AirMagnet Spectrum XT

AirMagnet Spectrum XT offers real-time detection and identification of a number of non-WLAN sources that interfere and lower the perfor­mance of WLAN networks. The extensive device or source list includes bluetooth devices, digital and analog cordless phones, conventional and inverter microwave ovens, wireless game controllers, digital video converter, baby monitors, RF Jammers, radars, motion detectors, zigbee devices and many more.

Users are also powered with detailed information for the interference source, including peak and average power, first and last seen time, center frequency, impacted channels, number of times the source was detected, and many more. With an additional Bluetooth adapter plugged into the same PC, AirMagnet Spectrum XT provides Bluetooth information such as ID, name, services, etc. for enhanced Bluetooth interferer analysis.

With AirMagnet Spectrum XT’s built-in “device locator tool”, users can physically locate any Wi-Fi or non-Wi-Fi interference sources operating in the RF environment. The device locator tool operates as a Geiger counter and beeps louder as users get closer to the location of the device.

AirMagnet Spectrum XT’s integrated reporter makes it easy to turn RF spectrum analysis sessions into professional reports. AirMagnet Spectrum XT can generate reports on the RF spectrum graphs, Wi-Fi charts and the list of RF interference sources for the current environment. Reports can be exported in the Word, RTF, PDF, HTML formats.

Key graphs and charts include:

Real-Time FFT - provides a real-time view into the RF energy in the environment with current, max, max-hold and average RF signal levels. Users can overlay channel duty-cycle on the Real-time FFT graph to streamline their efforts in detecting and focusing on RF interference sources that have the maximum impact on the performance of the network.

Spectrum Density – provides a longer-term view into the network by displaying live information on the signals that are common during the current capture session. This is helpful to identify infrequent transmitters.

Spectrogram - provides a scrolling history of the RF environment and allows a visual understanding of the spectrum over time to see intermittent spikes or bursts of RF energy that may be causing WLAN network problems.

Duty Cycle - displays how often an interfering signal is present. A high duty cycle means an interferer is constantly transmitting and will most certainly cause problems on the affected channel.

Event Spectrogram - provides a visual presentation of real-time information on interfering devices that are detected in the last 5 minutes. It includes information on power level and channels/frequencies affected by the device.

Channel Power - shows the maximum and average power levels across all the channels in the selected radio band.

Interference - displays the average power readings of interfering devices on the selected channel or channels.

Channel Duty Cycle & Interference Power vs. Time Trending- shows the average power in the channels that is above the noise floor and the maximum average power readings of interfering devices operating.

To optimize and ensure top WLAN performance, AirMagnet Spectrum XT introduces a revolutionary approach to wireless network troubleshooting that combines the power of RF spectrum analysis with WLAN traffic and device analysis. Users can plug in any supported wireless adapter and instantly see a combined or co-related single screen view showing the impact of RF interference or interference sources on the overall true performance of the WLAN.

AirMagnet Spectrum XT also provides a complete inventory of all Wi-Fi devices operating in the environment and their configured settings. Users are entitled to a number of Wi-Fi charts to solve problems faster and more efficiently including:

• AP Signal Strength
• Channels by Speed/Address/Media
• Top 10 APs by CRCs/Retry
• Channel SNR; Errors/Retry
• Channel Utilization
• Channel Occupancy

Users who own RF spectrum analyzers usually have to depend on the vendor to create default signatures or classifications for the detection and identification of RF interference sources. Timely response to these sources is critical to environments or enterprise networks to ensure the optimum performance for their WLAN users. Spectrum analyzer vendors themselves, struggle to keep up with the creation and inclusion of every unique RF interference sources within their native classification database that can cause havoc to the WLAN network.

To overcome this hurdle and provide users with a “zero-day” response to any RF interference source, AirMagnet Spectrum XT introduces the industry’s first automated spectrum analysis capability that monitors the RF environment looking for unique and repeating RF patterns from these “unknown RF interference sources”. Once the pattern of interest is detected and classified, users have the option of creating a customized signature for the pattern for future alerting. With this capability, users not only gain independence from the vendor’s periodic classification updates, but also have a faster response to troubleshooting performance problems in their network.

AirMagnet WiFi Analyzer PRO AirMagnet Spectrum XT users running AirMagnet WiFi Analyzer PRO on the same PC can view non-WLAN interference for every channel in the RF spectrum. Simple color indicators point to the level of impact of these RF interference sources on the performance of the WLAN network. This information helps users plan the channel settings for the current and planned WLAN infrastructure.

AirMagnet Survey PRO users running AirMagnet Spectrum XT on the same machine can perform RF spectrum surveys or sweeps at the same time, as a passive or active site survey, reducing the walk-around time. Users also get the list of interference sources detected by AirMagnet Spectrum XT within AirMagnet Survey.

With this integration, users are entitled to unique heatmaps within AirMagnet Survey, for example:

• Channel power heat map that provides a color-coded display of the power levels detected on each channel in the wireless spectrum.
• Interferer power/location heat map that displays non-WLAN interference sources or devices that are detected during the site survey

AirMagnet Spectrum XT users can save their RF spectrum scans, retain them as hard evidence and play them back at a later time for post-capture investigation and analysis. This is very helpful as critical forensic information while investigating any Layer 1 Denial of Service attacks against the WLAN network. The saved trace files can also be shared between users for collaborative analysis and troubleshooting.

AirMagnet Spectrum XT’s Instant Replay feature allows users to review the most recent spectrum information and play it back, as if it were being viewed live for the first time.