New GUIs enhance wireless LAN tool

AirWave this week plans to release a version of its software with upgraded GUIs that its says makes managing multi-vendor wireless LANs easier.

Version 4 of the AirWave Management Platform includes a "Google-style" user interface designed for help desk staff, a set of Web screens to show more-detailed information about the radio environment for client devices, plus the ability to identify and track down rogue access points via a wired LAN.

The new Help-Desk Dashboard consists of screens that let support staff quickly call up user information based on a user's name. The software associates user name with client device, the access point to which it's connected, media access control (MAC) addresses and other current data about a network's performance. New group permissions let support staff see only the WLAN segments for which they have responsibility.

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AirWave this week plans to release a version of its software with upgraded GUIs that its says makes managing multi-vendor wireless LANs easier.

Version 4 of the AirWave Management Platform includes a "Google-style" user interface designed for help desk staff, a set of Web screens to show more-detailed information about the radio environment for client devices, plus the ability to identify and track down rogue access points via a wired LAN.

The new Help-Desk Dashboard consists of screens that let support staff quickly call up user information based on a user's name. The software associates user name with client device, the access point to which it's connected, media access control (MAC) addresses and other current data about a network's performance. New group permissions let support staff see only the WLAN segments for which they have responsibility.

VisualRF, another new graphical feature, builds on the existing Airwave Wireless Site Plan (AWSP) tool. With AWSP, users quickly create a preliminary site plan, with access point locations and configurations from JPEG files, Visio documents or CAD drawings. VisualRF then automatically updates this map with real-time data pulled from the access points. The result is a live, color-coded browser view of the complete radio environment.

"This will be very handy," says Paul Watkins, network analyst with the Network Services group at Newell Rubbermaid, the Atlanta-based manufacturer of consumer products. "We like to get a single overall view of the net."

Newell Rubbermaid installed AirWave software just more than a year ago to manage about 250 access points in about 25 locations. Most of the access points are Cisco Aironet, but some sites have Intermec or Symbol devices. The company has not yet installed the new software.

Also new from AirWave is an algorithm for automatic radio channel management. The software factors in current or live radio frequency data along with historical data for each access point, and then recommends optimal channel assignments. The VisualRF program can show administrators a before-and-after picture of the network. Once accepted, the recommendations are applied automatically.

"As we install more access points, we find we have to do more [radio] tuning. Automating that would be an important timesaver," Watkins says.

The new release can scan for rogue access points over a WLAN, so it can detect rogues even when they're set up at a remote office or installed beyond the range of an authorized access point. The software scans for MAC addresses, considers several parameters that might indicate a rogue and then flags any suspicious devices.

AirWave Management Platform 4 is scheduled to ship later this month, starting at $3,500 for about 25 access points.

Read more about wireless & mobile in Network World's Wireless & Mobile section.