MetaSkills Technical Services

Wireless network evaluation in collaboration with VeriWave

Are you knowledgeable about wireless networks?  Then you want to know what we do, and how we do it.  Here are the details you want, presented in a Q&A format.

Q: What do you do?

A:  We analyze and certify your wireless network (WLAN, WiMAX, etc.) using industry-leading VeriWave test and evaluation tools.  The analysis simulates high levels of mixed-use traffic.

To simulate high traffic, we simulate many users simultaneously using your wireless network.  How many users?  We can simulate as many as you need to support (except in unusual cases).

Q: What is mixed-use traffic?

A:  The simulated mixed-use traffic includes any reasonable number of instances for each of the following protocols, with the specific mix being based on what kind of traffic you want to support.

  • SMTP (email)
  • HTTP Put & Get (web browsing)
  • FTP Put & Get (file transfers)
  • VOIP (voice over IP)
  • MPEG-2, both webcast and point-to-point (video)
  • Windows Media Player (video and/or audio)
  • RealVideo and RealAudio streaming (video and audio)
  • SMB (remote file and printer access)
  • Telnet & SSH (remote OS access)
  • NetBIOS (network control)
  • Unclassified UDP traffic (such as wireless barcode scanners, pings, and traceroutes)

As your WLAN handles this heavy mix of traffic, we evaluate your WLAN performance.  This performance is measured in terms of Quality of Experience (QoE).

Based on the results, we certify your wireless network's level of performance.

Q: Do you just do “canned” tests?

A:  No.  We are flexible, and will accommodate your specific needs and desires.  For example, we can test both your current environment and your expected future needs, both of which are matched to your unique situation.  Of course, if you don't have specific traffic expectations, we can suggest standard (“canned”) tests.

Q: Can you help us enhance wireless security?

A:  Yes, we also test the security of your wireless network.  Based on the results, we recommend how to eliminate any weaknesses we discover.  We can help with WPA and WPA2 (and WEP) encryption methods.

Security testing is especially important because a wireless network that isn't secure can be compromised without any physical access.

Q: How do you perform your services?

A:  If your wireless network has already been optimized for RF spectrum usage, we usually follow these steps:

  1. Set up the monitoring tools, which primarily consist of VeriWave test-measurement equipment and software.
  2. Program the tools for the traffic types that will be tested.
  3. Run the tests and take countless measurements.
  4. If suggested by the results obtained, we may do further testing to better analyze your WLAN's weaknesses.
  5. Calculate result parameters, and save all the results.
  6. If desired, we can deliver preliminary recommendations verbally.
  7. We carefully analyze all the results and create a WLAN Advanced Performance Evaluation & Recommendation Report (nicknamed the WAPERR).

Q: Can you provide pre-deployment services?

A:  Definitely.  In fact that's what we prefer.  Early involvement allows us to help you select products that will better achieve your desired performance.  (Of course these products include wireless access points, but supporting hardware and software also can be recommended.)

In making these product recommendations, we can save you lots of money without compromising your WLAN capacity.  For example, the choice between thick and thin access points can be optimized, with the choice being tailored for your specific situation.

Countless factors can affect wireless-network performance.  Such factors include antenna orientations, access-point locations, wall locations, wall types, building layouts, equipment obstructions, sources of wireless noise (both broad-spectrum and transmission-specific), and much more.  With our many years of wireless-network experience, we can quickly design a superior wireless network that matches your unique situation.

Q: Can you help us optimize RF spectrum usage?

A:  Yes.  Proper RF spectrum usage is a key determinant of your WLAN's performance capacity, so we certainly can optimize it if you have not already done so.

If instead, you have already optimized RF spectrum usage, we can begin with dynamic testing and performance evaluation.

Q: What are the biggest challenges in optimizing a wireless network?

A:  There are countless challenges.  That's why our many years of experience designing, building, and evaluating large, complex, wireless networks is the central ingredient of our services.  Yet it may be worth mentioning a few of the biggest challenges.

  • Maintaining a high level of security that protects against eavesdropping, jamming, and man-in-the-middle attacks.
  • Efficiently handling authentication and re-authentication, which verifies the identity of each client.
  • Efficiently associating and disassociating roaming clients, such as portable inventory devices used in warehouses, tablet PCs used by doctors in hospitals, and VoIP handsets.
  • Avoiding unnecessary roaming (association and disassociation between access points) when a wireless client is stationary (and outside conditions are changing).
  • Avoiding interruptions in transmissions that lead to re-transmissions, which further degrade performance.
  • Optimizing the size of the client association table in each access point.
  • Avoiding latency for mobile-device VOIP users and laptop-based teleconference users.
  • Balancing upstream (multiple clients talking to a single access point) versus downstream (single access point talking, in sequence, to multiple clients) performance.
  • Recovering from network or power outages.
  • Dealing with interference from RFID tags.

Q: Specifically, what do you test?

A:  Here are some of the tests we perform.

  • RF level testing
  • Protocol Conformance Testing
  • Performance Testing
  • Interoperability Testing
  • Functional Testing
  • Management/Data plane testing
  • Stress/Load Testing
  • Scalability Testing
  • Testing QoS support
  • Testing security protocols
  • VoIP over WLAN testing
  • Testing Roaming
  • Testing Rate Adaptation
  • Testing mixed mode networks
  • Testing for protection against security attacks
  • Deployment Testing, site survey

Q: How do you quantify the services you offer?

A:  We can help you create a Service Level Agreement (SLA) that meets your users' needs.  Whether your organization is a hospital, a large corporate campus, a university, or just a nearby WiFi hot spot with heavy traffic, we can help you specify the details of a comprehensive SLA.

Q: How much do your services cost?

A:  Of course the cost depends on what services you need, the nature of your wireless network (type of wireless network, number of access points, desired capacity, etc.), and much more.  We start by making sure we understand your situation.  If needed, we can supply you with a form you can fill out.

When we know what you need and want, we can give you a free written estimate.

You can be sure that the cost is small compared to the improved performance we will give your users, the money we will save you, and the losses you will prevent by properly supporting your wireless network.

Q: What geographic areas do you serve?

A:  For high levels of service, we travel worldwide.  In the vicinity of Portland, Oregon, we provide services for smaller organizations.

Q: Where do I start?

A:  Please call us at 503-245-4190.

If you prefer to initiate communication via email, please send us your email address using the Contact Us page.

We look forward to working with you to achieve a high level of satisfaction among your wireless-network users, even during heavy loads, which is usually when your users need it most.

Please contact us.