AirMagnet upgrades WLAN sensors

The latest version of AirMagnet's wireless intrusion-prevention product includes a new breed of radio sensors, and the ability to monitor and identify other kinds of radio activity, not just 802.11 packets.

The changes in AirMagnet Enterprise 7.0 make visible to network administrators a larger chunk of the radio spectrum, including portions for wireless LANs (WLAN), Bluetooth and microwave ovens. The company says this is the first product to combine WLAN packet analysis and radio spectrum monitoring.

The product consists of compact radio sensors that look almost identical to standard WLAN access points, as well as server software and a management GUI. The sensors scan and identify radio transmissions, handle some preliminary processing, and feed data back to the server database for analysis and display.

To continue reading, register here and become an Insider. You'll get free access to premium content from CIO, Computerworld, CSO, InfoWorld, and Network World. See more Insider content or sign in.

The latest version of AirMagnet's wireless intrusion-prevention product includes a new breed of radio sensors, and the ability to monitor and identify other kinds of radio activity, not just 802.11 packets.

The changes in AirMagnet Enterprise 7.0 make visible to network administrators a larger chunk of the radio spectrum, including portions for wireless LANs (WLAN), Bluetooth and microwave ovens. The company says this is the first product to combine WLAN packet analysis and radio spectrum monitoring.

The product consists of compact radio sensors that look almost identical to standard WLAN access points, as well as server software and a management GUI. The sensors scan and identify radio transmissions, handle some preliminary processing, and feed data back to the server database for analysis and display.

Version 7.0 includes major hardware and software changes.

The new SmartEdge sensors incorporate the capability found in AirMagnet's stand-alone AirMagnet Spectrum Analyzer, a CardBus notebook adapter with software, which analyzes the 2.4GHz to 2.5GHz band, and parts of the 5GHz band. A similar product is available from Cognio. In addition to capturing WLAN packets, the SmartEdge sensors now can collect information on the radio emissions and identify them. (See graphic for other hardware changes, right.)

AirMagnet also is introducing its first outdoor radio sensor, housed in a water-resistant, rugged container. It can be used to monitor WLANs deployed outdoors, or to extend the area that can be scanned for rogue devices or other wireless threats to an enterprise.

On the software side, administrators now can assign wireless devices in a given area to a group, and then designate what conditions or threats should trigger alarms. In effect, a user marks out a secure area and separately monitors all threats to it.

Another bit of new code lets AirMagnet Enterprise identify a wireless device that may be causing multiple alarms. The software correlates suspect events, groups them and then ranks the overall priority of the threat posed by the offending device. Previously, the GUI showed alarms by broad category, such as "encryption and authentication," and users clicked through selections for specific device details.

Other changes include support for the Oracle database, which now can be used along with Microsoft SQL Server and Microsoft Access as the data repository; and new compliance reports, including one for Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, which governs the security of credit card data.

AirMagnet Enterprise 7.0 is set to ship in March. Prices are unchanged: A starter kit, with four sensors, starts at $9,000. The conventional sensors are priced at $750 each, and the new sensors with spectrum analysis at $2,000.

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