Videos Archive - Page 278 of 279

Ryan Woodings demonstrates MetaGeek Sputnik, Eye PA, and other cool stuff

Appearance: MetaGeek Presents at Wireless Field Day 2

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Vimeo: 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.

Trent Cutler of MetaGeek demonstrates Wi-Spy at WFD2

Event: Wireless Field Day 2

Appearance: MetaGeek Presents at Wireless Field Day 2

Company: MetaGeek

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Personnel: Ryan Woodings, Trent Cutler

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.

Aerohive demos at Wireless Field Day 2

Event: Wireless Field Day 2

Appearance: Aerohive Presents at Wireless Field Day 2

Company: Aerohive

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Vimeo: Aerohive demos at Wireless Field Day 2
YouTube: Aerohive demos at Wireless Field Day 2

Personnel: Paul Levasseur

Aerohive’s Paul Levasseur demonstrates Secure Guest Access, Branch on Demand, and “Value on Demand”, configuring the BR100 branch routers on the fly.

During the Wireless Field Day 2 presentation, Paul Levasseur detailed several of Aerohive’s innovative features, beginning with Secure Guest Access. This approach aimed to improve security and reduce reliance on open networks by allowing guests to self-register through a captive web portal and receive private pre-shared keys (PSKs). The network could dynamically assign access credentials based on guest information, with policies further set up according to user profiles and device types. Aerohive also showcased a network-based mobile device management (MDM) approach where policies are applied at the access point level, leveraging user agents and domain logins to control network behavior based on device type or user identity.

Levasseur next demonstrated the Branch on Demand solution, using BR100 routers that can be rapidly deployed across branch sites. These devices come pre-registered with Aerohive’s redirector service, enabling them to auto-configure and find the correct HiveManager regardless of location. Aerohive’s routers support LTE connections for primary or backup access and can switch autonomously in the event of a WAN failure. These routers also act as firewalls, NAT devices, DHCP servers, and local RADIUS servers, integrating easily with external web security solutions like WebSense and Barracuda. The system allows centralized policy creation, including SLAs, user-based whitelisting, and dynamic route provisioning without requiring traditional routing protocol overhead.

Aerohive’s demo culminated in a live, from-scratch setup of a fully functioning corporate router and wireless environment on 14 sites using an iPad. Within 15 minutes, Levasseur configured IPsec VPNs, dynamic routing (OSPF), multi-level user access, web filtering integration, and more. Audience members participated in hands-on tests using private PSKs and self-registration portals. The GUI-driven HiveManager Pro interface allowed seamless management across wireless and wired ports. Emphasizing simplicity and scale, Aerohive presented a compelling case for its distributed, controllerless architecture as a robust and efficient alternative to traditional wireless solutions.

Aerohive at WFD2 Part 1: Devin Akin, Matthew Gast, Founders

Event: Wireless Field Day 2

Appearance: Aerohive Presents at Wireless Field Day 2

Company: Aerohive

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Personnel: Devin Akin, Matthew Gast

Devin Akin introduces the company and panel content, then Matthew Gast walks through his vision for Wi-Fi. Next up is Aerohive founder and CTO, Changming Liu. Finally, Abby Hassel Strong presents a review of Aerohive’s progress in 2011 and gives a special gift to Chris Lyttle.

At Wireless Field Day 2, Aerohive showcases their latest innovations by highlighting the evolution of wireless technology and their unique architectural approach. Their presentation covers the company’s direction, developments from the past year, and insight into the future of gigabit wireless networks, especially in relation to 802.11ac. Key executives, including Devin Akin, Matthew Gast, and company founder Chia-Ming Liu, discuss the technical progress and strategic vision driving Aerohive’s distributed controller-less architecture forward.

During the presentation, Matthew Gast delves into both the technical progression of the wireless industry and challenges that new standards bring. He cleverly compares traditional wireless controllers to dinosaurs—relics of the past—as 802.11ac and beamforming technologies reshape the landscape. Gast explains critical limitations in existing security protocols such as CCMP and suggests GCMP as a necessary evolution due to higher data rates and the need for parallel encryption. He emphasizes the importance of having up-to-date hardware capable of meeting the advancing specifications. Additionally, he discusses the complexities of 256 QAM modulation, the need for clean radio design, and improvements in performance through features like multi-user beamforming.

Founder Chia-Ming Liu reflects on the vision behind Aerohive’s architecture, conceived to handle gigabit Wi-Fi well before 802.11ac formally arrived. Inspired by a 2005 IEEE demo of fast wireless speeds, Liu deliberately steered away from centralized controller-based designs, opting instead for a distributed model similar to Ethernet’s evolution. Acknowledging the technical challenges posed by distributed architecture, particularly with roaming and RF management, he credits his engineering team for overcoming these hurdles. Wrapping up the session, Aerohive discusses their 2011 product launches, such as the BR100 branch router, Cloud VPN gateway, new access points, and enhanced management software, along with support for features like rogue mitigation, spectrum analysis via iPad, and student management integrations.

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