White Paper

Actionable Insight Into WiFi Device Performance

26601 Agoura Road, Calabasas, CA 91302 | Tel: 818.871.1800 | Fax: 818.871.1805 | www.ixiacom.com | 915-6026-01 Rev. B, September 2013

2

3

Table of Contents

Introduction. WiFi at the Forefront of Life and Business ....................................................................................................4 Getting It Right the First Time ............................................................................4

Part I. The Challenge: Meeting Rising Standards for Device Performance .........................................................................5 Testing for the WiFi Product Lifecycle ............................................................. 7

Part II. What and How to Test ..............................................................8 How It Works ....................................................................................................... 11

Part III. Mobile Client Testing Case Studies...................................................... 13 Case Study 1: SmartPhone Manufacturer Optimizes WiFi

Design and Sees Improved Performance ........................................................13

Case Study 2: Printer Manufacturer Accelerates Problem

Resolution to Protect the Brand ........................................................................13

Part IV: “Gold Standard” Testing for the Mobile

Device Lifecycle ...................................................................................................15

Conclusion ................................................................................................17

4

Introduction: WiFi at the Forefront of LifeA few years ago, mobility was considered a “nice to have.” Today, businesses and consumers alike expect wireless devices and applications to work optimally and reliably at all times, from home, at work, in transit, in public places, and virtually everywhere else.

The sole connectivity option for many new mobile devices, WiFi now carries an ever-increasing percentage of mission-critical traffic including:

• Cloud-based services such as SalesForce.com, Oracle, and SAP

• Real-time audio and video streaming

• Unified Communications (UC) services such as Microsoft Lync and WebEx combining voice, video, and data

• Mobile patient care and “life and death” monitoring in healthcare facilities

• Ubiquitous mobile “hot spots”

• Offloaded of smartphone traffic from cellular service networks

Form a technology perspective, the widespread adoption of the IEEE 802.11n standard enabled WiFi to achieve faster speeds and greater capacity, and to evolve from a “consumer grade” to an enterprise- and carrier-class medium. Along with smartphones, laptops, tablets, and scanners, 802.11 has become a critical component in purpose-built devices such as healthcare monitors, printers, projectors, set-top boxes, and televisions. With many already being pushed to their limits, the next-generation of 802.11—802.11ac—promises even faster, higher-capacity infrastructures that mobile devices will need to leverage.

Along with rapidly evolving technology, user expectations for performance have continued to rise. More and more users bring personal and work-related mobile devices with them wherever they go, expecting applications to work instantly and reliably, everywhere, every time, and over every network.

Getting It Right the First Time

For manufacturers of mobile devices, failure to continually deliver greater speed, functionality, quality, and reliability means risking

• Loss of brand reputation and customer loyalty if devices don’t perform as promised out of the gate, or have an adverse effect on existing WLANs. Today’s mobile users rely less on ads and data sheets and more upon peer reviews and personal experience in choosing new devices, and word travels fast when they fail to deliver;

• Liability if Service Level Agreements (SLAs) are not met in retail, service provider, and enterprise networks, or FDA approvals for healthcare devices are lost;

Mobile users’ expectations have continued to rise; they now expect

all devices and applications to

work instantly and reliably, everywhere, every time, and over

every network.

5

Mobile device manufacturers need to get it right the first time but WiFi isn’t just another network interface. To meet aggressive release schedules and user expectations, comprehensive, actionable insight into performance is needed early on.

• Missed windows for ROI: Today’s “next-gen” devices become “yesterday’s news” very quickly, and it’s easy for inexpensive components, like a hundred-dollar WiFi module, to under-perform and undermine the benefits of devices costing thousands to deliver and deploy.

Mobile device manufacturers need to get it right the first time, but WiFi isn’t just another network interface. To meet aggressive release schedules and user expectations, comprehensive, actionable insight into performance is needed early on to help harden designs and optimize real-world performance. Obtaining these insights requires a strategic, comprehensive approach to assessing performance throughout the product lifecycle.

Part I. The Challenge: Meeting Rising Standards for Device PerformanceEvolving WiFi capacities and user expectations will continue to push both traditional and new mobile devices to and beyond their limits. To keep pace and maintain a competitive lead, manufacturers must find new, reliable, cost-efficient ways of optimizing and validating performance.

Many have already made considerable investments in test labs and systems used to assess WiFi offerings but may still lack the tools and WiFi expertise needed to harden and optimize designs for the rigors of today’s mobile communications environments. And as real-world network ecosystems become more and more complex, performance issues become progressively harder to pinpoint and remedy.

