Cisco Implementing and Operating Cisco Wireless Core Technologies (350‑101 WLCOR) Practice Exams

About the Cisco 350-101 WLCOR exam

Exam at a glance

Professional tier. The Core exam for the relaunched CCNP Wireless track. 90–110 questions, 120 minutes, scaled passing score, $400 USD. Valid 3 years plus CE-credit recertification.

What 350-101 is — and what it isn't

The 350-101 code has a notable history. Cisco first used it as the original CCIE Routing & Switching written exam in the early 2010s. It was retired, then briefly reused in the legacy CCNP Wireless track. In February 2020 the entire dedicated wireless CCNP path was sunset and wireless was folded into 350-401 ENCOR as roughly 15% of the Infrastructure domain.

On 19 March 2026 Cisco relaunched dedicated CCNP Wireless with 350-101 WLCOR — Implementing and Operating Cisco Wireless Core Technologies as the new Core exam. The reason: Wi-Fi 6 / 6E / Wi-Fi 7, the 6 GHz band, multi-link operation, and Meraki cloud-managed wireless have made enterprise wireless complex enough to warrant a dedicated Professional-tier track again. If you are sitting 350-101 today, you are sitting the 2026 WLCOR version — not the legacy R&S or wireless variants.

Domain weighting

• RF Fundamentals — 15%
• 802.11 Technology Fundamentals — 10%
• Wireless Network Implementation — 10%
• Wireless Network Operation — 20%
• Client Connectivity Configuration — 20%
• Wireless Monitoring and Management — 15%
• Automation and AI — 10%

Prerequisites

No formal prerequisites — Cisco removed the CCNA requirement for CCNP-level exams. Cisco recommends three to five years of hands-on wireless networking experience. Most successful candidates hold a current CCNA (200-301) and have spent two-plus years configuring Catalyst 9800 / AireOS WLCs and running RF surveys in production.

Why take this certification

• Dedicated wireless signal. WLCOR is wireless end-to-end at Core depth. ENCOR covers wireless as ~15% of one subdomain; WLCOR is 100% wireless and goes deep into RF design, security, and troubleshooting.
• Right time, right exam. Wi-Fi 6 / 6E adoption is mature and Wi-Fi 7 is ramping in 2026. Employers are actively hiring engineers who can plan 6 GHz channels, design MLO-capable WLANs, and migrate AireOS estates to Catalyst 9800.
• Foundation for full CCNP Wireless. 350-101 plus one Wireless Concentration earns the full CCNP Wireless credential. Passing 350-101 alone still earns the standalone Cisco Certified Specialist - Wireless Core Technologies badge.
• CE-credit value. WLCOR is worth 40 Continuing Education credits and can be used to recertify your other Cisco professional-level certifications without sitting another full exam.

What you'll learn in the 350-101 WLCOR exam

WLCOR is deliberately wireless-first — Cisco wants senior wireless engineers who can plan RF, deploy and operate Catalyst 9800 / Meraki estates, and troubleshoot at the over-the-air packet level. Most questions are scenario-driven, often presenting partial configs, RF site-survey output, AP join debugs, or topology diagrams.

Wireless fundamentals

• RF physics — dBm, dBi, free-space path loss, reflection / scattering / multipath.
• 802.11 PHY/MAC review — CSMA/CA, RTS/CTS, frame types (management, control, data), 4-way handshake.
• Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) — OFDMA, MU-MIMO uplink/downlink, BSS coloring, target wake time (TWT).
• Wi-Fi 6E — 6 GHz operation, PSC channels, AFC, transition mode beacons.
• Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) — multi-link operation (MLO), 320 MHz channels, 4K-QAM at concept level.

Deployment

• Catalyst 9800 WLC architecture — appliance, embedded, cloud (C9800-CL), HA SSO pairs, N+1 redundancy.
• AP modes — local, FlexConnect (central/local switching, central/local auth), monitor, sniffer, sensor.
• CAPWAP — control plane (DTLS) vs data plane, AP join state machine, primary/secondary/tertiary discovery.
• Meraki cloud-managed wireless — MR series, dashboard configuration, traffic shaping, Auto RF.
• Migration from AireOS to Catalyst 9800 (IOS-XE) — config-conversion tool, gotchas, parallel-run strategies.

RF design

• Pre-deployment site surveys — passive vs active vs predictive, Ekahau / iBwave / Hamina tooling at concept level.
• Channel and power planning — 2.4 / 5 / 6 GHz constraints, DFS channels, regulatory domains.
• Radio Resource Management (RRM) — DCA, TPC, coverage-hole detection, Flexible Radio Assignment.
• ClientLink (beamforming), band steering, BSS load balancing, 802.11k/v/r fast roaming.

