What's Jamming Your Network Wi-Fi network jammed? This tool exposes the culprits.
By Amanda C. Kooser •
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The air around your office is likely clogged with wireless networks and devices like cordless phones and microwaves. That invisible traffic jam can cause interference problems with your Wi-Fi system. Spectrum analyzers are tools that help you suss out the sources of interference and choose a Wi-Fi channel that will give you a cleaner signal. Until recently, spectrum analyzers were somewhat pricey investments. But now, MetaGeek is bringing a spectrum analyzer to the masses with the $99 (street) Wi-Spy for the 2.4GHz band.
Wi-Spy comes as a kit with an installation CD and a small USB device. We plugged it into a Windows XP laptop to check out our 802.11g network. Installation is straightforward, and the program opens to show a graphical analyzer view. You can immediately see which Wi-Fi channels are full of activity. You can also switch over to a frequency view and check which frequencies are busy or subject to interference. After that, you can set your wireless network accordingly.
Wi-Spy packs a lot of features. A spectrogram lets you view a time-based history ranging from two minutes to 24 hours. Save your data, print graphs and play back recorded data. If you don't personally handle your Wi-Fi network, pass it on--your IT staff will be thrilled to get their hands on Wi-Spy.
