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Wireless Network Analysis

WildPackets has a complete offering to address wireless network monitoring and analysis, from the wireless network edge all the way to the data center.

For the simple convenience of guest access, or for mission-critical network services, constant monitoring and analysis of your wireless network is required to maintain user satisfaction and to keep your organization safe and secure. As more companies begin using wireless as a primary medium for data services, including VoIP and video, a network analysis solution that can provide Expert analysis for both wired and wireless segments, simultaneously, is fast becoming a requirement.

There are many metrics out there for the cost of network outages, and they all agree in one fundamental way – they are costly! WildPackets solutions dramatically reduce the time to perform real-time root cause analyses of these problems, significantly reducing the costs of network outages.

Wireless users at the headquarters of a large healthcare provider were experiencing difficulties connecting to the network. The connectivity problems were isolated to a single AP, and to only users that required DHCP functionality. The problem appeared to be an AP issue.

Our Solution

• OmniPeek Enterprise

• OmniEngine Software Probe

• TimeLine network recorder

Problems are not always as they appear. Using the distributed power of the OmniPeek Distributed Analysis Suite, the customer initiated multiple data captures. One capture, using OmniPeek Enterprise and its ability to capture and analyze wireless traffic, was initiated near the wireless clients experiencing the problem. A second capture was initiated from an OmniEngine software probe, installed on a dedicated Windows-based server that analyzed wired traffic from the wireless access point to the edge switch. An Omnipliance network recorder capturing and analyzing data 24/7 between the wired traffic from the edge switch to the network's core switch was also utilized. A client was then rebooted to invoke the entire wireless authentication and connection process. During this process all three data captures were concurrently monitored using the OmniPeek Enterprise console.

The results indeed confirmed that things are not always as they seem. The wireless capture indicated no anomalies, as did the wired capture from the AP to the edge switch. However, OmniPeek analysis of the data on the third capture clearly illustrated that the edge switch was not forwarding DHCP packets to the core network where the DHCP server was running. Clients were therefore never receiving DHCP addresses, and could not connect to the network.

Business Benefits

• Temporary network reconfiguration based on accurate, timely analysis minimized network down-time
• Faulty hardware identified via software analysis, eliminated the need for costly and time-consuming hardware troubleshooting on a live network
• The entire analyses, from initial action to resolution, took almost the same amount of time as it did to read this account. Using the OmniPeek Distributed Analysis Suite’s capabilities to execute, monitor and analyze simultaneous data captures on multiple topologies, at distributed network nodes, the customer was able to identify, confirm and resolve this issue 5 minutes after configuring the capture sessions. In total, the entire exercise lasted no more than 15 minutes.

More Details

Planning and designing a WLAN

One of the advantages of 802.11 WLANs is their ability to dynamically adjust to changing conditions and to configure themselves to make the best use of available bandwidth. These capabilities work best, however, when the problems they address are kept within limits. To do this, you must understand the limits of the RF environment in the areas where wireless is to be deployed. This is best done by assessing the overall area over space and time to get a quantifiable baseline of your environment. OmniPeek provides the analytical and reporting capabilities you need to determine your "RF baseline" before deploying any 802.11 equipment, plan your overall 802.11 equipment layout and verify your 802.11 infrastructure design.

Managing a WLAN

Management of your WLAN begins with a simple “dashboard” view that you can use to quickly assess the overall health of your network. OmniPeek provides an accurate display of signal and noise on your WLAN by showing a continuously updated bar graph of the most recently reported signal strength, noise, or signal to noise comparison on every channel on which traffic is detected. OmniPeek also provides a detailed hierarchical view of all AP and users on your network, with built-in capabilities to quickly see problem areas, like rogue APs and unauthorized ad-hoc networks.

Securing the WLAN

Because they use radio transmissions, WLANs are inherently more difficult to secure than wired LANs. Simple encryption and authentication techniques such as WEP prevent outsiders from casually or inadvertently browsing your WLAN traffic, but they cannot stop a deliberate attack. WPA, and particularly WPA2 is quite secure today, and meets the need of the most demanding security officer.

