AirMagnet: A tool for every Wi-Fi occasion

AirMagnet has been a fixture in the Wi-Fi assurance space since the company shipped its first Pocket-PC-based product almost a decade ago. AirMagnet offers a comprehensive set of tools for almost every WLAN venue, from handheld to enterprise class. For this test, we looked only at the company's WiFi Analyzer 8.0 (formerly Laptop Analyzer) product.

We used two setups of this product, one installed on our Dell notebook PC and another pre-installed on an OQO Model 02 Micro PC. The PC version's features were identical to the Micro PC version between the two, but the convenience of the latter undeniable - the OQO is a bit larger than a typical PDA-form-factor handset, but is in fact a full-function Windows XP machine. This form factor is obviously quite appropriate to Wi-Fi troubleshooting and analysis activities, which can require a high degree of mobility. While those of us older than 40 might have issues with the eye strain of the smaller screen, this issue is partially remedied by the handy screen-magnifier buttons on the OQO keyboard.

Installing WiFi Analyzer is complex because of licensing issues, as is often the case. There's a License Number and a "Serial Key" to enter, but don't do this on the device - instead, include this as that part of the registration process on the AirMagnet support page. Also, as part of the installation process, you have to make sure you have a wired connection to your PC, because installation commandeers the wireless adapter. The license binds to the MAC address of the Ethernet adapter or the wireless card, in the later case allowing a degree of portability. Got all that? This process is way more difficult than it needs to be, and could perhaps be addressed quite simply via the inclusion of package-insert instructions.

Our notebook configuration was used both with the internal Intel adapter (and, yes, we needed to know the specific model of the one installed) and AirMagnet's own C1060 .11a/b/g/n PC Card. The OQO's built-in Atheros AR5006XS adapter was used for all testing on that device.

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AirMagnet has been a fixture in the Wi-Fi assurance space since the company shipped its first Pocket-PC-based product almost a decade ago. AirMagnet offers a comprehensive set of tools for almost every WLAN venue, from handheld to enterprise class. For this test, we looked only at the company's WiFi Analyzer 8.0 (formerly Laptop Analyzer) product.

We used two setups of this product, one installed on our Dell notebook PC and another pre-installed on an OQO Model 02 Micro PC. The PC version's features were identical to the Micro PC version between the two, but the convenience of the latter undeniable - the OQO is a bit larger than a typical PDA-form-factor handset, but is in fact a full-function Windows XP machine. This form factor is obviously quite appropriate to Wi-Fi troubleshooting and analysis activities, which can require a high degree of mobility. While those of us older than 40 might have issues with the eye strain of the smaller screen, this issue is partially remedied by the handy screen-magnifier buttons on the OQO keyboard.

Installing WiFi Analyzer is complex because of licensing issues, as is often the case. There's a License Number and a "Serial Key" to enter, but don't do this on the device - instead, include this as that part of the registration process on the AirMagnet support page. Also, as part of the installation process, you have to make sure you have a wired connection to your PC, because installation commandeers the wireless adapter. The license binds to the MAC address of the Ethernet adapter or the wireless card, in the later case allowing a degree of portability. Got all that? This process is way more difficult than it needs to be, and could perhaps be addressed quite simply via the inclusion of package-insert instructions.

Our notebook configuration was used both with the internal Intel adapter (and, yes, we needed to know the specific model of the one installed) and AirMagnet's own C1060 .11a/b/g/n PC Card. The OQO's built-in Atheros AR5006XS adapter was used for all testing on that device.

Wi-Fi Analyzer has a huge range of functions, including security and other vulnerability monitoring, rogue detection, performance testing, inference-based interference analysis, and a detailed knowledge base called AirWISE. All of this can make it a very good value for many organizations, since a broad range of functionality beyond packet capture and analysis is desirable if not always required.

But in terms of capture and analysis, the Decodes page is the place to look. Every 802.11 frame passing over the WLAN gets recorded here, and it's possible (and necessary in most cases) to filter by channel, SSID, access point, station and frame type. Decoding of 802.11 frames (with the exception of decrypting secured data, of course) is performed when the capture is stopped (a little red button on the page does this), with detailed down-to-the-bit information provided. Capture recording is included, although we had to dig a little to figure out how to use it.