How we tested the site survey tools

Products were installed on standard Windows XP-based PCs. As it would be impossible given the scope of this project to evaluate the accuracy of a given predictive tool (which would involve building a model for a reasonably large building and then testing the results via an actual installation), we decided instead to examine key features of each product and assemble a list of features (see Table 1). We did actively test some features of the analytical tools by walking around, using a small number of access points, and again assembling a list of features, also listed in the table.

A few notable players in the site survey space declined to participate: AirTight Networks' SpectraGuard Planner, Helium Networks' Wireless Recon, Aruba Networks' RF Protect Mobile and Fluke Networks' InterpretAir WLAN Survey.

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Products were installed on standard Windows XP-based PCs. As it would be impossible given the scope of this project to evaluate the accuracy of a given predictive tool (which would involve building a model for a reasonably large building and then testing the results via an actual installation), we decided instead to examine key features of each product and assemble a list of features (see Table 1). We did actively test some features of the analytical tools by walking around, using a small number of access points, and again assembling a list of features, also listed in the table.

A few notable players in the site survey space declined to participate: AirTight Networks' SpectraGuard Planner, Helium Networks' Wireless Recon, Aruba Networks' RF Protect Mobile and Fluke Networks' InterpretAir WLAN Survey.

Return to test

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