Wednesday, May 23, 2012

AirMagnet Laptop Analyzer Using Multiple Proxim USB Adapters with Spectrum XT Integration

I've recently had the ability to use multiple Proxim/Orinoco 8494-US  wireless adapters with the AirMagnet WiFi Analyzer Pro application with the AirMagnet Spectrum XT integrated into the same application interface.


When you use three Proxim/Orinoco 8494-US wireless adapters with WiFi Analyzer pro, you're able to capture data on channels 1, 6 and 11 simultaneously, as well as do roaming testing with the three adapter cards. What you cannot do, is test the 5GHz wireless frequencies when you're using the three adapter cards. I imagine this is because the application locks the cards into using 1, 6 and 11 only during the testing. It would be nice if you were able to use a fourth card to detect signals on the 5GHz frequencies while you were checking 1, 6 and 11 at the same time.

I made a video of my findings while using the application. In it I explain the information shown in the application when it is used in conjunction with the AirMagnet Spectrum XT card. It does make it simpler to use both tools at the same time, since you can walk the area you're surveying just once, and then analyze the data collected. Sometimes I still prefer to use just the Spectrum XT application by itself so that I can concentrate on the spectrum data being shown by the application. Blending the two applications is certainly a time saver.


I hope you find the video helpful, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts on things I described, or let me know if I left things out that you think I should have covered.