When troubleshooting an 802.11 network it is not possible to predict how it will behave when you are armed solely with RF measurements. This is why we focus on performance metrics and IMMI technology — because they more accurately predict how your wireless network will actually perform. Though RF spectrum analysis remains a popular tool for troubleshooting interference-related problems, IMMI technology holds greater promise since it excels at computing the best WiFi channel — that is, the channel with the greatest available bandwidth and least affected by RF interference from other wireless devices. IMMI technology employs 802.11 hardware and sees the RF environment through the same eyes as the wireless devices in your network. There is a new mantra brewing — “Using the (802.11) infrastructure to troubleshoot the infrastructure…” People understand this to mean that when it comes to troubleshooting 802.11 networks, then 802.11 devices make better diagnostic tools than spectrum analyzers. And that’s because a spectrum analyzer knows nothing about the 802.11 standard, its internal protocols, or the methods it employs to mitigate interference from other wireless devices.