The most critical challenge areas for manufacturers of WiFi-enabled devices now include:

All WiFi is not created equal. Even when manufacturers comply with IEEE specifications and achieve WiFi Alliance Certification, performance may vary when incorporating different chipsets and components of varying calibers.

Delivering sufficient raw throughput. Users increasingly wish to stream high-definition (HD) video to mobile devices, and to transfer large files via WiFi networks. As they do so, the raw throughput of most devices must approach its theoretical limits for both uplink and downlink TCP and UDP based traffic.

Maximizing device throughput depends upon a number of variables including lower-layer factors such as optimizing the performance of radio transmitter/receivers and 802.11 MAC protocol implementation. Devices must be benchmarked for raw throughout at various frames sizes, varying distances from access points, and using different antenna orientations. The throughput achieved should be compared to theoretical maximums and competitive devices.

Maintaining connectivity / interoperability with the WiFi infrastructure. With a wide variety of WiFi devices trying to connect to multiple types of WLAN access points, maintaining consistent device connectivity becomes increasingly challenging. Device manufacturers must be assured that new designs can successfully establish connections and transmit and receive data with all leading

6

APs and other components of customer-specific network ecosystems. New products should be tested to make sure they can successfully connect to the network in an acceptable amount of time, using different security protocols, and when subjected to various levels of background load and/or interference.

Security. Numerous security protocols may be in use in a given live network deployment including WEP, WPA/WPA2 –PSK, 802.1x authentication, Web Auth, and HOTSPOT 2.0 etc. Encryption is required on all data frames, so a poor encryption engine design will limit performance.

Manufacturers must ensure that client devices work and stay connected with all security protocols enabled while maintaining throughput close to theoretical limits. This is accomplished by measuring performance with various combinations of security authentication and encryption methods used.

Guaranteeing end-user QoE on real-time, multimedia applications. WiFi now routinely supports high-bandwidth, real-time multimedia applications such as Lync, Skype, and FaceTime. In industries such as healthcare and retail, critical devices and applications are increasingly leveraging Wi-Fi; however, specialized devices may be in the early phases of development where the quality of radio technology used may vary greatly.

To ensure a high-quality user experience, client devices must properly implement Quality of Service (QoS) protocols as specified in the 802.11 standard. To properly test QoS capabilities, manufacturers must load the medium and measure the ability of mobile devices to consistently meet SLAs for high-priority traffic while handling low-priority traffic in parallel in realistic network deployment scenarios.

Performance over distance. Wireless networks are vastly more susceptible to varying environmental conditions and distances from access points. Whether operating in residential environments where a single wireless router must deliver consistent performance throughout the home, or business environments featuring dozens of WLAN APs, devices must be able to maintain sufficient throughput for uploads and downloads at varying distances.

Client devices must implement efficient rate scaling algorithms to ensure operation at the highest possible PHY data rate and lowest possible error rate for the Signal-to-Noise (SNR) level at any given location. Devices should be tested in a controlled fashion, simulating varying distances between the AP and the client device to ensure that performance degradation does not exceed the theoretical values suggested by standard path loss models.

Roaming / handovers. Along with the sheer distance from a given access point, connectivity and performance issues may arise as mobile devices roam between multiple access points. Devices carrying voice and video in particular must implement and optimize roaming algorithms to maintain high-quality calls and video streaming as users move throughout an enterprise or large public venue (LPV).

New products should be tested

to ensure they can successfully connect

to the network in an acceptable amount of time, using different

security protocols, and when subjected to various levels of

background load and interference.

7

Mobile device manufacturers must test in realistic interference environments in order to assess and guarantee performance under real-world conditions.

For seamless roaming, devices must quickly establish connections and begin communicating with the best available AP at any given time. Device vendors must optimize roam decision criteria as well as roam initiation and execution algorithms in order to minimize delays and the perceivable impact on application QoE.

Tolerance to interference. Many mobile devices operate on unlicensed frequencies also used by non-WiFi devices such as microwave ovens, Bluetooth devices, baby monitors, and cordless phones. Users expect devices to perform equally well in the presence of interference, so devices need to be able to adapt to interference conditions in real-time, and select the best available access points and channels to achieve optimal performance. Manufacturers must test in realistic interference environments in order to assess and guarantee performance under real-world conditions.

Coexistence with legacy devices. IEEE standards for implementing WiFi have evolved quickly from “802.11b” to “802.11a/g” to “802.11n” and now “802.11ac.” Each new iteration of the standard not only requires devices to support the new high throughputs, but to also be backward compatible with older legacy implementations using the same network, but in practice, it’s quite common for network throughput to drop off as new offerings are deployed alongside legacy devices. Manufacturers must simulate mixed environments and test the ability of clients to coexist and still maintain the quality required by various applications.

