Badger-Fi

Tag: AirCheck G2

  • AirCheck G2 v3.0; Building on a Wifi Testing Stalwart

    There are many good things continuing to happen with everyone’s favorite wifi troubleshooting tool from Netscout.  The AirCheck G2 will have new firmware released this coming week on Tuesday, October 23.  These new features expand on the tool’s already great feature set and should have any engineer feeling even more confident while troubleshooting. Version 3 is bringing many new features to your AirCheck.  Upgrading the AirCheck G2 becomes easier to upgrade with over the air firmware upgrades.  The only requirement to take advantage of this new feature is to have a current support contract.  This is a great time saving new feature. Another feature new to the Aircheck will be the ability to share your profiles with other AirChecks within your organization.  A profile can now be easily uploaded to Link-Live and shared among other AirChecks under your control. Adding to Link-Live’s new versatility is the ability to upload full AutoTest and Connectivity results, session files, screenshots, and packet captures.  I pulled a packet capture for my iPhone after recently upgrading and saw the new option to upload to Link-Live.  I simply selected the Link-Live feature, logged into Link-Live and found my pcap ready for analyzing.  This builds on the ability to quickly transfer a pcap to a USB drive which can be connected directly to the AirCheck. Enhanced AP naming support has been added to get a better idea of which AP you are currently working with.  APs from Cisco, Aruba, Huawei, Aerohive, and Extreme Networks are currently supported.  Hopefully Fortinet will be added soon.  I still rely heavily on my AirCheck G1 for identifying Meru/Fortinet APs due to it’s ability to read the AP ID information element.  I continue to patiently wait… Improved packet captures allow the user to start and stop the packet capture on a specific device or channel.  As mentioned previously, you can also now upload your packet capture to Link-Live for easy sharing of data with others in your organization. Another major enhancement is the ability to transfer certificates directly to the AirCheck using a USB device.  I know this was a request in the past and the good people at Netscout listen to their customers! By now many of you may know that Netscout sold their “tools” to StoneCalibre, a private equity firm, on September 14.  Netscout presented their future plans for the AirCheck and LinkRunner at Mobility Field Day 3 on the same day that the deal occurred but the formal announcement wasn’t made until the following Monday, September 17.  Netscout was clearly aware of what was going to happen but still had a detailed roadmap for their products going forward.  Their confidence seemed to be at an all time high and didn’t appear there was any reason for concern.  I am still very confident in the product line going forward and am excited to see where this deal takes them. If you have a current support contract with Netscout, get ready to download the new firmware this coming Tuesday, October 23.  There are many more features included that I didn’t mention in this post that will enhance the usability of an already great product.

  • NETSCOUT AirCheck G2 v2.0

    We had the opportunity while visiting with NETSCOUT at Mobility Field Day 2 to get a sneak peek of the v2.0 firmware for the G2 (yes, firmware; no need to purchase new hardware).  Many of us were very excited to see some of the newly added features and it seems as though there is even more room to grow in the future.  What we have come to trust as one of our favorite go-to tools in the wifi toolbag has only gotten more powerful and useful.  I am not going to go into a deep dive of each of the features that Chris Hinsz showed us but I will share the links because he does a way better job explaining it (because he is the Product Manager of course).

    Notable features in the v2.0 release are iPerf, captive portal support/testing, interferer identification, and packet captures.  Also introduced was the NETSCOUT “Test Accessory” which will function as an iPerf server and can be placed anywhere there is a network connection with POE.

    The additional features that are being introduced show that this product is as versatile as ever and should increase the confidence of its user while deployed in the field.

    Here is the link to download the new v2.0 firmware.