Even the best passive defenses, however, must be paired with an active defense in order to really work. First, attempted breaches must be identified and stopped. Second, networks must be monitored to ensure that security policies are followed. OmniPeek can be used to monitor compliance with security policies, and to identify, intercept, log, and analyze unauthorized attempts to access the network. It can automatically respond to security threats in a variety of ways, making it ideal both for monitoring and for more focused analysis.

Troubleshooting

In an all-wireless environment, the only way to troubleshoot is to capture the packets off the air. In smaller satellite offices in particular, this all-wireless solution is increasingly common. It offers quick setup and can cover areas that would be awkward to serve with wiring, such as non-contiguous office spaces on the same floor. The only wired part of such networks may be the connection from the DSL modem, through the router to the access point.

Multi-Channel Analysis

Mobility drives unique requirements for network analysis. Access points are stationary – users are not. They roam from one AP to another, with the expectation that services will continue seamlessly. But what happens when they don’t? You can no longer analyze data from a single AP, or even from a single channel, since your network uses multiple, non-overlapping channels to avoid AP to AP (co-channel) interference.

WildPackets offers the only solution on the market today that can address these complexities – multiple APs, multiple channels and sophisticated analysis modules to quickly highlight problem areas, all in real-time.

Wireless clients move from AP to AP, and therefore from channel to channel, with no indication to the user. This can even happen when the user is stationary – a busy AP knocks the user off so the wireless client associates with another AP on another channel. To view these events, your network analysis solution must be able to capture all the data on all channels of interest, simultaneously. Traditional solutions scan from channel to channel, leaving large gaps in the data. For example, you use the three non-overlapping channels in the b/g range, channels 1, 6 and 11. A typical scanning solution will miss two-thirds of the data as it scans from channel to channel. How can you use such a solution in the “real world” setting of mobile users? With the OmniPeek Distributed Analysis Suite, network traffic is captured from multiple channels simultaneously, and data is analyzed in aggregate. This is the real world – all of the data from all of the channels captured and analyzed in real-time, and using simple, inexpensive wireless USB adapters that are available at any electronics outlet!

Roaming Analysis

Roaming is one of the primary reasons why users experience problems on wireless networks. Excessive roaming times lead to poor quality for VoFi, and can lead to dropped calls or dropped data connections. Analysis of roaming requires real-time aggregation of data from multiple channels and multiple APs with integrated analysis that leads to a simple report – who is roaming, how long is each event taking and what does the average look like for each AP. The end result is simple, yet the process is complex. The OmniPeek Distributed Analysis Suite automates the entire task, providing a simple report with all the data you need.

To get started, simply install OmniPeek Professional or OmniPeek Enterprise and connect the appropriate wireless network adapters that best suit your network configuration and analysis needs (Click Here for recommendations). Then download and install the Linksys USB Wireless Adapter Aggregator or the AirPcap Multi-channel Aggregator Adapter and start analyzing!

Maximum flexibility and configuration

With native support for the Linksys WUSB600N USB adapters, and inexpensive USB Ethernet hubs, OmniPeek and OmniEngine can capture and aggregate wireless traffic on different channels from different locations around the enterprise, warehouse, or anywhere in the world, allowing for very affordable remote capture and analysis of multiple channels and roaming. This provides you with the maximum flexibility to configure and grow your wireless analysis network the way you want it. This capability, coupled with with the automation of captures through scripts, make Omni an ideal platform for building extensible and scalable solutions to meet the special requirements of you wireless analysis situation today, and tomorrow.

WildPackets and the WLAN Industry

WildPackets has partnered with leading technology providers in the WLAN marketplace, including Aruba, Cisco, Xirrus, Meru, and others. To learn more about our WLAN partners, please visit our Alliances page.

Agilent Technologies & Wi-Fi Alliance (WFA) - Interoperability Certification Labs (ICL)

The Wi-Fi Alliance is an industry consortium focused on increasing the global adoption of Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11) solutions. The WFA recognized that a key enabler of faster adoption for a new technology is the interoperability of equipment from different manufacturers. Agilent Technologies, under contract from the WFA, was tasked to create and operate several Interoperability Certification Labs around the world. To meet its objective, the ICL established a standard test bed that would be used in all labs. WildPackets’ AiroPeek product was an integral part of this test bed, and has been instrumental to the certification of all products that bear the Wi-Fi Alliance logo.