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Drivers

WildPackets Distributed Solutions Wireless Drivers

For wireless network analysis, OmniPeek requires the installation of special drivers to capture wireless management, control, and data packets. In addition to providing support for wireless network analysis, these drivers provide complete support for network services when OmniPeek is not being used.

WildPackets supports wireless network adapters from many different manufacturers, based on the underlying wireless chipset used in the device. Supported features may vary based on the underlying chipset. Please refer to the following descriptions to find supported wireless adapters and to identify and download the appropriate drivers for the hardware. Click here for a list of best practices for usage of these drivers.

To aggregate packets on different channels, from any set of wireless adapters, and perform roaming latency analysis, use our Wireless Channel Aggregator and Roaming Latency Analysis plug-ins.

The following drivers are either available as part of your product installation or on MyPeek, the WildPackets community portal. These drivers are only authorized for use with WildPackets products.

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Compatible Wireless Adapters and Drivers

Best Practices

Single Channel, Single Band (b/g or a) Captures

Just about any wireless adapter included on this page will do the trick. Simply determine which band (b/g or “a") and which hardware interface is available on the computer you’re using (PCcard, PCExpress Card, USB, etc.) and find a suitable card from the list.

Single Channel, Dual Band (a/b/g)

For this type of capture, a card that supports a/b/g at a minimum is required. Simply use the “band” column to locate an adapter with a minimum requirement of a/b/g. It’s worth considering an a/b/g/n wireless adapter, even if you don’t need to capture and analyze 11n today since 11n is just around the corner, and it’s often no more expensive to buy an a/b/g/n adapter over an a/b/g adapter.

802.11n, Single Band, 1 or 2-Stream RX/TX

In this case you’ll need an adapter that’s either b/g/n or a/n, depending on the band in which you’re deploying 11n (2.4 GHz vs. 5 GHz respectively). Simply use the "band" column to locate a suitable adapter.

802.11n, Dual Band, 1 or 2-Stream RX/TX

In this case you’ll need an adapter that’s a/b/g/n. These adapters are still fairly uncommon in the market. recommend the Cisco AE-1000 since it’s readily available and is USB – something that will fit into just about any computer.

802.11n, Dual Band, 3-Stream RX/TX

Only wireless adapters based on the AR9380 chipset currently support this mode. Commercially available wireless adapters with this chipset are just now being introduced in the market. Stay tuned for updates on specific model numbers.

Third-Party Applications

WildPackets does not authorize or support the use of our proprietary drivers in any applications other than OmniPeek.