Yet another reason to secure Wi-Fi connections is to defend network performance. Most networks, especially those at the business level, adhere to WPA Wi-Fi Protected Access or WPA2 security standards, which require device operators seeking a network connection to input a security code.
IT professionals must remain alert for any performance downgrades, suspicious activity, or new threats to cybersecurity. Worthwhile tools come equipped with a Wi-Fi signal analyzer function, showing where connectivity weakens throughout a network.
They also test internet and connection speeds, gauge the number of lost packets, and scan the network for signal-interruptive noise. The best Wi-Fi analyzers not only monitor performance metrics for reporting but also consider presentation and actionability. In other words, an influx of notifications is just as unhelpful as no notifications at all.
A system that consolidates data effectively—whether through network visualization or a logical data prioritization hierarchy—helps administrators see how data points relate, understand developing situations, and triage networking problems based on their urgency and impact. Among its most helpful features is a network visualization with a Wi-Fi heat map showing the relative signal strength throughout an office or any other space.
From there, admins can drill down into the various routers, APs, and connected clients to view identification and status data. SolarWinds NPM is invaluable for root cause analysis. Both its dashboards and alerts are easily configurable, so admins can prioritize the data they want to track and receive alarm notifications before critical situations become a reality. When something does go wrong, admins are the first to know thanks to proactive fault, availability, and performance monitoring.
Since Wi-Fi downtime has grown so exponentially costly, using a preventive Wi-Fi analysis software can greatly improve organizational return on investment, paying for itself in no time. NetSpot is another excellent Wi-Fi scanner and analyzer. Its main strength lies in its capacity to facilitate network planning: like SolarWinds NPM, NetSpot uses a heat visualization to reveal dead zones and noisy areas where channel interference could lead to problems.
This enables IT administrators to approach network construction with a solid understanding of how the environment could interact with the network, thereby avoiding topological missteps.
In addition, NetSpot has productive survey capabilities to aid in network security. Its free Wi-Fi analyzer detects unauthorized APs and workstations and can scan neighboring networks to discover their name, channel information, password protection, and more. The main downside of NetSpot is that even its paid version lacks the intelligent tracking, metrics, and notification system NPM offers, making it less useful for troubleshooting than it is for network planning and discovery.
This visualization tends to be too cluttered to be immediately useful; however, PRTG collects a good deal of data to inform Wi-Fi troubleshooting. Overall, as a network performance monitoring tool, PRTG is great for integrating Wi-Fi analysis with other infrastructure monitoring.
To this point, however, some have criticized its licensing model, which can get expensive for larger organizations due to its sensor-based pricing schedule. Microsoft is done with Xbox One. Windows Windows. Most Popular. New Releases. Desktop Enhancements.
Networking Software. Trending from CNET. CommView for WiFi Free to try. Point out network problems and troubleshoot from a detailed picture of network traffic. WiFi Hotspot Free. Turn your computer into a WiFi hot spot, show connected devices, and share your Internet connection. Wifi Hacker Free. Wi-Fi signals are constantly changing, and small changes in the network can have massive effects on the overall connection uptime. Using a Wi-Fi network analyzer can collect data and help you identify problems , or it can indicate potential solutions such as switching to another channel to reduce congestion.
You can also use this type of tool to discover areas in your facility with a weak Wi-Fi signal. In my opinion, using Wi-Fi analyzer software can be an excellent tool for optimizing business and even at-home Wi-Fi performance.
This kind of software is usually easy-to-use and can provide great benefits in terms of connection reliability, signal strength, and download speeds. Of the different tools available on the market, the SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor, with its Wi-Fi analyzer , is the most comprehensive. Despite its extensive list of features, it remains simple for both beginner and advanced users.
The relevant feature here is the heatmapping capability allowing you to create multiple color-coded maps of your facilities using real device data to display signal strength.
You can automatically update these maps for a real-time understanding of your wireless network. Having at-a-glance insights into your Wi-Fi can really help with troubleshooting especially when end users come knocking with complaints about connectivity. Beyond heatmapping, NPM offers a range of useful network management features. This allows you to simply determine where slowdowns and issues exist, as you can see the performance and information between individual nodes. Overall, SolarWinds NPM has an impressive suite of tools, and each has clean and beautiful visualizations and displays.
The way this is done is to log in to your Wi-Fi router using its IP address or login page URL, both of which vary based on the type of router you have. To find out how to log in to, and change settings on, your Wi-Fi router you'll need to consult the manufacturer's website or documentation that came with it. If you want to learn more about how to read the various bits of information in WiFi Analyzer, be sure to click on the Learn tab, which will direct you to a variety of resources and WiFi Analyzer tutorials from Matt Haffner, who built the app.
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