What is a Wi-Spy?

Wi-Spy is an affordable tool for troubleshooting and identifying
Wi-Fi problems and interference.

Since 2005, Wi-Spy has given network managers access to compact and affordable spectrum analysis. Wireless networks present a unique set of management issues and Wi-Spy is your fast-track to quick troubleshooting with confidence.

How does it work?

Connect a Wi-Spy to your computer, start the software,
and see what your wireless landscape looks like.

Our accompanying visualization software turns data collected from a Wi-Spy into highly interactive and informative charts and graphs, allowing users to visualize wireless landscapes, detecting all the invisible RF interference that might be causing network issues.

When combined with a wireless network card, our software can also display active access points as they appear in the spectrum, giving quick insight into whether interference is Wi-Fi or non-Wi-Fi related.

Why do I need Spectrum Analysis tools?

Wi-Fi uses the same frequencies as wireless consumer electronics.

In its most basic form, Wi-Fi is radio waves that travel in the 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz bands. When two devices transmit simultaneously, their waves cancel each other out. These collisions are undetected by Wi-Fi cards, but the resulting network slowness or complete loss of connectivity is painfully obvious to humans.

Wi-Fi networks are half duplex, and exist in contention domains. In other words, every device must listen before it can talk, and only one device at a time is allowed to speak. Think of a courtroom: a judge decides who gets to talk, and everyone else has to listen. Judges and Wi-Fi access points alike must manage conversations.

However, there’s always a chance that order may be lost. Channel congestion can happen when there are too many APs or clients on the same channel. Legacy hardware may talk up to 65 times slower than modern wireless equipment. Worse still, devices active on channels that overlap the one you’ve selected for your channel can make your AP want to bang its gavel – but Layer 1 interference could very well be coming from a non-Wi-Fi device. This is where spectrum analysis comes in.

RF interference causes Wi-Fi distortion.

By using specialized hardware and software tools such as Wi-Spy and Chanalyzer, you are able to visually identify how loud RF interference is, and where it’s located. Through detection and display of the RF energy that surrounds you, Chanalyzer makes it a breeze to spot the true congestion of both Wi-Fi and non-Wi-Fi devices on every 802.11 channel instantaneously – thus restoring order to your wireless courtroom.

What can you do with a Wi-Spy?

• Identify the best available channel for a network
• Optimize a wireless network by isolating persistent interference
• Track and analyze active radio interference
• Detect and eliminate adjacent channel interference

Who benefits from Wi-Spy?

• Campus, K-12, and Managed Services IT
• SMB Network Administrators
• Network VAR / Wireless Engineers
• CE / Custom Tech Installers