A Re-Post on Worthless Capture, Re: 7 Signal

Today it was announced that 7 Signal would be a first time presenter at Wireless Field Day in August.  7 Signal offers a product that uses distributed sensors that analyze a WLAN.

 Wait a moment.  This sounds familiar...

 It was a mere fifteen months ago that yours truly spouted a negative opinion of distributed sensors for WLAN analysis and troubleshooting.  To be precise, distributed sensors were accused to producing a worthless capture.

A company like 7 Signal, then, offers both good news and bad news.

The Good: People are starting to care more about WiFi sniffing and analysis.  A company like 7 Signal can only exist if networking folks appreciate the value of seeing what it happening in the air.

The Bad: Distributed sensors produce worthless captures.  Does it matter if a 7 Signal sensor can connect if an iPad cannot?  Does it matter if good channel quality is seen at the ceiling (where the Sapphire Eye sensors are supposed to be mounted) if channel quality is bad at a user's desk?

Distributed sensors have a place in WLAN analysis.  It allows for general information to be gathered from a single console.  My problem is that in some cases companies eschew portable WiFi sniffers and spectrum analyzers or rely to heavily on information from the distributed system.


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