CCNP Architecture Practice Question
A network engineer is designing a wireless network for a large auditorium that must support high-density client access. The engineer plans to use Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers and Wi-Fi 6 access points. Which feature should be enabled to improve airtime efficiency and reduce overhead for many concurrent clients?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often confuse MU-MIMO with OFDMA, assuming that MU-MIMO alone solves high-density efficiency, when OFDMA specifically addresses subcarrier-level multiplexing for many concurrent clients.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
OFDMA
OFDMA is a Wi-Fi 6 feature that partitions a channel into smaller resource units, allowing simultaneous transmission to multiple clients. This reduces contention and overhead, making it ideal for high-density environments like auditoriums. By enabling OFDMA, the network can serve many clients more efficiently, improving overall throughput and user experience.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
802.11r
Why it's wrong here
802.11r (Fast BSS Transition) is a standard for fast roaming between access points, reducing handoff time for mobile clients. While important for voice and real-time applications, it does not improve airtime efficiency or reduce overhead for many concurrent clients in a fixed high-density environment. It addresses mobility, not capacity, so it is not the correct feature for this scenario.
- ✗
MU-MIMO
Why it's wrong here
MU-MIMO (Multi-User MIMO) allows an access point to transmit to multiple clients simultaneously using multiple spatial streams. While it improves throughput, it is most effective for clients that support multiple antennas and is limited by the number of spatial streams. It does not address subcarrier-level efficiency like OFDMA and may not provide the same benefits for a large number of low-bandwidth clients in high-density scenarios.
- ✗
Band steering
Why it's wrong here
Band steering encourages dual-band clients to use the less congested 5 GHz band, improving overall performance by balancing load. However, it does not improve airtime efficiency within a channel or reduce overhead for many concurrent clients. It is a client distribution technique rather than a PHY/MAC efficiency feature, so it does not directly address the high-density airtime challenge.
- ✓
OFDMA
Why this is correct
OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access) is a key feature of Wi-Fi 6 that allows multiple clients to be served simultaneously within the same channel by allocating subsets of subcarriers. This improves airtime efficiency and reduces overhead in high-density environments by enabling parallel transmissions to multiple clients. In an auditorium with many concurrent clients, OFDMA significantly enhances capacity and performance.
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Cisco exam blueprint
This 350-401 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Cisco certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the 350-401 exam.