mediumMultiple Choice
CCNP Practice Question: Runs the following command on a Cisco WLC: WLC#…
A network engineer runs the following command on a Cisco WLC:
WLC# show ap stats ap-name AP-1
AP Statistics for AP-1 ---------------------- Channel Utilization: 45% Interference: 10% Noise Floor: -95 dBm Total Packets Received: 15000 Total Packets Sent: 12000 Total Errors: 200
Based on this output, what can be concluded?
⚠ Common exam trap
Cisco often tests the misconception that any non-zero error count or moderate utilization is automatically problematic, when in fact the absolute values and percentages must be evaluated against established thresholds (e.g., noise floor below -90 dBm is good, utilization under 50% is moderate).
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
✓
The channel utilization is moderate and the noise floor is low.
The channel utilization of 45% is considered moderate (typically below 50% is acceptable), and the noise floor of -95 dBm is very low (excellent), indicating a clean RF environment. The interference value of 10% is also low, and the error count of 200 out of 15,000 received packets (1.33%) is not significant. This output shows a healthy AP with no major issues.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The channel is heavily congested with utilization above 80%.
Why it's wrong here
Channel utilization is measured as the percentage of time the wireless medium is busy. A value of 45% indicates that the medium is occupied less than half the time, leaving ample capacity for additional traffic. A heavily congested channel would typically show utilization of 80% or more, often accompanied by high retry rates and poor user experience; 45% does not meet that threshold, so this statement is incorrect.
- ✗
The noise floor is high, indicating potential interference.
Why it's wrong here
The noise floor represents the ambient RF energy from electromagnetic sources other than Wi-Fi signals. A reading of -95 dBm is exceptionally low, meaning the environment is almost free of interference; a high noise floor would be around -80 dBm or higher, which can degrade signal quality and reduce SNR. Since -95 dBm is far below typical concern levels, this option is definitively wrong.
- ✗
The AP is experiencing a significant number of errors relative to packets received.
Why it's wrong here
The AP recorded 200 errors out of approximately 15,000 packets, yielding an error rate of about 1.3%. In RF monitoring, an error rate under 5% is generally considered acceptable and does not indicate a significant number of errors. Such a low ratio suggests the physical layer is healthy, with only incidental CRC or framing errors that any wireless link experiences due to transient interference or packet collisions.
- ✓
The channel utilization is moderate and the noise floor is low.
Why this is correct
A channel utilization of 45% is moderate—the medium is busy but not oversaturated, leaving room for additional client traffic and retransmissions. A noise floor of -95 dBm is very low, meaning background RF interference is minimal. These two attributes together indicate a relatively clean and stable RF channel, which is why this is the correct assessment of the AP's environment.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.