The Wireless Adjuster course, from wireless industry veteran, Devin Akin, is described as training that teaches “WLAN best practice assessment, remediation and the first 80% of troubleshooting tasks.”
The purpose of this course is three-fold:
To teach the skills to Assess, Remediate, and Troubleshoot (ART) wireless networks efficiently
Accomplish this primarily with an inexpensive WLAN scanner (along with associated tools that may be purchased for under $850)
Provide hands-on experience to master the practical aspect of these skills
The instructor uses WiFi Explorer Pro (MacOS only), but Windows-based scanners (e.g. inSSIDer by MetaGeek, or WinFi by Helge Keck) are allowed (though not initially supported). Even though I much prefer a PC to a Mac, I jumped at the chance to attend the first ever Wireless Adjuster training and used a Macbook with WiFi Explorer Pro in the first beta class.
It is suggested that students purchase WiFi Explorer Pro (though you can use the 7-day fully-functional trial copy in class), a WLAN Pi (highly recommended), and a MetaGeek DBx adapter. Registered students are provided discount codes to purchase the WLANpi and DBx adapter from WLANpros’s online store.
The first day of class is primarily focused on getting familiar with the functionality of the WLAN scanner. This includes learning when the WLAN scanner is the most appropriate tool for troubleshooting, features and capabilities of the WLAN scanner, and how those features are used in the process of WLAN problem solving.
Devin covered how to use the WLANpi as a remote sensor and what configuration is required to get MacOS to use an external adapter for scanning. There was also a good amount of detail about which MAC fields can be most helpful in troubleshooting particular issues. The first day was capped with a short game-show style quiz that inspired a lot of discussion about best practices with regard to wireless troubleshooting.
Day two was even better. Having gotten comfortable with the tools presented on day one it was time to start with the live exercises. The exercises ranged from beginner to more advanced. All of the exercises required application of the skills learned on day one as well as CWNA and some CWAP knowledge to answer. Learning new skills, critical thinking and fun were all in good supply. Not only was the class interesting and informative, the discussions that the live labs elicited were very engaging.
The Wireless Adjuster test will be offered starting in February 2020. It will be taken online, have a significantly large pool of questions with limited retakes, and will have 25 questions. I expect this to be a challenging test.
Devin is an excellent instructor. The practical hands-on nature of the topics covered in this class fills a training gap in the wireless industry. It is well worth your time.