Sniff Wi-Fi

This week's big Wi-Fi news was Ekahau's introduction of the Sidekick , an easy-to-carry, laptop battery-conserving device designed to make Wi-Fi site surveying more elegant.  Unfortunately, it appears to do more to exacerbate Wi-Fi problems than to solve them. What is the number one problem in enterprise Wi-Fi? It surely can't be security.  Security is a hot topic, but Wi-Fi security isn't really a problem anymore.  Even security problems that Wi-Fi gets blamed on -- Pineapple hijacking, Wi-Phishing, man-in-the-middle -- either aren't problems for modern devices & applications, or are problems that extend beyond Wi-Fi. Maybe it's user density?  Or supporting a variety of devices?  Maybe it's connection issues; when moving or when the device is idle for too long? Whatever the answer, chances are it comes down to one overarching issue: different Wi-Fi devices behave differently.  Capacity testing gets done using laptops, then smartphones cause th...

I'm giving a Webinar today at 11 am, Pacific Time on five common Wi-Fi problems and how I use AirMagnet to troubleshoot them.  NetScout (formerly Fluke Networks Enterprise), owners of the AirMagnet product line, is putting it on. You can register here:  https://www.brighttalk.com/webcast/5522/177567 Sorry for the late notice. If you miss the live Webinar, you can always access it later. *** If you like my blog, you can support it by shopping through my  Amazon  link.  You can also donate Bitcoin to  1N8m1o9phSkFXpa9VUrMVHx4LJWfratseU  or to my QR code: Twitter:  @Ben_SniffWiFi ben at sniffwifi dot com

Clickbaitttttttttt! "Three Essential Tools"...  Brilliant!  Years ago, I would've been embarrassed to have such a click-baity headline.  No longer. Why the change, you ask?  I don't know.  It could be that I'm in the Money stage of my career.  (You see, I relate most things in life to pro wrestling.  A pro wrestler's career has three stages: Titles, Money and Legacy.  When you're young and you don't know any better, you want titles.  Being " Intercontinental Champion " [or, in the case of an IT guy, " Network Administrator "] fulfills you.  Management takes advantage of that by underpaying people who are in the Titles stage.  Once someone reaches the Money stage, they are no longer impressed by titles.  "You want to make me Intercontinental Champion?  Great.  What's my paycheck?"  The final stage is the Legacy stage, which most of us never reach.   The Rock is in the Legacy stage.  He has won titl...

If there's one recent change in the Wi-Fi world that has brought some heat and light to your humble blogger's cold, dark heart, it's the awareness of device differences.  But there's a difference between understanding that Wi-Fi devices have differences and creating an infrastructure that supports them.  And an important step in setting up a good Wi-Fi infrastructure is finding out whether the APs' transmit power is too high, too low or juuuuuuust right.  It has long been the recommended to have matching transmit power for devices engaging in two-way wireless communication, but with Wi-Fi that rule is often broken.  Breaking the rule is understandable because Wi-Fi environments are often vendor-neutral.  Most Wi-Fi deployments are not like the beaches of Normandy, where everyone had the same model of radio. Sometimes we need really, really good Wi-Fi, and matching the transmit power levels of APs and stations can go a long way towards fulfilling that need....

In my last (real) post, I detailed how I used WildPackets OmniPeek to solve an iPhone 5 QoS problem.  But what about AirMagnet WiFi Analyzer?  I am a fan of both of those fine WiFi sniffers, so I figure it's a good idea to show you how QoS can be analyzed with Fluke Networks' signature WiFi protocol analyzer. WildPackets OmniPeek is more of a hardcore protocol analyzer than AirMagnet WiFi Analyzer is.  If you're going to be doing the type of sniffing I detailed in the last blog post , you will have an easier go of it with WildPackets' product.  But AirMagnet is popular and both tools are expensive.  So if you happen to be a gal (or guy) who needs to troubleshoot WiFi voice or video and you have AirMagnet, this brief tutorial should help. To begin analyzing QoS, one must first capture on the VoFi devices channel.  In my case I associated my iPhone 5 to a network with the SSID of "R&T".  Then I looked at the Start screen in AirMagnet: The "...