Battery / power save. Wireless devices are increasingly portable and now operate on battery power much of the time. Because WiFi radios play a significant role in either draining or conserving batter power, the 802.11 standard has specified a number of “power save” protocols that should be properly implemented and tested in order to harden and optimize new designs.

Radar compliance. The 802.11ac standard addresses only the 5 GHz bands where radar signals operate, making it increasingly important for devices to comply with government Dynamic Frequency Selection (DFS) regulations for using and vacating these channels. Manufacturers must generate radar signal pulses and measure how well client devices continue to operate and recover from DFS events.

Testing for the WiFi Product Lifecycle

To succeed in today’s fiercely competitive mobile communications market, manufacturers must proactively and thoroughly assess mobile device performance using systems, strategies, and services designed for WiFi from the ground up. Targeted assessments must be conducted throughout the product lifecycle both in test labs and in the field, from the early design stages through deployment in production networks.

8

Lifecyle Wi-FiClient Testing

Development

DevelopmentD

eplo

ymen

tD

eplo

ymen

t

Chipset/VendorSelection

Replicate/Isolate Field

Issue

Validation/Bakeoffs

System Design/Validation

QA Testing Regression/Testing

Functional/Performance

Testing

DefineMarketing

Claims

Set ServiceLevel Goals

Design

Design

Comprehensive, strategic testing and analytics deliver the actionable insights device manufacturers need to harden designs, optimize real-world performance, and meet aggressive delivery schedules. This new mandatory level of lifecycle testing includes everything from evaluating vendor claims while selecting chipsets and components to defining competitive advantages in marketing to modeling “what if” scenarios to maximize field support.

Part II. What and How to TestTo ensure the real-world success of new mobile devices, manufacturers must validate key aspects of performance throughout the design and deployment process. Targeted testing should be conducted during three critical stages:

Phase 1: Development /QA Testing

At this early phase of the design process, a programmable “golden AP” should be used to quickly and efficiently assess range, roaming, security, QoS, and other considerations against a multitude of APs and settings. The golden access point should be capable of simulating hundreds of models and versions of 802.11 a/b/g/n, and ac devices for comprehensive test coverage from a single solution.

This approach is ideal throughout the development and Quality Assurance process where using real APs would require extensive configuration time to set up and repeat tests as code evolves. Along with repeatability, the use of a programmable AP ensures that the device under test represents the only variable.

Strategic testing and analytics deliver

the actionable insights device

manufacturers need to harden designs,

optimize real-world performance, and meet aggressive

delivery schedules.

9

The "golden AP" dramatically improves test coverage, accuracy, and cost-efficiency during the critical early design stages.

Testing with real access points early on quickly becomes unweildy as it's impossible to recreate thousands of combinations and run hundreds of tests in an automated fashion. Manufacturers would also need to keep current on AP vendor upgrades. The use of simulated, programmable access points minimizes capital outlay, integration efforts, and test cycles while increasing accuracy, repeatability, and test coverage.

Phase 2: System Test

During this second stage, the same aspects of performance get reassessed as in Phase 1 only using real access points to add the dimension of interoperability. Here, device makers would verify and document for customers that new devices interoperate smoothly with popular or specific AP vendor offerings and settings, and reconfirm the results achieved in Phase 1 for roaming, range, QoE, battery save, and the like.

Phase 2 two would likely include an increased emphasis on simulating and modeling a variety of network and traffic scenarios, application and client mixes, and QoE priorities.

Phase 3: Site / Deployment Testing

As new devices are launched to market, device manufacturers, system integrators, and in-house IT departments need to evaluate the impact of new devices on their specific network environment. Each live ecosystem features its own distinct blend of WLAN access points and controllers, fixed and mobile clients, mission-critical multimedia applications, mobility and quality challenges. To measure the impact of adding a new device upon existing application performance, and vice versa, testing must be repeated a final time with tools specialized used to conduct onsite assessment at live sites.

The Five Essential Elements of Device Testing

Five critical components of effective wireless client device testing are:

• Access point emulation

• Traffic generation

• Automation

• Performance analysis

• Extensive WiFi expertise

As previously described, the use of AP emulation dramatically improves test coverage, accuracy, and cost-efficiency during the critical early design. Traffic generation enables realistic network and environmental conditions to be simulated with variables such as distance, roaming, and interference introduced systematically. High-load testing must be automated and repeated over extended periods of time.

10

A high level of automation and

repeatability enables extensive testing to be completed

rapidly and cost-effectively while

ensuring the validity of results and rapid

sourcing of potential performance issues.

