The document provides information about an upcoming webinar from WildPackets on analyzing gigabit wireless local area networks (WLANs). The webinar will discuss the state of the 802.11ac wireless standard, challenges in analyzing high-speed WLANs, and how WildPackets' OmniPeek software and remote adapter solutions enable analysis of the fastest 802.11ac networks. Attendees are encouraged to participate using the hashtag #wp_wirelesspackets and follow the presenters on social media.

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Show us your tweets!
Use today’s webinar hashtag:
#wp_wirelesspackets
with any questions, comments, or feedback.
Follow us @wildpackets
Jay Botelho
Director of Product Management
WildPackets
jbotelho@wildpackets.com
Follow me @jaybotelho
Gigabit WLANs Need
Gigabit WLAN Analysis

2. © WildPackets, Inc.#wp_wirelesspackets 2
Administrivia
• All callers are on mute
‒ If you have problems, please let us know via the Chat window
• There will be Q&A at the end
‒ Feel free to type a question at any time
• Slides and recording will be available:
‒ Via a follow-up email

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Agenda
• 802.11ac – The State of Affairs
• WLAN Analysis – Then and Now
• OmniPeek for the fastest 802.11ac Networks
• Demos
• Industry-Leading Analytics

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802.11ac
The State of Affairs

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802.11ac Highlights
• Wider channel bandwidths; More MIMO
‒ 80 MHz and 160 MHz channel
‒ Support for up to 8 spatial streams
• Multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO)
‒ Multiple STAs transmit or receive independent data streams
simultaneously
‒ Downlink MU-MIMO (one transmitting device, multiple receiving
devices) included as an optional mode
• Low level MAC and RF improvements
‒ Beam forming improvements
‒ MAC modifications (mostly to support above changes)
‒ Coexistence mechanisms for 20/40/80/160 MHz channels, 11ac and
11a/n devices
• 802.11n “lessons learned”

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802.11ac vs. 802.11n
• Gigabit speed wireless with approximately 3 times the performance for
the same power
• Better performance at any range with fewer dead spots
• More reliable connections for media streaming with beam-forming
• More Wi-Fi bandwidth on your mobile
• Only utilizes the 5 GHz band - much less prone to interference
• Backward compatible to 802.11 a/n
http://www.netgear.com/landing/80211ac/images/wp_netgear_802_11ac_wifi.pdf

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Example 802.11ac Configurations
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_802.11ac

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802.11ac Adoption
The Farpoint Group
predicts that critical
mass usage of
802.11ac BYOD
client devices will
occur in 2014 and
802.11ac access
point
infrastructure in
2015.
February 2014
http://v1.aberdeen.com/launch/report/market_alert/8853-MA-
wireless-standard-adoption.asp?lan=US
“Abandon all doubt that 802.11ac is
replacing 802.11n – today. Except in very
limited or unbelievably-cost-constrained
situations, I can’t see further installations
of .11n making any sense.”
Craig Mathias, The Farpoint Group

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WLAN Analysis – Then and Now

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Then …
• Locally connected
devices
• Commercially available
USB devices
• Multiple devices for
channel aggregation

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Now - The Issues Are Simple
• WLANs now exceed 1Gbps - analysis software must
capture and process data at wired network speeds
• Traditional WLAN analysis not up to the task
‒ Software
• Freeware and commercial “wireless only” analysis software not
architected for gigabit speeds
‒ Hardware
• WLAN adapters typically used in portable analysis are not capable
enough to analyze 802.11ac enterprise APs
• Analysis can’t be done on the basis of management packets only
• Sensors are expensive and don’t scale
‒ Reality: You’re probably not near the problem

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USB WLAN Adapters Not Up to the Task
• This is how analysis is done today
• Data > 433Mbps is simply ignored
• Analysis is incomplete
• And you don’t even know it!
1,300Mbps 433Mbps
=/

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New Technologies, New Methods

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WildPackets’ OmniPeek
for the fastest 802.11ac networks

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OmniPeek – the Only Solution for
802.11ac WLAN Analysis
• Software designed to
handle full duplex, 10G
networks
• Flexible data capture for
any situation
• Detailed analysis for
every situation

