Channelyzer Pro... This Could Be Big

Metageek has announced that WiSpy USB spectrum analyzers can now be used with Channelyzer Pro. This could make things interesting...


Readers of this blog may know me as an anti-open source kind of guy, but I try to be fair. I've talked about popular products like AirPcap NX, Wireshark, WiSpy and Channelyzer and I've always tried to give a fair appraisal of their usefulness for enterprise-class wireless environments. The problem is that I usually just don't find them to be that useful.

Of these products the one that has always been closest to enterprise-class is WiSpy DBx. It competes with the hardware for Fluke Networks' AirMagnet Spectrum XT and the Cisco Spectrum Expert at a much lower cost ($600), and in many ways it measures up. It can be used in the both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequency bands, it uses the USB form factor (which beats the PC card form factor for Cisco Spectrum Expert) and it comes with free software in Channelyzer. The big problem was that using the WiSpy/Channelyzer pair meant that you'd have to forgo device classification. Device classification is great because it tells the user exactly what device is causing interference. It makes resolving the problem by finding the device or changing a setting much easier.

Channelyzer Pro is a new product from Metageek (the company that created  both WiSpy and Channelyzer) that was just announced today. It does cost $499 (thus bringing the comparable cost vs. AirMagnet and Cisco to about $1,100), but it adds device classification. Now, I know that a lot of WiSpy users really value the fact that the accompanying software costs nothing, but to me this sounds like superb value. Professional-grade spectrum analysis may be possible for just over a grand. That really is amazing.

Now, I don't want to get too excited because I have yet to test the product. I've emailed my guy from Metageek and I should get a copy soon, so check back next week and by then I'll have a review up.

Comments

  1. Quique EspañaJuly 22, 2010 at 2:03 AM

    Sounds promising, will be looking forward for review....

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Chips, Glorious Wi-Fi 6E Chips!

Qualcomm, owners of the Atheros line of Wi-Fi radios, recently announced the availability of Wi-Fi 6E chips. Game onnnnnnn! 6 GHz Wi-Fi is here. Sort of... Qualcomm is selling Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax w/ 6 GHz support) chips, but we don't yet know when enterprise-grade APs and mobile devices will begin supporting 6 GHz Wi-Fi. Chip-to-product timelines can vary. Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) saw enterprise WLAN vendors sell products only a few months after chip announcements. Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) saw the big vendors wait a year or more before introducing new AP models. A ton of concerns factor into a vendor's decision on when to develop, manufacture and market new AP technology. Vendors with small market share may be extra eager. Aerohive tried to boost their enterprise Wi-Fi profile by being a leader in Wi-Fi 6. On the other hand, some vendors' enthusiasm for new Wi-Fi hardware may be dulled by competing organizational initiatives. Aruba/HPE, for example, was veering f...
Read more

Five Facts About 6 GHz Wi-Fi

Image
Two pieces of important news hit the wire recently: the 6 GHz band was approved for Wi-Fi, and alcohol sales have skyrocketed .  Combine the two, and what do we get? A five-pack of Coors Light Cold Hard Facts about Wi-Fi in the 6 GHz frequency band. Editor's note: This is a relatively long post, but 6 GHz Wi-Fi is an undoubtably robust topic. If you have questions after reading this blog, comment below or contact Ben via email or Twitter using the information below, and Sniff Wi-Fi will address those answers in a future post. We may be knee-deep in a global pandemic, but that doesn't mean your humble blogger can't brew up a post on the topic of 6 GHz Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi professionals will soon have unlicensed frequency available in the 6 GHz band. Here, then, are five facts to know about Wi-Fi in the soon-to-be-available 6 GHz frequency band. Fact #1: The 6 GHz band adds 1,200 MHz of spectrum for Wi-Fi The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is the federal ...
Read more

Go To Sleep, Go To Sleep, Go To Sleep Little iPhone

Image
In some circles, Apple Wi-Fi devices are knows to have problems with lost connections.  iPhones and iPads will unexpectedly miss incoming calls, have delays in receiving push notifications and even be forced to reauthenticate. There is a solution to Apple devices' connection problems, and as with most "device problems", the fix resides on the infrastructure.  The DTIM setting needs to be increased.  ( Apple recommends a setting of 3 or higher .)  Here's why: Some Apple Wi-Fi connection problems stem from Apple iOS devices' use of 802.11 power management.  To understand what Apple devices are doing with power management, one must first understand how 802.11 power management works. Let's start with unicast data.  The 802.11 standard allows devices' Wi-Fi radios to enter the Doze state in order to conserve battery life.  Wi-Fi radios in the Doze state are unable to receive data from the AP, so APs buffer all unicast data that has a destination MAC ...
Read more