Join us at Interop 2012!

Posted on May 3, 2012 by Wendy

MetaGeek is excited to be presenting at the Interop 2012 Expo and we’d love to see you there.

We’re in Booth # 2543 and we’ll have all our software and hardware on hand for you to check out, ask questions about, and see live in action.

We’re also hosting a Pale Ale Happy Hour, in honor of our latest software innovation Eye P.A. Tuesday from 3-5pm. Stop by our booth, see Eye P.A. and have a beer on us!

Ekahau will also be onsite, showing off their latest mobile site survey applications which work seamlessly with a Wi-Spy DBx.

Interop is often called the “true” technology tradeshow, focused on the future of business technology and featuring the worlds largest temporary network!

Come say hello in booth 2543!        click here to get a free expo pass

Comments Off

Coming Soon, Chanalyzer for Android

Posted on March 28, 2012 by Wendy

We love Chanalyzer. After all, it takes data collected from our Wi-Spy USB spectrum analyzer and provides a real-time visualization of wireless environments that’s easy-to-use and understand. Without Chanalyzer, RF is well … invisible.

The geeks in the Code Kitchen have begun working in earnest on an Android version of Chanalyzer. Yep – Chanalyzer for Android! Just plug a Wi-Spy into your USB host-enabled 3.2 or higher Android device and begin collecting and viewing spectrum data in Density and Waterfall View on the fly, from anywhere.

Plus, you can record the data collected on your Android device and export it – allowing you to fully analyze your findings later and build reports with Chanalyzer Pro at your desk. The app will conveniently save your recordings to Dropbox (or other popular file sharing applications). Chanalyzer for Android will be super-easy to use, scan, save, and get your Wi-Spy spectrum analysis files off to wherever you ultimately need them. Visualize your wireless networks easier than ever – and available in the Android marketplace very soon!

Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Eye P.A. is the first step to understanding Wi-Fi network data, new from MetaGeek

Posted on March 20, 2012 by Wendy

Back at office, the geeks have been working hard on a brand-new, first-of-it’s-kind tool.
We are very excited to introduce you to our latest software, Eye P.A!

Before Eye P.A., professionals would have to navigate through dense streams of packet data looking
for a needle in a haystack. Now they have a first step to better understand Wi-Fi networks – visually.

Eye P.A. is an 802.11 .pcap troubleshooting tool designed to be the first pass
at analyzing your wireless network data traffic.

 

FEATURES

- Find Top Talkers
- Analyze Conversations
- Diagnose Network Health
- Monitor Retransmits
- Identify Issues Quickly

With Eye P.A., you can open the data captured from your wireless network in a .pcap file and transform the dense stream of bits and bites into color-coded multi layered pie charts for quick troubleshooting.

Download and try Eye P.A. for 15 days – or buy the most visual front-line wireless data packet analysis tool available today for $499.

Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

MetaGeek In The Community: Boise State App-athon challenged young developers to create an app in 48 hours.

Posted on March 8, 2012 by Wendy

MetaGeek had the privilege to participate in Boise State University’s first App-athon competition this past weekend. The premise of the event was that diverse student teams would compete to create fully functional applications in 48 hours. Developers were allowed to use open-source libraries, but all of the development had to be done on campus during the weekend event. Applications were to be judged based on applicability to Boise State, Usability, Technical Merit, and Wow Factor.

Ryan Woodings, our Chief Geek, kicked off the competition as the keynote speaker. He shared his story of how he became a software developer and highlighted some of his first programs. All of the applications he authored served an immediate need that he or a family member had, and were all started using paper and then transferred to the computer.

Fun Fact: Ryan wrote the code and developed the original Wi-Spy for his own personal use to help him do his work more efficiently.

