
Notes:
1
Customer must purchase HP OpenView for site-based navigation
2
Band steering is part of the load-balancing algorithm
Table 2: Network Management Use-Case Comparison
Problem Diagnosis
This use case evaluates the vendors' WLAN diagnostic capability. Each vendor was instructed to assume that a
non-technical user calls the WLAN helpdesk because the user cannot reliably connect to the WLAN. Each vendor
was then asked to satisfy these requirements:
• Explain your problem-diagnostic process.
• Demonstrate your problem-diagnostic tools.
Each vendor was evaluated according to these criteria:
• How was the user identified by the network-management system? For instance, was the user required to supply
a media access control (MAC) address or an Internet Protocol (IP) address? Alternatively, can the user simply
provide an authentication user name, machine name, or phone number?
• Was the vendor able to provide historical per-client and per-AP statistics? More specifically, can the vendor
allow the administrator to select a previous time period (e.g., two weeks ago, from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.)
and view a dynamic “playback” of individual AP/client statistics from that time period (e.g., throughput, error
rate, received signal strength indicator [RSSI], and airtime consumption).
• Was the vendor able to correlate per-client and per-AP statistics with location and time? More specifically, can
the vendor allow the administrator to select a previous time period (e.g., two weeks ago, from 10:00 a.m. to
11:30 a.m.) and view a dynamic “playback” of client location and individual AP/client statistics during that
time period?
• Can the vendor provide spectrum analysis and classification? Spectrum analysis provides the ability to measure
energy levels across a frequency band (e.g., view received power Fast Fourier Transform [FFT] vs. frequency
or view power duty cycle vs. frequency). Spectrum analysis is important because it provides a network
administrator with visibility into physical-layer activity and interference. Spectrum classification provides the
ability to identify the source of interference (e.g., microwave oven or cordless phone). Spectrum classification
is important because it helps a network administrator identify what type of equipment is causing the
interference. Note that the use of AP-embedded spectrum analysis/classification is an emerging area, and the
various vendor solutions are not identical. However, a detailed comparison of these solutions is beyond the
scope of this assessment.
Table 3 summarizes the diagnosis use-case results. Refer to the “Problem Diagnosis” section of this assessment
for an analysis of the diagnosis use-case results.
User
identification
Per-AP/client
historical statistics
Correlate time, location,
AP/client statistics
Spectrum analysis and
classification
Aerohive Name, MAC,
IP
Yes No No
Aruba Name, MAC,
IP
Yes Yes
Announced
1
Bluesocket Name, MAC,
IP
No No No
9
BURTON GROUP 7090 Union Park Center Suite 200 Midvale · Utah 84047 · P 801.566.2880 · F 801.566.3611 · www.burtongroup.com
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