The 802.11ac Wi-Fi standard has the ability to revolutionize how enterprises support the large quantity of devices connected to corporate networks. Yet, most organizations do not understand that monitoring and analyzing 802.11ac traffic requires significant changes in the way wireless data is captured.
As we get closer to 802.11ac ratification (still scheduled for Q1 2014) we’re seeing the same pattern we saw with 802.11n. Early equipment in the market, developed against an early draft standard, was targeted mainly at the home market. Head into any electronics store (brick and mortar or online) and you’ll already find a wide selection of 802.11ac APs for the home. But it was only a few months ago that we began seeing devices from the major enterprise AP players hitting the market that are truly enterprise-grade. And it’s these new enterprise-grade APs that are going to force a change in WLAN troubleshooting and analysis.
As a provider of WLAN analysis solutions, the most common question we are hearing today is “what 802.11ac USB devices can I use to monitor the network?” The question seems innocent enough, but the answer is far from simple.
In the “good old days of a/b/g” finding a USB device for monitoring and analyzing was pretty simple. The APs and the USB adapters pretty much had the same capabilities regarding encoding, data transmission, and data rates, and these are some of the key elements when looking for compatible WLAN adapters to use for wireless packet capture. And the list of optional features was very short. But with 802.11n, and even more so with 802.11ac, APs often have much greater capabilities than stations, and this is especially true when comparing APs with 802.11ac USB WLAN adapters.
Most of the 802.11ac APs hitting the market are capable of at least 3-stream operation, and 4-stream APs will not be far behind. Most 802.11ac USB WLAN adapters are 1-stream, with a small selection at 2-stream. There are no 3-stream or 4-stream 802.11ac USB WLAN adapters, and it’s quite likely there won’t be any. The market for USB WLAN adapters is shrinking, as most devices have 802.11 built in, including products ranging from TVs and DVRs to washing machines and refrigerators.
So, if you have an 802.11ac network based on 4-stream APs, how can you ensure that you capture ALL of the traffic from these APs if the best USB-based capture device you can find is only 1- or 2-stream?
Well, I know everyone wants a different answer, but the answer is you can’t, at least not with a 1- or 2-stream USB WLAN adapter. If you have a 4-stream AP, and at least one 4-stream client (let’s say a dedicated video conferencing device that needs the maximum bandwidth it can achieve), you need a capture solution that is also 4-stream, and also supports any other optional features the AP/client combination may support.
via WiFiNovation | Scoop.it
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire