The MTCEWE is the course on enterprise WiFi: how the signal propagates, how to design building coverage, and how to manage dozens of access points from a single point using CAPsMAN, plus 60 GHz wireless bridges.

The MTCEWE course is an official MikroTik course: I, Gianni Olivieri, an official MikroTik trainer (TR0135) since 2012, teach it at the SICE academy in Capannori (Lucca) and online. Below you will find who it is for, the complete official syllabus, how the exam works, and the upcoming dates.

Who is the MTCEWE course for?

  • Those who design and manage WiFi for offices, hotels, schools, and warehouses
  • System integrators who install many MikroTik access points
  • Those who want to manage APs centrally with CAPsMAN

What is required to enroll?

A valid MTCNA certification.

What is covered in the MTCEWE course?

In short:

  • Radio frequency: decibels, antennas and polarization, building materials, cell size, roaming, interference, access point placement, airtime
  • 802.11a/b/g/n/ac standards: channels, modulations and MCS, MIMO and MU-MIMO, CSMA/CA, WMM
  • Country regulations in CAPsMAN: antenna gain, EIRP, DFS
  • Repeaters, extenders, and 60 GHz Wireless Wire bridges
  • Wireless security: encryption, 802.1X with RADIUS and EAP, access lists
  • Diagnosis and site survey before and after installation
  • CAPsMAN v2: AP provisioning, certificates, datapath and local forwarding, additional SSIDs and VLANs

The official MTCEWE course syllabus, module by module

Duration indicated by MikroTik
3 days
Objective
By the end of the course the student understands the major RouterOS enterprise WiFi features and how WiFi works, and can implement CAPsMAN in real-life WiFi setups.
Who it is for
Network engineers and technicians deploying and supporting corporate WiFi networks based on MikroTik CAPsMAN (Controlled Access Point system Manager) and simple layer 2 wireless bridges using MikroTik 60 GHz Wireless Wire technology.
Prerequisites
MTCNA certificate.

Module 1 · Wireless introduction

  • Wireless routers
  • RouterBOARD hardware with integrated wireless
  • MikroTik wireless cards

Module 2 · RF wireless characteristics

  • The RF radio spectrum and electromagnetic energy
  • Decibels
  • Antenna theory and examples of use: isotropic, directional, omnidirectional; antenna polarization
  • Attenuation, absorption and reflective properties of building materials and how they affect radio signals
  • 2.4/5 GHz indoor/outdoor cell sizes and transmitter powers
  • Client roaming and RouterOS station roaming setting
  • Co-channel and adjacent-channel interference
  • Choosing correct access point placement
  • Physical network infrastructure
  • Understanding «airtime»

Module 3 · Wireless standards

  • 802.11a/b/g/n/ac wireless protocol and 802.11 standards features overview
  • Bands, channels (frequencies) and channel widths; scan list
  • Modulation schemes and MCS data rates
  • Channel bonding and frame aggregation overview
  • Chains (SISO, MIMO and MU-MIMO)
  • CSMA/CA overview
  • HW protection (RTS/CTS)
  • QoS priorities / WMM
  • Future standards (802.11ax)

Module 4 · Country/regulatory domain settings in CAPsMAN

  • Antenna gain and control of maximum EIRP; setting antenna gain on a CAP
  • Selecting the country code and purpose of the «installation» setting
  • Dynamic Frequency Selection (DFS radar detect)

Module 5 · Non-CAPsMAN wireless modes

  • Extending coverage with repeaters and extenders
  • Bridging with MikroTik 60 GHz Wireless Wire products

Module 6 · Wireless security

  • Authentication (open/shared)
  • Encryption (WEP, WPA TKIP, WPA2 AES) and weaknesses of older encryption
  • Overview of 802.1X (RADIUS and EAP)
  • Performance difference of TKIP vs AES
  • Basic access list (ACL) management
  • Mitigating the most common known vulnerabilities of 802.11

Module 7 · Wireless troubleshooting

  • Troubleshooting wireless clients and registration table analysis
  • TX/RX signal strength, signal-to-noise ratio
  • CCQ, frames and HW frames, hardware retries, data rates
  • Analysing the system log for wireless problems
  • Scan and background scan, frequency usage, wireless snooper and sniffer

Module 8 · Wireless surveys

  • Pre-install site surveys
  • Spectrum analysis overview
  • Prediction software overview
  • Post-install validation surveys

Module 9 · CAPsMAN v2

  • MikroTik CAPsMAN version 2 features and CAP hardware/software requirements
  • L2 (broadcast/multicast) vs L3 (via UDP) CAP communication; DHCP option 138
  • Configuration of a CAP, CAPsMAN discovery and selection by the CAP
  • Authentication and locking by SSL certificates: auto certificate and locking
  • Auto-upgrading feature; securing the CAP configuration
  • CAPsMAN configuration settings: channels, datapaths, security configurations, data rates
  • Provisioning CAP interfaces (single and dual band APs)
  • Datapath / local forwarding
  • Dynamic vs static CAP interfaces on CAPsMAN
  • Virtual AP (additional SSIDs)
  • Static interfaces on CAPs (slave virtual interfaces with VLANs)
  • Access list features

Each module ends with a hands-on lab on real routers. The syllabus follows the official MikroTik outline (PDF in English), published on the MikroTik Training page.

How is the course conducted?

The course usually lasts two days (some editions three), in the classroom at the SICE academy in Capannori (Lucca) or online. There is a lot of hands-on lab work on real routers: the right command is not enough; you must understand why the packet takes that path. The official exam is always taken in person: in classroom editions at the end of the course, in online editions in the classroom, on a date to be agreed upon with the organizers. Passing it earns you the MTCEWE certification, verifiable on the MikroTik website.

Upcoming dates for course MTCEWE

There are currently no scheduled dates for course MTCEWE. If you are interested, leave a request below: when enough interested people are gathered to form a class, I will organize it, and I will notify you as soon as the date is announced.

Do you want to take course MTCEWE? Let me know

Leave your name and email: when enough people request course MTCEWE, I will organize it with SICE, and I will notify you first as soon as the date is announced. You are not signing up for anything and you will not receive anything else.

The syllabus follows the official outline published by MikroTik on the MikroTik Training page, where you can find the PDFs for all courses: here you will find a reasoned guide in Italian.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between MTCWE and MTCEWE?

MTCWE covers RouterOS wireless in general and radio links (Nstreme, Nv2, WDS); the MTCEWE course is dedicated to enterprise WiFi: coverage design, site survey, and centralized management of access points with CAPsMAN.

Does the MTCEWE course cover CAPsMAN?

Yes: CAPsMAN v2 is the final and most extensive module of the MTCEWE course, covering access point provisioning, certificates, datapath, and VLANs.

How long is the MTCEWE course?

The official MikroTik syllabus for the MTCEWE course specifies 3 days. The dates, times, and duration of each edition are listed in its details, below under upcoming dates.

How is the MTCEWE exam conducted?

The MTCEWE exam is the official MikroTik exam: it is always taken in person, at the end of the course in classroom editions, and on a date to be agreed upon with the organizers in online editions. Those who pass receive the MTCEWE certificate, which can be verified on the MikroTik website using its number.

How long is the MTCEWE certification valid?

The MTCEWE certification is valid for 3 years from the date of the exam; to renew it, you must retake the exam.

Can the MTCEWE course be taken online?

Yes: the MTCEWE course has classroom editions at the SICE academy in Capannori (Lucca) and online editions. Even for those who follow it online, the exam is taken in the classroom.

How much does the MTCEWE course cost?

The price depends on the edition and is indicated in the details of each one, with the link to register on the SICE website.