Network Computing is part of the Informa Tech Division of Informa PLC

This site is operated by a business or businesses owned by Informa PLC and all copyright resides with them. Informa PLC's registered office is 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG. Registered in England and Wales. Number 8860726.

Cognio's Spectrum Expert for WiFi 3.0: Page 3 of 4

Breaking It All Down

Spectrum Expert's interference classification and location features propel this product far ahead of the competition. From the moment the application is launched, Spectrum Expert automatically analyzes and pattern-matches the RF signals it detects against a growing database of known interferers. Once a signal is separated from the noise, the Device Finder feature can be used in Geiger-counter fashion to track down offending devices. Although unique to Cognio and its OEM partners, these features still induce some sticker shock. Priced at $3,995 for the hardware Cardbus adapter and Microsoft Windows analyzer software--and not including the required laptop--Spectrum Expert for WiFi costs more than 40 times MetaGeek's $99 Wi-Spy. Nevertheless, that's a bit like comparing a Porsche to a Hyundai, as Spectrum Expert is such a fine ride.

Besides Spectrum Expert's unique features, Cognio's third release has numerous enhancements aimed at distilling important RF information down another level. Two new charts, Channel Utilization and Interference Power, provide quick and precise representations of how much your wireless network and interference sources are competing with each other. Administrators also can define alarm conditions to be triggered if channel utilization exceeds a certain threshold, or if unwanted interference sources such as signal jammers are detected. None of Cognio's competitors provide this capability.

Better for Users

Improvements within the user interface are abundant as well. Charts have drag-and-drop functionality, and the new export-to-CSV feature makes it intuitive to analyze data within spreadsheet applications. As with previous releases, the upgrade path for existing customers is simply a free, downloadable update to the 3.0 release, available from Cognio's site.