WildPackets announced the WildPackets Omnipliance WiFi AP Verification Program, which verifies that 802.11ac Wireless Access Points (APs) are compatible with Omnipliance WiFi, an appliance for monitoring, analyzing, and troubleshooting distributed, multi-gigabit 802.11ac Wi-Fi network traffic.

In conjunction with today's announcement, WildPackets also announced that the Aruba Networks AP-225 and the Cisco AP3700 are the first APs to achieve Omnipliance WiFi compatibility verification.

Portable Wi-Fi USB interfaces are ineffective at capturing all of the high-speed traffic traversing 802.11ac wireless networks. Instead data needs to be captured immediately at the point of interest, using existing Wi-Fi infrastructure – so remote analysis will reveal the most relevant findings.

"The high throughput and wide bandwidth of 802.11ac have raised the bar for data capture and analysis tools, surpassing the capabilities of traditional interfaces like wireless USB sticks," said Michael Tennefoss,VPof Strategic Partnerships at Aruba Networks. "Aruba's AP-225 is a great instrument for data capture because of its high-speed processing capabilities, and Omnipliance WiFi compatibility will reassure customers that the AP-225 can be used reliably as a sensor to troubleshoot network problems in real time."

WildPackets Omnipliance WiFi captures 802.11ac traffic directly from installed APs, providing instantaneous access to wireless data. Extensive validation testing helps ensure seamless interoperability with the industry's most common and popular enterprise APs – the Aruba Networks AP-225 and the Cisco Systems AP3700.

Omnipliance WiFi captures data directly from deployed access points, enabling real-time and forensic analysis to the most advanced WLAN traffic, including 4-stream 802.11ac traffic. Network engineers can troubleshoot and resolve problems immediately without the need for time-consuming on-site visits to WLAN locations. The solution supports round-the-clock analysis of all WLANs across the enterprise, and even allows engineers to review and troubleshoot intermittent problems that have occurred hours or days earlier.

"As adoption of 802.11ac accelerates, enterprises need to be able to inspect network issues at the original failure point 24/7 locally or across the world," said Jay Botelho, Director of Product Management at WildPackets. "By ensuring that APs are able to perform remote data collection of the most advanced 802.11ac traffic, the Omnipliance WiFi AP Verification Program reiterates WildPackets' commitment to advancing WLAN analysis and troubleshooting for the wireless community."