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Wi-Fi 6 is here. Is your ecosystem Wi-Fi 6-ready? Here’s how to use the 7SIGNAL platform to assess whether your enterprise Wi-Fi environment and devices are capable of maximizing the benefits of Wi-FI 6.
Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) and Wi-Fi 6E have ushered in a new era of connectivity. Building upon Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac), Wi-Fi 6 offers better speeds, better efficiency, more capacity, and more spectrum. These improvements enable networks to support more devices doing more complex actions with far less impact on bandwidth. This includes digital streaming, online gaming, video conferencing, expanded Internet of Things (IoT) and Machine-to-Machine (M2M) deployments, and much, much more.
However, in order for enterprises to take full advantage of Wi-Fi 6, they need an ecosystem capable of supporting it and optimization solutions sophisticated enough to help them improve Wi-Fi 6 usage. This means they need Wi-Fi 6-ready devices, access points, end points, and sensors.
This is where 7SIGNAL comes in handy! In a recent webinar segment, Eric Camulli, VP and Customer Success Officer at 7SIGNAL, demonstrated how organizations can use the 7SIGNAL platform to assess their Wi-Fi 6 readiness.
Here’s what Eric covered:
- Using RF Sensors to Measure OFDMA
- Using an Endpoint Agent to Analyze Client Device Population
- Hear it From Eric: 7 Minutes with 7SIGNAL
Want to learn more about the 7SIGNAL platform? Chat with our sales team!
Using RF Sensors to Measure OFDMA
One way to determine Wi-Fi 6 readiness and optimization is to measure what’s called “orthogonal frequency-division multiple access,” better known as OFDMA. OFDMA is an important technology in Wi-Fi 6 that improves wireless network performance by creating independently modulating subcarriers within frequencies. In plainer English, this means that it allocates bandwidth more efficiently by accommodating multiple users at the same time.
However, focusing on the topic at hand, OFDMA was first introduced to Wi-Fi with the launch of Wi-Fi 6. So, by measuring OFDMA air time utilization, you can get an idea of your network’s Wi-Fi 6 readiness.
For example, with the 7SIGNAL SE6200 Wi-Fi 6 sensors, you can capture OFDMA frames flying around your network. Then, you can review what the sensors pick up using the 7SIGNAL platform:
In the image above, you can see measurements of OFDMA airtime utilization in the download direction. You can also see it in the upload direction:
And then, of course, total OFDMA airtime utilization:
So, why is this important? Well, as an enterprise, you want to ensure that you’re getting the most out of our investment.
If you’ve put in the time, effort, and capital to set up Wi-Fi 6 infrastructure and onboard Wi-Fi 6-capable devices, you want to make sure that you’re taking advantage of features like OFDMA, resource units (RUs), and channel sharing.
Indeed, Wi-Fi 6 was designed to make Wi-Fi networks more efficient and enable better overall user experiences. However, it can only deliver these things if properly deployed. And because measurement is essential to management, the ability to track things like OFDMA airtime is essential to maximizing your Wi-Fi 6 investments.
Using AN endpoint agent to Analyze Device Population
Moving on. Let’s look at how 7SIGNAL’s endpoint agent and Wi-Fi performance monitoring solution can be used to analyze client device populations.
To begin, it’s important to understand how 7SIGNAL works. It’s a software agent that is installed on wireless devices (i.e. smartphones, laptops, scanners, point of sales systems and even set-top boxes) and monitors network connections from the perspective of end users. While the app collects performance insights from individual devices, the 7SIGNAL dashboard aggregates these insights and helps network managers visualize what’s happening in their Wi-Fi ecosystems. This includes information on device types, client and adapter combos, connectivity experiences, and more.
Among other use cases, 7SIGNAL can help you take inventory of your client device population and assess whether your fleet is ready to leverage Wi-Fi 6. Here’s what the dashboard looks like:
As you can see, it tells you the device composition of your fleet and provides feedback on the quality of their Wi-Fi and voice experiences:
You can use this information to identify underperforming devices, adapters, drivers, etc. If you notice any trends, you can use that to inform and coordinate future fleet upgrades.
In the charts above, you can see that the majority of the devices accessing that particular network are still 802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5) and that there's a lot of variation in device type.
In another network, however, there might be very little variation. Like here:
In this particular network, there are 1,700 devices using Wi-Fi 6 adapters. To dig even deeper, you can export the data and create pivot tables to better understand what's happening:
We’ve highlighted the different Wi-Fi 6 adapters in yellow. While there are quite a few, the majority are still using Wi-Fi 5 andWi-Fi 4 (802.11n). In other words, before investing in Wi-Fi 6 infrastructure for this network, it might make sense for the network manager to upgrade their device fleet as well.
Let’s look at another example:
In this network, there are 5,571 devices. Most of these are Wi-Fi 6 capable. This is an indication that this network might be ready for an upgrade to Wi-Fi 6 infrastructure since a greater percentage of devices are prepared to make the leap.
And there you have it! If you’d like to learn more about how 7SIGNAL can help you optimize Wi-Fi 6 usage, set up a meeting with our team!
Hear it From Eric: 7 Minutes with 7SIGNAL
Eric Camulli, VP and Customer Success Officer at 7SIGNAL, covered the subject above in a recent segment on our weekly webinar. You can watch the full recording here:
Learn More From the 7SIGNAL Experts
We’re always here to answer your Wi-Fi questions at 7SIGNAL. Our enterprise Wi-Fi optimization platform helps you plan and execute a healthier network. Contact us to learn more.
7SIGNAL® is the leader in enterprise Wi-Fi optimization, providing insight into wireless networks and control over Wi-Fi performance so businesses and organizations can thrive. Our cloud-based platform continually tests and measures Wi-Fi performance at the edges of the network, enabling fast solutions to digital experience issues and stronger connections for mission-critical users, devices, and applications. Learn more at www.7signal.com.