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Trent Cutler of MetaGeek demonstrates Wi-Spy at WFD2
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Ryan Woodings introduces the history of MetaGeek, and Trent Cutler demonstrates the latest developments in their wireless capture product line.
At Wireless Field Day 2, Ryan Woodings opened the presentation by sharing the origin story of MetaGeek and the development of its first Wi-Spy product in 2005. Originally a hobbyist project during his time at a large corporation, Wi-Spy became the foundation of MetaGeek as a self-funded company. The company has since experienced significant growth, moving into a new Boise office and expanding to 21 employees. MetaGeek’s product line has evolved substantially, offering much more advanced and user-friendly software than its early days. Ryan introduced Trent Cutler, who oversees tech support and customer education, to walk through the live demonstrations of MetaGeek’s tools.
Trent showcased the redesigned Insider network scanning software, highlighting new filtering options for SSIDs, channels, and security types, greatly enhancing usability in dense Wi-Fi environments like New York City. He also discussed plans for expanding to macOS and Android platforms, acknowledging the demand for broader compatibility. The main focus then shifted to their Channelizer software, populated in real time with wireless activity as attendees joined the room. Channelizer’s new color-by-utilization feature offers improved visualizations of spectrum usage, replacing the term “duty cycle” for clarity. Users can tune their threshold levels and even analyze the performance over specific time windows. The software’s historical capture and playback capabilities were also showcased, enabling users to review past spectrum data alongside current activity and compare between different hardware configurations.
The presentation wrapped up with demonstrations of real-world case studies involving wireless interference from baby monitors, Sonos devices, and professional audio equipment, underscoring the importance of spectrum analysis in identifying and resolving performance issues. Visualizations enabled attendees to see how these interference sources occupied significant portions of the spectrum, often unnoticed by traditional surveys. The team also introduced their directional antenna and device finder tool, which uses amplitude-based tracking to locate high-utilization signals. Though less applicable to packet-based Wi-Fi identification, this approach proves effective in tracing persistent interference sources. The session concluded with interactive lab time, allowing attendees hands-on experience with the tools and techniques discussed.
Personnel: Ryan Woodings, Trent Cutler
Ryan Woodings demonstrates MetaGeek Sputnik, Eye PA, and other cool stuff
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Ryan Woodings demonstrates MetaGeek Sputnik, Eye PA, and other cool stuff at Wireless Field Day 2.
During his presentation at Wireless Field Day 2, Ryan Woodings introduced Sputnik, a prototype Wi-Fi analysis device by MetaGeek that integrates 802.11n radios, a Wi-Spy DBx spectrum analyzer, a Marvell-based Linux computer, and multiple USB ports. Designed for deployment in campus or remote environments, Sputnik features Power over Ethernet (PoE) and the ability for remote data capture and retrieval. Emphasis was placed on future possibilities such as 4G backhaul support and onboard data recording using SD cards or USB storage. Sputnik’s flexible architecture was showcased in novel ways, including a “pirate box” configuration capable of broadcasting SSIDs while serving spectrum data to nearby clients. The team also demoed Android and iPad apps using the Wi-Spy hardware, showing real-time spectrum data visualization on tablets.
The main spotlight of the session was on Eye PA, MetaGeek’s new packet analysis tool designed to bridge the gap between spectrum analysis and deep-layer packet inspection. Eye PA was created from scratch by MetaGeek’s team, starting from visual design concepts influenced by tools like Daisy Disk. The result is a multilayered circular chart dubbed “tree pie” that visualizes PCAP data by bytes, airtime, and packet count. This intuitive UI lets users drill into access points, clients, and individual frame types, with color-coded visuals indicating data rate, MAC management activity, retry rates, and QoS presence. Demonstrations included real PCAP files showing performance issues like excessive PS-Poll frames at low data rates and high retry rates, providing actionable insights into network performance often obscured in raw packet data.
Eye PA was praised by attendees for its ability to clearly differentiate between legacy and high-speed clients, visualize protocol behavior, and potentially help sell modern infrastructure by exposing airtime hogs. MetaGeek planned to release Eye PA within three weeks of the presentation, priced at $499, with private beta access available. They encouraged feedback from the audience to shape product features such as reporting, remote packet capture integration, and customizable visualization views. The presentation ended with enthusiasm from the audience, acknowledgements of Eye PA’s market potential, and informal sharing of beer labeled “IPA,” matching the product’s name and playful internal naming convention.
Personnel: Ryan Woodings