Forty eight hours is not a lot of time to build a fully functional application. 12 teams competed to win the weekend of endurance, smarts, and ingenious code. In the end, the winning team (which included one of our interns, Jacob) slept a total of 8 hours and spent the entire first day debating the application and then learning the Android APIs that were available to them. In the end, they created a successful personal work out generator. When the application is launched, the user is presented with an ‘un-skinned’ human and are directed to select the specific muscles they would like to work out. The user then shakes the mobile device to generate a random workout designed to shock those specific muscles and prevent muscle memory.

The second place team created a real-time collaborative brainstorming tool using a light-weight server and a mobile jquery library. Another application developed over the weekend was a mobile ready student/teacher assignment manager.

It was exciting to see young software developers come alive and push themselves to solve big problems quickly. Many local software companies had representatives there to help judge the weekend-built applications and they all came away inspired by the drive and ingenuity of the students.

Much thanks to Boise State for providing such a stimulating event for its students, and for inviting MetaGeek to be a part of it. Eleven out of twenty-two employees at MetaGeek graduated or have taken classes at BSU, making it a cornerstone of the brainpower that drives our company. Boise, thanks to its strong technology business sector, combined with improving technology education, and cool events like App-athon, is poised for ongoing innovative tech success.

Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Watch the latest sneak peek videos of Eye P.A. here

Posted on February 3, 2012 by Trent

Eye P.A. debuted at Wireless Field Day 2 (click for video) on January 26th and we’ve received some excellent feedback on our latest endeavor into Visual Packet Analysis! We have been extremely humbled with the large interest in the software. We are currently working on gathering feedback we’ve received and implementing it into Eye P.A. Stay tuned if you’ve signed up to be a part of our Limited Beta program – we’ll be in touch with you soon.

Below are a few very short videos which highlight the core benefits of using Multi-layer pie charts for packet analysis. Please take a few minutes to become acquainted with the latest way to view 802.11 packets.

Leave a comment

inSSIDer update available!

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Wendy

Download the latest version of inSSIDer for the best, most up-to-date software available.

Some changes you’ll notice in Version 2.1:
- Improved Filters
- Improved Interface
- Improved Network Colors

Find what you’re looking for quickly – filter by SSID, Vendor, Channel, Band, Network Type, or Security.

Tagged , , , , | 16 Comments

Watch Our Presentation from Wireless Field Day 2

Posted on January 26, 2012 by Wendy

MetaGeek presented live at Wireless Field Day 2 Thursday January 26th, 2012 in San Jose, CA.

Click the videos below to see the latest developments of MetaGeek software, and the unveiling of our brand new visual packet analysis tool, Eye P.A.

PART ONE
Click To Watch

PART TWO
Click To Watch

Learn more about Eye P.A. at www.metageek.net/products/eye-pa

Leave a comment

Modern Packet Analysis Is Getting A Visual Overhaul

Posted on January 18, 2012 by Trent

This post is part of an ongoing series discussing MetaGeek’s new packet visualizer, Eye P.A.
See our previous post: Get ready to accelerate your .pcap skills with Visual Packet Analysis

Right now, packet analysis works like a search engine. You enter a search term and it returns several thousand packets that meet the query. This works great when you know exactly what you’re looking for.
If you don’t – get ready to spend some time with your old friend, Mr. Scrollwheel.

For those of you who have been-there-done-that, I’d like to introduce you to Eye P.A.

Eye P.A. simplifies wireless network troubleshooting by visually aggregating the long lines of data saved in a .pcap file. It quickly displays what’s happening with your 802.11 network from a very high level while giving you the chance to drill down into the details with a helpful multi-layered animated pie chart.

For example, a BSSID may have several clients represented as the green inner layers.

These will be colored in different shades of green to represent the data rate of the conversation.

The Frame Types (outer layers) will be colored based on the type of frame: Data, Control or Management.

We’ve made the pie charts actionable, that means you can drill down by clicking on the pie chart itself. While the interactive pie charts are pretty flippin’ sweet (as we say here in Idaho), this is just a mere piece of our eyeball packet analyzer.

