AirMagnet Laptop 7.0 PRO’s Progressive Combination of RF and WLAN Expertise Delivers Industry’s Most Advanced Wi-Fi Analysis

AirMagnet Laptop 7.0 PRO’s Progressive Combination of RF and WLAN Expertise Delivers Industry’s Most Advanced Wi-Fi Analysis

AirMagnet’s mobile analyzer advances state of wireless analysis with 4.9 GHz and virtual AP support, total interference analysis, and interface to its Spectrum Analyzer

AirMagnet Inc., the award-winning leader in wireless network assurance, announced the latest version of its wireless security and performance troubleshooting solution, Laptop Analyzer 7.0 PRO. In addition to a new user interface (UI) designed to simplify troubleshooting wireless LANs, the latest version includes the ability to analyze sources of interference and troubleshoot devices that utilize the 4.9 GHz public safety band.

A new interference analysis module in Laptop 7.0 PRO provides network managers with a detailed description of how interference impacts all layers of the wireless network by:
Examining all traffic to identify both co-channel and adjacent-channel interference
Calculating bandwidth and throughput loss caused by interfering Wi-Fi devices
Identifying hidden nodes, which can cause network collisions
Integrating with AirMagnet’s Spectrum Analyzer to identify non-Wi-Fi sources of interference

This approach provides the most complete picture of overall radio frequency (RF) quality by accounting for both the network-level and physical aspects of interference.

Interface with AirMagnet Spectrum Analyzer

By sharing session-data between the AirMagnet Spectrum Analyzer and the AirMagnet Laptop Analyzer, network administrators can now also perform analysis at a layer 1 (RF) level, making it easy to pinpoint the specific sources of non-802.11 interference. This enables IT or network managers to quickly track down interfering devices and restore the wireless LAN to an optimal level of performance.

“We’ve found AirMagnet products to be the most advanced on the market in terms of technologies supported, network management capabilities and forward-looking features integrated, and use AirMagnet for all of our Wi-Fi activities and projects in the U.S.,” said Willem Duplessis, network planning manager of Siemens Networks LLC. “Laptop 7.0 will now provide us with detailed analysis that enables us to ensure optimal network performance, which is crucial to the day-to-day operations of our customers.”

Support for New Intel Wireless Adapters

Laptop Analyzer 7.0 remains at the forefront of supporting cutting-edge Wi-Fi adapters, such as Intel’s latest wireless adapter, the Intel™ PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Wireless Network Connector. With the AirMagnet Laptop Analyzer 7.0 software, users can leverage the Wi-Fi adapter that comes built within their laptop, rather than purchasing an external wireless card.

Virtual AP Identification

Laptop Analyzer 7.0 is also the first WLAN analyzer to support the latest evolution in virtual access points (APs), or basic service set identifiers (BSSIDs). Major wireless infrastructure vendors enable users to set up virtual APs within an AP, making it possible to support multiple security settings or applications on the same AP. Many businesses are deploying these devices to support various user-access scenarios—such as loosely secured APs for guest Internet access, in addition to secure corporate access. AirMagnet Laptop Analyzer is able to automatically identify virtual APs by identifying their BSSIDs and grouping them with their associated “parent” APs. Without this capability, troubleshooting becomes a difficult, or nearly impossible task.

Public Safety Band Support

As a growing number of public-safety entities submit licensing requests to the FCC for use of the 4.9 GHz public safety band, an increasing number of products dedicated to the 4.9 GHz band are appearing. Laptop 7.0 is the only analyzer to support the 4.9 GHz public safety band, making it the ideal mobile platform to support large-scale municipal Wi-Fi network deployments. Laptop 7.0 incorporates alarms to identify the presence of pre-802.11n devices and adds support for all 200 channels of 802.11a. Laptop 7.0 also adds support for 802.11d, used in regions where some 802.11 protocols are limited, and 802.11h, which is used to resolve 802.11a interference issues linked to medical and radar devices. It decodes 802.11d/h traffic and displays specific 802.11d/h information for every AP implementing the protocols.

“Since devices leveraging cutting-edge technologies are available to the public long before they are deployed in the enterprise, it’s essential that enterprises be able to monitor their networks for use of these new protocols and technologies and the vulnerabilities they may introduce. With the constant introduction of new applications and protocols, wireless networking has become increasingly complex. Whether you’re operating an outdoor municipal network or a distributed enterprise network, there are common challenges presented by issues such as interference and the rising use of pre-standard devices,” said Chia-Chee Kuan, CTO and vice president of engineering for AirMagnet. “This latest evolution of our Laptop Analyzer product reflects our incorporation of a number of new tools to optimize wireless performance, which ultimately helps make wireless networks more reliable and removes a major headache for network administrators.

Additional new features in Laptop Analyzer 7.0 PRO include:
New compliance reports for FISMA, Basel II, EU-CRD (also known as CAD 3) and ISO 27001
Event log customization
Roaming control

Pricing and Availability

Laptop Analyzer 7.0 PRO is priced at $3,995 in the U.S. A standard version of the product with a condensed feature set is available for $3,495. Both versions are currently available. Upgrades to the new version are available at no additional cost for customers with current support contracts. For additional information, please call AirMagnet at +1 408-400-0200 for the Americas and the APAC region, +44 1494 582 023 for EMEA, or inquire on the Web at http://www.airmagnet.com/company/contact_airmagnet.php?type=sales.

About AirMagnet Inc.

AirMagnet Inc. is the world leader in wireless network assurance. The company’s wireless LAN monitoring and analysis products—available in handheld, laptop and enterprise configurations—are designed to provide an integrated set of solutions to plan, set up, secure and manage wireless networks. AirMagnet customers—more than 5,000 organizations worldwide in industries as diverse as manufacturing, financial, retail, service, health care, utility, transportation, education, government and technology—include 75 of the U.S. Fortune 100. AirMagnet solutions solve Wi-Fi connection problems, block unauthorized access, simplify site surveys and guarantee WLAN performance, compliance and security. Additional information about AirMagnet and its products is available at www.airmagnet.com.

©2007 AirMagnet Inc. All rights reserved. AirMagnet® and AirWISE® are registered trademarks, and the AirMagnet logo is a trademark, of AirMagnet Inc. All other product names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective companies.
Contacts

A&R Edelman for AirMagnet
Erin Santy, 650-762-2871
esanty {at} ar-edelman(.)com
or
AirMagnet
Laura Geary, 408-400-1290
lgeary {at} airmagnet(.)com