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Software That Handles the Speed
Key findings and conclusions:
• Omnipliance TL with OmniAdapter
10G card has a capture-to-disk rate of
20.94Gbps with no packet loss
• Capture-to-disk rate per 10G port of
10.47Gbps is the highest observed to
date in testing of network analysis
and recording appliances
• Using an OmniAdapter 40G card, the
capture-to-disk rate was measured at
25.33Gbps with no loss in storing the
data
• Provides analysis with full display of
real-time statistics without impeding
capture-to-disk performance
http://miercom.com/pdf/reports/20140109.pdf

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Flexible Data Capture
• Portable
‒ Convenient
‒ Real-time
‒ Limited hardware
capability
• Remote
‒ Anytime, anywhere
‒ Uses most capable
capture devices
‒ Cisco, Aruba,
Remote Ppcap, etc.
• Distributed/Forensics
‒ 24x7 WLAN analysis
‒ WLAN recording for
post-incident analysis
Remote Software
Probe for 24x7 Operation

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Specific 802.11ac Solutions
•Cisco AE6000: 1-stream 802.11ac device compatible with
OmniPeek
•OmniPeek v7.8 and above with latest Ralink OmniPeek driver
•Capturing 3 stream 802.11ac with Cisco Aironet 3700
and Aruba AP225

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Remote Adapters
Available for Cisco, Aruba and Meru Access Points
APs are “reconfigured” via the AP controller software
Allow the full capabilities of the AP to be leveraged
Allow an AP to be put into promiscuous mode
and act like a direct-connected sniffing device
AP3700
Cisco 2504
Corporate
Network

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Remote Pcap Support
Ruckus
Aerohive
Xirrus
Others
Remote Pcap support enables
wireless captures directly from any
AP that supports Remote Pcap

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Our Partners
Partner AP(s) Controller? Connection Bands
Cisco AP3700 Yes Remote (WRA) a//b/g/n/ac
Aruba AP-225 Yes Remote (WRA) a/b/g/n/ac
IAP-225 No Local (WRA) a/b/g/n
Meru Yes Yes Remote (WRA) a/b/g/n
Aerohive Yes Yes (Cloud) Remote (RemotePcap) a/b/g/n
Ruckus Yes Yes Remote (RemotePcap) a/b/g/n

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Industry-Leading Analytics

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Channel Aggregation

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Multi-Channel Analysis

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Wireless Roaming
Campus-wide
deployments imply
frequent roaming
Roaming is the
cause of many
wireless issues
Voice and video are
especially sensitive
Roaming analysis
requires detailed
and accurate
measurements

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Expert Analysis
Security policies monitored in real time
Rapidly identify and resolve
wireless network issues

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Voice over Wi-Fi (VoFi)

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Wired and Wireless
Security
protocols
and policy
Ad-hoc
networks
Wireless
security
attacks
QoS configuration
and use
Signal
strength
Dropped
packets
and retries
Access
Point Router
Air-link
Private
Network
or the
Internet
Auth
Server
Ethernet Ethernet
WLAN
Controller
Tracking wireless
packets onto the
wired network
Wireless security
attacks
QoS configuration
and use
VPN/MPLS
Dropped
packets
and retries

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WildPackets Advantage
Remote data capture from commercial enterprise APs
First to support data capture and analysis of 802.11ac traffic
802.11n 3-stream (450Mbps) portable analysis
Comprehensive voice-over-wireless (VoFi) analysis
Industry-leading UI that makes troubleshooting effortless
Multi-channel and wireless roaming analysis
Both wireless and wired network analysis in the same solution

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Why WildPackets Is A Leader
• Protocol analysis since 1990
• WLAN analysis since 2001
• Many “firsts”
• Used by
‒ 802.11 chipset vendors
‒ Device manufacturers/OEMs
‒ Technical Assistance Centers (TACs)
‒ Wi-Fi Alliance and Certified Test Labs (CTLs)
• UI/Workflow
• Expert analysis

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Q&A
Show us your tweets!
Use today’s webinar hashtag:
#wp_wirelesspackets
with any questions, comments, or feedback.
Follow us @wildpackets
Follow us on SlideShare!
Check out today’s slides on SlideShare
www.slideshare.net/wildpackets

32. www.wildpackets.com© WildPackets, Inc.
Thank You!
WildPackets, Inc.
1340 Treat Boulevard, Suite 500
Walnut Creek, CA 94597
(925) 937-3200