We want to invite you to watch the live-stream unveiling of our new wireless packet visualization tool at Wireless Tech Field Day on January 26th.

Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Get Ready To Accelerate Your .pcap Skills with Visual Packet Analysis

Posted on January 10, 2012 by Trent

Have you ever opened a packet capture file in WireShark? The .pcap (short for Packet Capture) is the most ubiquitous file format for logging network traffic and can be used by almost any network analysis tool. It also displays huge amounts of data that you have to scroll through to find problems with your network.

Packet capture analysis is an essential piece of successful wireless networking. If you haven’t drilled down to the packet level to find a rogue AP, identify the top talkers, count retransmits or understand the % of network bandwidth traveling between bytes, packets or time – you’ll find that there are a lot of ways to export wireless data into a handy .pcap file. You can export from a Mac running OS X Lion. Or from a Linux system, you can use WireShark, TCPDump, Kismet, Aircrack-NG and many more. And for Windows, use Riverbed’s AirPcap Nx with WireShark or Cascade Pilot. However, all these tools leave something to be desired when it comes to analyzing the data.

Many networking hardware vendors have implemented the ability to download a packet capture file from their devices to provide deep frame analysis. Companies like Cisco, Aruba, Meru, Ruckus, Aerohive, and Xirrus know how important it is for people to understand what is happening with their wireless network. However, it’s still very hard to figure out what all the information is telling you in a .pcap file.

Another layer of complication within packet analysis is that within five minutes you could capture over 400,000 packets – all wirelessly. To find the source of a problem using the most readily available tool, WireShark, you need to have a deep understanding of filters and stellar scrolling skills for all the work you’ll be doing with your mouse … the lines of data are long and extensive.

this is what a .pcap file looks like in WireShark

this is what a .pcap file looks like in WireShark

 

Well, scroll no more. MetaGeek is bringing its innovative visualization expertise to packet analysis! We want to invite you to watch the live-stream unveiling of our new wireless packet visualization tool at Wireless Tech Field Day on January 26th.

Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The Internet of Things

Posted on December 6, 2011 by mark

When Wi-Fi was invented and subsequently adopted en-masse, it brought a wave of mobile computing (think laptops). Corporations, universities, hospitals, and everyone else started putting in APs like crazy. Wi-Fi use exploded in the residential space too. Then, Wi-Fi chipsets started showing up in smartphones, iPods, digital cameras and a multitude of other gadgets. This has magnified the usefulness of WLANs and got all of of us *seriously* addicted to Wi-Fi. In fact, it’s hard to remember what we did before we had this ubiquitous wireless connection.

Now, with the quickly emerging concept of “The Internet of Things“, we are likely to see another big leap forward in Wi-Fi usage – connecting “things” (such as HVAC systems and refrigerators) to 802.11. It does sound a lot like Star Trek, but it’s coming, and will be much cheaper and therefore much more pervasive than we think, IMHO.

When the

So, what does this mean to you?

First, it means that your WLAN will need to be super-robust. Correct coverage, configuration, etc. will be essential to make everything work well together.

Secondly, 802.11 won’t be the only technology used to connect devices together. ZigBee, Z-Wave and other future wireless protocols will compete for the same swaths of spectrum allocated in the unlicensed wireless bands. Spectrum management will become even more imperative to keep your WLAN interference-free and running well amongst the multitude of carrier signals transmitting through your airspace. If there was a time to become a Layer 1 pro, this is it!

Check out MetaGeek’s PHY layer tools at www.metageek.com and get up to speed. MetaGeek makes affordable wireless tools that help you make your current and future “Internet of Things” work as well as possible, and we have a great list of useful free tools. What you might not know is that we also have in-depth resources in the forms of guides, videos and how-to’s on our support pages, and we’re always adding more – so check back often.

Don’t say we didn’t give you a heads-up ;-) .

Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment