| [June 09, 2004] |
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Azumuth's New W-Series Modules Deliver Unprecedented WLAN Performance, Roaming and Capacity Validation
ACTON, Mass. --(Business Wire)-- June 9, 2004 --
New testMAC(TM) and RF Port Module Provide User Scale and Virtual Positioning to Reveal The Potential "Behavioral" Impacts of Typical User Populations on Enterprise Wi-Fi Networks
Azimuth Systems, Inc., innovators in scalable, automated wireless network testing, today introduced two new modules for its award-winning W-Series 802.11 Test Platform. Azimuth's testMAC (TMM) and RF Port Module (RFM) sharply extend the W-Series' abilities to test wireless networks under highly complex, dynamic real-world usage scenarios -- such as large-scale client concentrations and user mobility -- that until now were nearly impossible to replicate and measure repeatably. The testMAC and RF Modules are significant additions to the W-Series Test Platform, the first platform that enables 802.11 networks and devices to be accurately and efficiently tested in the laboratory as dynamic, scalable systems.
"Everyone is talking about enterprise-ready wireless infrastructures," said Kevin Tolly, President/CEO of The Tolly Group, "but the need to test and to validate the large-scale behavior of the network infrastructure and the ability of that infrastructure to scale as needs dictate, is a critical aspect of the procurement and deployment decision. Unlike Ethernet in its day, wireless decisions have until now been made without performance benchmarking standards. Azimuth's solution provides a tool to solve that benchmarking problem"
The testMAC module (TMM) emulates up to 127 clients each of which can be individually configured. Each client can also send and receive traffic over the network under test; enabling users (such as equipment manufacturers, end-users and test laboratories) to easily scale tests to measure the simultaneous impact of hundreds or even thousands of clients. This more advanced testing lets users identify, isolate and understand the performance bottlenecks that routinely degrade enterprise networks, but which become visible only under such real world usage conditions.
The RF Port module (RFM) connects multiple RF devices, enabling ground-breaking, virtual positioning that allows users to create real-world mobility scenarios such as dynamic movement, roaming, hidden stations and overlapping BSSs. The RFM solution lets users precisely identify mobility and roaming related performance and functionality issues, before they can adversely affect real world customer deployments. The various test cases are configured in seconds by the user under GUI or programmatic control through Azimuth's powerful Test Director.
Graham Celine, Azimuth's Vice President of Marketing remarks: "With large scale wireless deployment gaining significant momentum, several leading WLAN vendors are using Azimuth's testMAC and RF Port Modules to aggressively gain market advantage, by validating the real-world scalability, performance and functionality of wireless networks. The power of precise performance validation is proving to be a powerful weapon in the quest for WLAN vendor market share, because as more users and strategic applications are migrated to the Wi-Fi network, the IT manager is increasingly hesitant to rely solely on anecdotal vendor performance claims."
"The Azimuth test system provides the most systematic analysis of client and AP performance," said Dave Molta, Senior Technology Editor of Network Computing and Director of the Center for Emerging Network Technologies at Syracuse University. "These tools will allow test labs and equipment manufacturers to extract the most accurate, controlled and reproducible performance data."
Coupled with the new module introductions Azimuth has also announced two significant performance benchmark test suites, an AP Performance test suite and a Roaming Performance test suite. The AP Performance test suite delivers a range of AP tests including client capacity, association performance capacity and forwarding rate. The Roaming test suite provides highly accurate measurement of a client roaming process measuring the various stages with millisecond accuracy.
The testMAC's 127 softClient stations - each with full station functionality - enables networks to be scaled and capacity tested at very high levels, with individualized variations in traffic and client load conditions. The module enables Access Point verification under full network conditions to become an automated test while offering client capacity, association performance and forwarding rate testing tools to the user. It also enables measurement of the effects on the network of atypical traffic, such as irregular frames, erroneous control traffic, etc. The testMAC's precise controlled traffic generation with time stamping lets the user granularly analyze and shape stimulus and response traffic, enabling laboratory identification and resolution of product anomalies before actual networks and users can be affected.
Azimuth Enables Real World Mobility Testing
The most basic of the mobility tests, roaming, is one of the most critical parameters requiring precise performance test for enterprise and public WLAN devices. Yet until now, measuring roaming has been one of the most elusive aspects of WLAN validation. The RFM gives the W-Series' new abilities to automatically monitor and measure the time and process of fail-over roams, motion roams and fast roams allows users to understand and measure, for the first time, the realities of enterprise roaming behavior. The RF Port Module dramatically expands the W-Series scalability by enabling the formation of networks with up to 16 Access Points (i.e. 16 BSS groupings of users and access points in an 802.11 network), allowing the user controlled positioning of clients and access points to test mobility issues, RF overlap conditions and a wide array of RF coverage and traffic relay issues.
With the addition of the testMAC and RFM to the W-Series Platform equipment manufacturers, evaluators and the user community can assure the stability of strategic applications over wireless networks, helping to facilitate the enterprise migration to wireless networks.
The Azimuth W-Series: The New Standard for Comprehensive, Consistent Analysis
The natural, un-tethered freedom of movement WLAN technology affords users also greatly complicates the test of wireless network products. At best, testing wireless networks for mobility and roaming is difficult and expensive, while many real world scenarios can't be tested. Azimuth is the first to deliver a suitable lab based, test tool that can validate real world performance of wireless networks and devices. The result is a dramatic reduction in test cost with more accurate tests that drive continuous performance improvements in the equipment being tested. The W-Series also gives evaluators and users a critically important, reliable yard stick by which to undertake performance benchmarking.
Purpose-built as the industry's first standardized, off-the-shelf test platform for system level testing of 802.11 wireless access points, clients and other devices the patented W-Series delivers:
-- Repeatability: an isolated and controlled RF environment that provides consistent correlation of test results between different organizations and geographically dispersed sites and from one set of equipment to another. The W-Series eliminates the need for screen rooms and the ensuing test delays, and complexities.
-- Scalability: scaling from a single AP with one client to multiple APs and hundreds of clients, with varying traffic and client load conditions, and a broad range of test permutations.
-- Automation: standardizing test procedures and processes across organizations, geographic boundaries, and the industry itself. Azimuth lets users realize simple, effective and reusable test configurations and parameters when and as needed.
The W-Series is a first of its kind test platform that provides unprecedented scope of validation, and unquestionable economic and time to market advantages. The W-Series solution is reshaping the way WLAN networks and devices are tested.
About Azimuth:
Azimuth Systems, based in Acton, Massachusetts is an innovator in wireless data communications test solutions that test the functionality, interoperability and performance of wireless devices and networks. Azimuth is backed by Kodiak Venture Partners and North Bridge Venture Partners and is a leader in defining widely accepted wireless data communications performance metrics and test methodologies. (www.azimuthsystems.com)
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