Lets take a quick look at IEEE wireless standards for example. They come in 4 forms (802.11, 802.11b, 802.11a and 802.11n) with different frequencies and transfer rates.

You may learn the types, though you will get a lengthy question that looks something like this:

A company are currently using the legacy IEEE 802.11 standard for their internal wireless communications. They are facing issues regarding wireless interference because they are testing electronic kitchen appliances in their factory. The company wishes to benefit from a faster rate of transfer without jeopardising the range of transfer. From the following, which wireless communications standards would you recommend for the small company to implement?

a. 802.11n or 802.11x
b. 802.11n or 802.11a
b. 802.11n or 802.11b
d. 802.11n or 802.11g

Questions like these are the reason why this exam are so painful. You may know bit rate and the frequencies along with the order of which wireless connection came first, though whats the actual answer? To master the CISSP questions, you need to know the technical understanding though able to answer it from a managerial perspective. You need to make the decision rather than pointing at the explicit answer to the question.

In Soccer terms, this is like saying,

'who's the best footballer at the moment' (Messi)

'from the following, who's the best footballer at the moment

• Emile Heskey (NewCastle Jets)
• Titus Bramble (Sunderland)
• Stewart Downing (Liverpool)
• David Hoilett (QPR)

OK back to the exam and lets start eliminating. First you should be aware that 802.11x is actually the 'family' of IEEE wireless standards, it's not an actual wireless standard, so 'A' is eliminated. Wireless standards has increased over the ages, so has the ability to transmit over longer distances and faster rates. with this in mind, all the possibilities have greater distances than 802.11 therefore all can achieve this requirement.

The biggest pain point here is the interference. It's because 802.11 which runs @ 2.4Ghz wireless frequency, which is also the same frequency of 'kitchen appliances' such as microwaves.

If you know the story behind the wireless connections, 802.11b actually came out before 802.11a. 802.11a came out for the sole reason because of interference issues. As a result, it came out with a different frequency (5Ghz).
Just FYI, the 802.11n IEEE standard comes with the option of 2.4Ghz or 5Ghz

Considering that the interferences are the issue as the major concern and neglecting the other aspects, I would select b. 802.11n and 802.11a.

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