Security

• WPA3 — SAE handshake, PMF mandatory, transition mode for WPA2 coexistence.
• 802.1X with RADIUS — EAP-TLS, EAP-PEAP, EAP-FAST, ISE integration, AAA server groups.
• iPSK (identity PSK) — per-device PSK in PSK SSIDs, IoT use cases.
• Rogue AP detection and containment, wIPS, Air Marshal (Meraki), Adaptive wIPS (Catalyst).
• Web-auth / Central Web Auth (CWA) flows, guest portal integration with ISE.

Troubleshooting

• Client connection debugging — debug client <mac>, RADIUS debug, 4-way-handshake failure analysis.
• Over-the-air packet capture — sniffer-mode AP, Wireshark wireless dissectors, Omnipeek.
• DNA Center Assurance — AI-driven path trace, sensor tests, client onboarding analytics.
• Common pathologies — sticky clients, DFS hits, channel-utilization saturation, hidden node, near-far problem.

Automation

• REST APIs against Cisco Catalyst Center (formerly DNA Center) — token auth, intent API, sensor test orchestration.
• REST APIs against Meraki Dashboard — org/network/SSID config, action batches, webhook alerts.
• NETCONF / RESTCONF and YANG models on Catalyst 9800 WLCs.
• Python basics for wireless engineers — requests, JSON parsing, simple inventory pulls and bulk SSID provisioning.

How the practice exams help

Each free question and every premium exam mirrors the scenario-driven format Cisco uses on WLCOR — partial configs, RF planning constraints, AP join debugs, OTA capture interpretation. Detailed explanations cover not just why the right answer is right but why the distractors are wrong, so you learn the trade-offs (local mode vs FlexConnect, WPA3 SAE vs OWE, Catalyst 9800-CL vs appliance) rather than memorising answers.

How to prepare for the 350-101 WLCOR exam

WLCOR is a wide exam and the 2026 blueprint is still fresh — many established study resources are written against the 2014–2020 wireless Core (300-360 / 300-365) and the wireless slice of ENCOR rather than the new WLCOR. Plan to lean on official Cisco material first, then layer practice. Recommended approach for someone holding a current CCNA with two-plus years of wireless production experience:

1. Study the six domains (8–12 weeks). Work through the official Cisco Learning Network 350-101 WLCOR exam-topics page domain by domain. Focus extra time on Wireless Fundamentals (~20%), Deployment (~20%) and RF Design (~20%) — together they carry 60% of the exam. Cisco's Catalyst 9800 Wireless Controller Series Configuration Guide and the Cisco Wireless 802.11 Design and Deployment Guide on cisco.com are the canonical primary sources.
2. Hands-on labs (4–6 weeks, in parallel). Spin up a Catalyst 9800-CL (the virtual WLC, free download from Cisco for lab use), join virtual or physical APs, and walk every deployment scenario — FlexConnect with central/local switching, HA SSO, AP-image pre-download, OEAP. Use a free Cisco DevNet sandbox for Meraki Dashboard and Catalyst Center API hands-on without buying licences. If you can borrow a single Wi-Fi 6E / 7 capable AP and a 6 GHz client, even an hour of OTA capture against real 6 GHz frames pays for itself.
3. RF design week (1–2 weeks). If site surveying is new, work through Ekahau / Hamina trial accounts and run predictive surveys for a small office floor plan. Read up on AFC, PSC channels, and the difference between standard-power and low-power-indoor 6 GHz operation — these are 2026-fresh topics most older study material will not cover.
4. Practice exams (2–3 weeks). Take timed full-length tests and review every wrong answer with the explanation. Aim for consistent 85%+ before scheduling — the scaled passing score is unpublished, so over-shoot the bar.

Recommended timeline

14–22 weeks of focused study (10–15 hours per week) for current CCNA holders with two-plus years hands-on wireless experience. Add 4–6 weeks for engineers who have only worked at the wireless-overview depth of ENCOR or for whom Wi-Fi 6E / Wi-Fi 7 is brand-new territory.

Official resources

Start with the official Cisco Learning Network 350-101 WLCOR exam-topics page. The Cisco Press CCNP Wireless WLCOR 350-101 Official Cert Guide for the 2026 blueprint is the canonical book once Cisco Press ships it; in the interim, pair the Catalyst 9800 Configuration Guide with Cisco DevNet sandboxes for Meraki Dashboard and Catalyst Center hands-on without owning hardware.

Frequently asked questions