Recording Navigator

A recording (or session) in Chanalyzer Pro can contain multiple captures changes in the Wi-Spy or hardware configurations. The user can alternate between the 2.4GHz band and 5GHz band without creating additional and unecessary files. (The user can also narrow in on a channel for detailed troubleshooting and have it be part of the recording playback.) The recording will also contain all narrow band troubleshooting done during the session.

A recording can have multiple captures. Any hardware configurations will be saved as a capture within the recording. To view a specific capture within a recording, open the file and then select the capture in the drop down above the navigation pane.

Recording Playback functions similar to a media player. The time range is displayed vertically, and the timespan determines what displays in the overview pane.

Chanalyzer Pro automatically stores all Wi-Spy and Wi-Fi data from the moment it was initialized.

Chanalyzer Pro uses a new file format (.wsx) and will not be able to open older Wi-Spy recordings with a ".wsr" extension. To save a recording click "file" in the top left and then click save.

Timespan Controls

The Timespan controls in the navigation pane allow the user to adjust the length of time they are viewing in the Overview and Details panes. Changing the time frame allows the user to narrow in on anomalies and moments in time when the WLAN performed poorly.

You can adjust the length of time using the time span controls, which increase or decrease the length of time you are viewing. You can also click the time frame handle to manually adjust the viewing length. The playback buttons are used to play, pause, jump back, and fast forward.

Playback Waterfall

The Playback waterfall displays ALL data in the Wi-Spy session with visual indicators to show the section of time being displayed in the Overview and Details section. The playback buttons are used to play, pause, jump back, and fast forward... to jump to an arbitrary position in the session the user can double-click anywhere in the waterfall to move the playhead to that point in time.

• Waterfall Navigation: The area in the waterfall highlighted in green represents what you are seeing in the overview pane. The Playback waterfall displays ALL data in the Wi-Spy session with visual indicators to show the section of time being displayed in the Overview and Details section.
• Density Preview Hover over any grayed out area to see a small density preview. To jump to an arbitrary position in the session the user can double-click anywhere in the waterfall to move the playhead to that point in time, the overview pane will quickly adjust to the new time frame. This is useful to “zoom” into anomalies and moments in time when the WLAN performed poorly.

Waterfall

The Waterfall View graphs amplitude over time for each frequency in the band. The colors represent power levels in the spectrum with dark blue as low; bright red as higher amplitude levels—much like a doppler radar weather map. This view indicates the instances where wireless devices like cordless phones or microwaves may have changed the spectrum. This is an enhanced version of the highlighted green section in the waterfall navigation pane. These colors will be be equally represented in the density view.

This view is great for identifying devices that may jump channels sporadically such as a cordless phone. you can also watch the colors

Density

The Topographic / Density View shows how often each frequency/amplitude point is measured within a specified time range. Devices that transmit more frequently will appear brighter. The density view helps track the patterns different wireless devices make in the spectrum which help to identify potential sources of interference in the spectrum.

The Density View maps and displays how often a frequency/amplitude point is being used. The less trafficked frequency ranges will appear more transparent. The colors represent amplitude height with reds indicating higher signals and darker blues lower power levels. These colors match the same data displayed in the waterfall view. An important feature of this view is that it picks up device-specific signatures which enables analysis of what types of electronics are emitting RF energy in the area.

The current, average, and max are 1 pixel lines drawn to show the current amplitude of all signals, the average amplitude for all signals in the timespan and the max. These can be toggled on and off by clicking the buttons above.

• Current: This button displays the most current RF activity within the timeframe of the Navigation Pane.
• Average: The Average reflects the average power on the frequency. By translating each reading to power and taking an average of it Chanalyzer can provide a more accurate measurement on each frequency.
• Max: The maximum power received for each frequency in the given time frame.
• Networks: This will draw the SSIDs that have been selected in the Networks table.
• Transmitters: This will show the automatic device identification.

Networks Graph

The Networks Graph represents the Wi-Fi signal strength over time using data collected from the computer’s Wi-Fi card (make sure a WZC compatible wireless card is installed). The signal strength represents the amplitude levels of transmit beacons received by the card. Drops in signal strength indicate poor signal coverage, and can be referenced against the spectrum data views (Waterfall and Density) to determine if interference is at fault.

Networks Table

The Networks Table is a list of the Wi-Fi access points that are within range of the computer’s wireless card. The names (or SSIDs) of the APs are given along with signal strength (RSSI), channel, Mac address and other identifiers. This table is used good for getting a snapshot of what Wi-Fi networks are in the area as well as correlating RF activity as shown in the spectrum views to known Wi-Fi networks.

• SSID: Service Set Identifier. Wi-Fi radios generally use a SSID to distinguish themselves among other Wi-Fi transmitters.
• RSSI: Received Signal Strength Indicator. How signals are measured by the wireless NIC. Traditionally the wireless NIC assigns the RSSI an integer value to be converted to dBm.
• MAC Address: Media Access Control address is a unique identifier for a network device.
• Privacy: The type of security/encryption the Wi-Fi transmitter is using.
• Time: This is the most recent time the access point was seen by your wireless NIC.
• Vendor: Access points are assigned a vendor based on the MAC address used.
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Device Finder

The Device finder is a signal strength over time graph similar to the Networks Graph, but it shows the signal strength of the selected frequency range. In the Density View click and highlight the area you would like to monitor. You can either choose "zoom" or "device finder". When you choose "Device Finder" the range you selected will remain highlighted. The device finder graphs a rolling average of the frequency range for the past 10 sweeps

Channels Table

The Channels Table grades each Wi-Fi channel based on the RF activity within its given frequencies and time range selected in the navigation pane. This table is primarily used in pre-deployment of new wireless devices because it considers all RF noise occurring within Wi-Fi channels whether it is Wi-Fi or non-Wi-Fi.

The Channel Grade is a weight for each freq/amp point based on how close it is to the center of the channel and its amplitude.

The duty cycle is a relative score to help determine if a channel is usable or not. It measures how much RF activity is occurring in the channel within the channels frequencies and the specified time range in the navigation pane and is weighted so that signals near the center of the channel have a greater effect on the duty cycle score.

The average is a measurement of the average power within the channel frequency range. The max value is the highest amplitude point captured within the Wi-Fi channel frequency range.

• Channel Grade: The Channel Grade is a weight for each freq/amp point based on how close it is to the center of the channel and its amplitude.
• Duty Cycle: The duty cycle is a relative score to help determine if a channel is usable or not. It measures how much RF activity is occurring in the channel within the channels frequencies and the specified time range in the navigation pane and is weighted so that signals near the center of the channel have a greater effect on the duty cycle score.
• Average: For each channel range (for example, Wi-Fi Channel 1, 2401-2423MHz), Chanalyzer calculates the average power within that channel frequency range.
• Max: This value is the highest amplitude point within the Wi-Fi channel frequency range.

Report Builder

To enable Report builder click "View" in the main menu and then "Report Builder" You can also toggle the report builder sidebar by pressing CTRL+R.

The report builder is fully customizable. It allows the user to create snapshots of any section of the capture and put it in the report. By using the waterfall graph in the navigation frame, quickly jump to the point where the microwave turned on and add a density view snapshot to show the customer how bad the interference was at the time it initiated. Also add a network strength graph to show the loss of Wi-Fi signal when the microwave turned on.

One of the key features of Chanalyzer Pro Report builder is the ability to add multiple blocks of any view. Add a block for each room in the house, or simply choose to highlight the problem areas you noticed.

You can change the text of any block, and add empty text blocks of your own. Chanalyzer will export the report in an html or pdf file.