     

    Video from MFD2 featuring Chris Hinsz, Product Manager at NETSCOUT

     

    Deep dive of AirCheck G2 v2.0 with Chris Hinsz

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCI6-iRzUaw&feature=youtu.be

     

    Video/webinar featuring Chris Hinsz of NETSCOUT and George Stefanick of Houston Methodist Hospital

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXVoW-rR2Rc&feature=youtu.be

  • NETSCOUT – Nuthin’ But a G(2) Thang

    A few weeks ago at Mobility Field Day 2 I was afforded the opportunity to listen to a presentation from the fine people of NETSCOUT (all capitals because that is how Kendall Hershey told me it should be).  It was somewhat of a reunion for Brennan, Rob, and myself as we had established a relationship with NETSCOUT and their Social Media Manager, Kendall Hershey, at Cisco Live 2016 (shameless blog plug) .  It was great to see her again as well as take a deeper dive into the NETSCOUT product line, especially the AirCheck G2.

    Chris Hinsz, NETSCOUT Product Manager, was the main presenter and he gave a nice overview of the NETSCOUT product line, more specifically the beloved AirCheck G2.  Many of us WLAN professionals use the AirCheck G2 at our day jobs and have come to love the simple yet powerful tool.  Chris went on to offer a closer look into what makes the AirCheck G2 so great as well as some lesser known tips and tricks.  Check out the presentation here.

    Chris also gave us a quick demo of the Link-Live dashboard.  The Link-Live dashboard is a clean, easy to read area where you can collect the information that your various NETSCOUT tools gather.  I have had the opportunity to use the Link-Live dashboard with my LinkSprinters for some time and I appreciate the simple layout.  I can quickly get the information I need with a quick glance.  The dashboard organizes your tests into a table and allows you to make annotations, as well as create reports from the collected data.  NETSCOUT has definitely spent some time refining the layout making it easy to get the information you need from your test equipment.

    I have been drooling over the AirCheck G2 since it was released.  We recently purchased one for work so I have only recently had the opportunity to use it on a regular basis.  I love the features of the G2 especially the touchscreen and well laid out menus.  The testing features are straight forward.  The G2 is hands down the first device we go to when we get called out for wireless issues.  The G2 saves us a significant amount of time troubleshooting.  Before the G2, troubleshooting wireless issues took much longer.  These handheld testers bring you to a solution much faster with the information that they supply.  I personally own the G2’s predecessor, the **Fluke AirCheck.  The original AirCheck is still very useful to me because it is able to extract a Meru/Fortinet/FortiRu AP ID out of a beacon’s information elements.  This makes it very easy for me to identify an AP that is a member of a Virtual Cell (virtual BSSID).  I still love my original AirCheck for this reason, but mostly because Kendall Hershey gave it to me.  I am told that they will look into adding the FortiRu information element to the G2 in the near future.

    Gratuitous NETSCOUT AirCheck G2 product placement by Brett (@crabby_fi)

    The AirCheck G2 has been, and continues to be, a staple in the WLAN professional’s bag of tools.  The NETSCOUT product line is built on a solid platform and is sure to deliver for the foreseeable future.  Anyone who uses a G2 will let you know how much it enhances their troubleshooting experience.  Issues that may have previously taken a few hours to figure out are easily diagnosed in a much shorter time period.  NETSCOUT is another one of those companies who I hold near and dear to my heart because they listen to their customers. I am looking forward to what NETSCOUT has coming in the future.

    Blogs about the NETSCOUT G2 from my MFD2 peers:

    Lee Badman – https://wirednot.wordpress.com/2017/08/06/catching-up-with-netscout-on-their-flagship-wlan-support-tool/

    Clear to Send – https://www.cleartosend.net/cts-087-aircheck-g2-w-netscout-mfd2/

     

    **On July 14, 2015, the following products from Fluke Networks were merged with NETSCOUT Systems; Visual TruView™, OptiView® XG, OneTouch™, LinkSprinter™, LinkRunner™, AirMagnet™ and AirCheck™. Fluke Networks continue to retain the DTX CableAnalyzer™, Versiv Cabling Certification System, LinkWare™ Live and Telecom products.