MetaGeek (News - Alert), a company that specializes in USB-based WiFi spectrum analyzer solutions, is demonstrating its soon to be released Wi-Spy 5x solution this week at the Interop (News - Alert) show in Las Vegas (booth #261).

 

Wi-Spy 5x, which will begin shipping early summer 2008, was created in response to interference problems in the increasingly crowded 2.4 GHz band. Enterprises are eager to mitigate the problem by moving their wireless networks to the 5 GHz band, and MetaGeek’s new product provides support to keep networks configured in this way running optimally.

 

More specifically, the Wi-Spy 5x is able to scan radio frequency range from 5.170 GHz to 5.815 GHz, covering the entire 802.11a/n span. It thus extends the capabilities delivered by its predecessor, the Wi-Spy 2.4x (pictured) to the 5 GHz band.

 

The new product will come bundled with MetaGeek’s Chanalyzer 3.1 software. This application lets users visually identify the signatures of specific electronic devices interfering with any wireless signal on either the 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz band.

 

Chanalyzer 3.1, expanding upon the capabilities of version 3.0, released in March, helps enterprises quickly and easily optimize the performance of their wireless networks. It includes a device signature library, collaboration tools, data inspection and time control capabilities — plus enhanced tools for cropping, sharing and playing back recordings.

 

Ryan Woodings, “Chief Geek” at MetaGeek, will present demos of Wi-Spy 5x at Interop.

 

MetaGeek was founded in 2005 by Woodings, who saw a market need for an affordable spectrum analyzer for optimizing wireless networks. Hand-held solutions of this type at the time cost $3,000 or more. To provide the same functionality with a much lower price tag (less than $200), MetaGeek developed the Wi-Spy device.

 

The company is based in Nampa, Idaho.