AirMagnet WiFi Analyzer (NetAlly) - Short Review

Product Overview: AirMagnet WiFi Analyzer (NetAlly)

The AirMagnet WiFi Analyzer, developed by NetAlly, is a comprehensive and industry-standard software tool designed for mobile monitoring, auditing, and troubleshooting of enterprise WiFi networks. This powerful analyzer is tailored to help IT staff quickly identify and resolve end-user issues, ensuring optimal performance, security, and compliance of wireless networks.

Key Features and Functionality

Wireless Network Analysis and Troubleshooting

The AirMagnet WiFi Analyzer enables wireless network managers to test and diagnose a wide range of common wireless network performance issues. These include throughput issues, WiFi connectivity problems, device conflicts, and signal multipath issues. The tool performs these tests from the client perspective, independent of the network infrastructure, without causing any downtime to access points.

Complete Visibility of WiFi Traffic

The analyzer captures all WiFi traffic for 802.11a/b/g/n/ac networks, including the latest 3×3 802.11ac traffic, ensuring that no WiFi traffic is missed. This capability allows IT staff to solve WiFi network troubleshooting problems efficiently and accurately, without the need for costly rework or escalations.

Built-In Wireless Expertise with AirWISE

The AirMagnet WiFi Analyzer features the AirWISE engine, which automatically detects the root cause of dozens of wireless network issues. AirWISE eliminates the need for manual interpretation of complex packet decodes and wireless data by identifying and explaining hundreds of threats and performance issues. It provides straightforward explanations of alarms, additional diagnostic data, and advice on corrective actions.

Security and Compliance

The tool includes a robust security monitoring system that automatically detects and alerts users to various wireless intrusions, penetration attempts, and WiFi hacking strategies. This includes rogue devices, “stumbler tools,” and devices sending unencrypted data. The analyzer also supports compliance reporting for wireless PCI, SOX, and ISO standards, ensuring that the network adheres to industry regulations and policies.

Interference Detection and Analysis

AirMagnet WiFi Analyzer can detect and analyze interference from both WiFi and non-WiFi sources, helping to identify and mitigate sources of interference that can impact network performance.

Real-Time Monitoring and Alerts

The tool provides real-time monitoring of the wireless network, offering instant alerts to WLAN security and performance issues. It includes over 50 alerts to identify a range of performance issues such as traffic patterns, bandwidth utilization, device configuration issues, and infrastructure or hardware failures.

Roaming and Voice over WiFi (VoWLAN) Support

AirMagnet WiFi Analyzer PRO helps ensure smooth roaming between access points, critical for maintaining uninterrupted sessions and calls. It provides detailed analysis of roaming transactions, including device and channel parameters, and monitors voice delays and other statistics for VoWLAN phones.

Portable and Flexible Deployment

The analyzer is designed to be used on laptops, notebooks, or tablet PCs, allowing for on-site troubleshooting without impacting the performance of the access point infrastructure. This flexibility ensures that IT staff can troubleshoot issues at the exact location of the problem, reducing the time and effort required to resolve issues.

In summary, the AirMagnet WiFi Analyzer by NetAlly is a powerful, comprehensive tool that combines advanced wireless network analysis, troubleshooting, security monitoring, and compliance reporting. Its ability to capture all WiFi traffic, detect and resolve issues proactively, and ensure compliance with industry standards makes it an indispensable asset for IT staff managing enterprise WiFi networks.