First Look: Aruba Integrated Spectrum Analysis

First Look: Aruba Integrated Spectrum Analysis

By CWNP On 07/08/2010 - 23 Comments

After an initial and timely onslaught of press about integrated spectrum analysis, it looks like Aruba now has something to show. http://arubanetworks.com/products/spectrum-analyzer.php

From the link above, you’ll find two videos showing an overview of the capabilities and features of Aruba’s integrated spectrum analysis. This is an important first look because it provides some insight to the spectral resolution and general functionality of Atheros’ chipset, which looks so-so. This is important even if you’re not an Aruba customer because it shows what you might expect to see within the next few years from other vendors with Atheros chipsets.

As you’ll see in the video, Aruba provides the same spectrum-level displays that we’ve become accustomed to with the other mobile spectrum analysis products. This includes charts like real-time FFT, FFT duty cycle, swept spectrogram, channel utilization, as well as several other charts showing SNR, device types, etc. Of course, it also auto-classifies RF signal sources, which will be an important for its use with ARM. I’m already eager to test its accuracy. There’s only so much to be said about these initial videos. Where the rubber meets the road is in the implementation of these features. It’s one thing to have more spectrum-level data than most vendors, but the real kicker is what Aruba—just like Cisco—does with it.

You may remember a Cisco video from a few months back comparing CleanAir to ARM. That test may go a bit differently with Aruba’s spectrum analysis functionality, but I’ll leave it to Cisco and Aruba to duke that one out. I love competition.

Tagged with: spectrum analysis, aruba networks, ARM, Cisco CleanAir

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