primary methods for locating, joining, and maintaining connectivity with an IEEE 802.11 WLAN.  

3)      Describe the purpose of and basic elements of installing, configuring, securing, and managing WLAN infrastructure devices.

4)   Describe the purpose of and how to install, configure, secure, and manage WLAN client devices.

5)   Configure basic setup on IEEE 802.11 WLAN access points, bridges, routers, controllers and client adapters.

6)   Describe the components of a wireless radio system and factors that affect radio system design

7)   Describe wireless antenna characteristics, basic installation requirements, and common antenna accessories    

8)   Describe WLAN security threats, vulnerabilities and basic security mitigation features

9)   Describe and perform WLAN RF calculations using the basic components of RF mathematics. 

10)    Describe the primary spread spectrum technology components and the concepts of spread spectrum modulation and coding  

11)     Describe the common WLAN frame types and frame exchange sequences.  

12)     Describe how the OSI model layers are related to IEEE 802.11 WLANs.  

13)     Describe the processes involved in authentication and association between WLAN infrastructure devices and clients.   

14)     Describe the strengths, weaknesses, appropriate uses, and implementation of the IEEE 802.11 WLAN security-related mechanisms.

15)   Perform the basic elements of a Site Survey 

IV. TEXT, MATERIALS AND ONLINE WEBSITE

Required Text:
CWNA Certified Wireless Network Administrator Official Study Guide: Exam PW0-105 (CWNP Official Study Guides).Paperback: 768 pages;Publisher: Sybex; 3 edition (May 1, 2012); Authors: David D. Coleman, David A. Westcott. ISBN-10: 111812779X , ISBN-13: 978-0470438909

Optional Reference Text:
802.11 Wireless Networks: The Definitive Guide, Second Edition (Paperback);656 pages. Author: Matthew S. Gast, ISBN-10: 0596100523, ISBN-13:978-1118127797
 

V. COURSE SPECIFICS

Attendance
Active participation and regular attendance is important for gaining the maximum benefit from this course.  Students who miss 2 consecutive weeks of class may be dropped from the course but as a student you are ultimately responsible for dropping the class if you decide to stop attending. If you are going to be absent/inactive for more than 1 week due to illness, work travel or family emergency, please notify me preferably by e-mail.

Dropping the Class
It is your responsibility to withdraw from class. All students who are enrolled at the end of the course must be given a letter grade. Students who stop attending and do not officially withdraw will receive an F. See the "IMPORTANT DATES" section below for drop deadlines.

Assignments
Assignments for the class are divided into the following groups:

Reading Assignments
The reading assignments should be completed before the chapter lecture. Reading assignments are distributed so that no more than 50 pages of textbook reading have been assigned each week.  Some chapters may take more than one reading to understand. Students are responsible for all terms and concepts in the chapters covered.

Study Guides
Study guides are assigned to point out key information for each chapter. A study guide for each chapter will be assigned.  Completion of study guides is mandatory.  Submit of completed study guides using the Blackboard Assignments section of each chapter. Submission of assignments is required by 11:59pm on Saturday each week unless specifically noted by the instructor.

On-Line Chapter Exams
All chapter exams are administered online, and enabled only after the topic has been completed.  The chapter exams will be provided in the Assignments section of Blackboard for each chapter.  The Chapter Exams will be accessible on Blackboard for six (6) days after completion of the chapter lecture in class.  Chapter Exams are “take-home” exams and must be completed during the accessible period provided.

Labs
The hands-on labs are an important part of this course. Students are urged to work together in small groups. Content for the skills-based final will be directly drawn from lab assignments, worksheets, and other course material.  All completed labs, and case study must be submitted by the date indicated in the assignment schedule and prior to taking final exams. 

Skills-Based Final & On-Line Final Exam
The skills-based final and an on-line comprehensive final exam will be administered in the classroom at the end of the course. The final exam will be comprehensive and you must pass the comprehensive final and the skills-based final to pass the course. All completed labs, chapter exams, case study must be submitted and the skills-based final must be completed before you may take the final exam.
  

This course adheres to the policies outlined in the Cuyamaca College catalogue. For further information, see Academic Policies stated in the catalogue.
 

Final course grades will be computed as follows:

INSTRUCTIONAL FACILITIES

• Classroom
• Laboratory
• Personal computer for each student
• Appropriate course software

IV.  IMPORTANT DATES

Please refer to the appropriate official Cuyamaca College document to insure compliance with any College deadline.