The proven client test methodology typically includes:

• Baselining network performance using golden clients in order to understand best-case results;

• Baselining mobile device performance using programmable golden APs;

• Assessing range and roaming capabilities using real and programmable APs by varying RF signal attenuation to prompt devices under test (DUTs) to move away from and between specific APs;

• Simulating live network conditions and generating high traffic loads and interference to assess device resilience, coexistence, and security capabilities;

Client Testing Components

Benefits and Requirements

Access Point Emulation

• Emulation of hundreds of different APs and settings to quickly and repeatably assess true device performance

• Generates full line-rate traffic to benchmark true device performance

• Testing of critical L 1 -2 WLAN-level performance for security, handshakes, QoS

• Simulates distance from AP to assess range, roaming, and other critical aspects of mobility

• Fully automated testing dramatically reduces test cycles

Traffic Generation

• Monitoring of traffic between client and APs to compute range, roaming delays

• Generation of active ecosystem traffic to enable testing under real as well as ideal network conditions

• Emulation of live networks, traffic mixes, impairments

• Reproduction of issues encountered in the field

• Modeling of future “what if” scenarios

Performance Analysis

• Range, roaming, application performance, QoE assessment

• Actual measured performance compared to theoretical maximums

• Coexistence measurements with real and user-configured clients

• Measurements captured from both network and user/device perspective

Automation

• Hundreds of tests run unattended over time

• Repeatability

• Dramatically reduced test configuration, cost, and cycles

11

Testing should progress from simple setups in which the DUT can see only two APs at a time to complex environments involving multiple available APs broadcasting at different signal strengths.

• Measuring interoperability with multiple APs and mobile clients;

• Evaluating application performance and QoE from the end-user perspective;

• Reproducing field conditions and modeling “what if” scenarios in the lab by simulating specific deployment environments.

Throughout the process, a high level of automation and repeatability is needed to enable extensive testing to be completed rapidly and cost-effectively while ensuring the validity of results and allowing potential performance issues to be quickly isolated and remedied. Finally, actionable performance analytics and WiFi expertise must combine to quickly refine designs and tweak configurations to optimize performance.

How It Works

Critical assessments to conduct in assessing mobile client devices include:

Throughput testing with TCP/UDP traffic streams and user-defined packet rates and sizes and traffic direction set so that DUTs either transmit or receive. Throughput should then be computed at varying levels of RF attenuation representing different distances from the AP. Testing can be repeated using specific encryption mechanisms such as WPA and WPA2, and with interference generated.

During Phase 1, throughput testing is conducted using programmable access points to benchmark true device performance and compare actual performance versus the theoretical maximum.

Roaming performance testing of a device’s roam initiation and decision algorithms in diverse scenarios. Testing should progress from simple setups in which the DUT can see only two APs at a time to complex environments involving multiple available APs broadcasting at different signal strengths.

During Phase 1, the test system emulates two or more programmable access points at varying signal levels. The DUT would initially be set to connect to AP1. The test system would then fade out AP1 and fade in AP2 to cause the device to roam so that roaming delay can be precisely measured.

12

Diverse traffic mixes, high-load

conditions and unique customer

environments should be simulated to

enable evaluation of performance under intended real-world

scenarios.

During Phase 2, actual access points are used with an RF Management Units (RFMUs) used to vary signal attenuation and simulate distance. For a simple roaming test, all but one port should be set to the highest attenuation, and the attenuation on the remaining port (Port1) set to zero so the device can only see and connect to one access point. As the DUT sends traffic to the server through the wireless network, attenuation should be slowly increased on Port1 and decreased on Port 2 causing the DUT to roam from one AP to another in a highly controlled fashion.

Roaming Test Configuration: The device under test and multiple APs are placed within RF isolation chambers. APs are connected to a WLAN controller (server can be connected to wired network behind the controller). An RF

management unit (RFMU) serves as a programmable attenuator allowing users to control the attenuation on each port to prompt roaming by the DUT.

Roaming delays can then be computed as the difference in time between when the last data frame is transmitted from the DUT to the server through AP1 and the first frame transmitted through AP2. The impact of roaming on both device and application performance should also be quantified.

Ecosystem and Interference Testing subjecting devices to complex, simulated live networking environments. To accomplish this, additional, user-configured clients and interference should be generated to populate a realistic network ecosystem. Diverse traffic mixes, high-load conditions, and unique customer environments must be simulated to enable evaluation of performance under intended real-world scenarios.

DUT is forced to roam between APs; Application

behavior is observed

Controller

Application Server

Monitor Ports

AP1 AP2

Traffic Generation Ports

Wireless ClientTest Bench DUT

WiFi Client

AP4

13

Upon quickly completing hundreds of tests, a leading manufacturer was able to confidently harden and optimize a new design, contract suppliers, and move forward with the planned launch of a new mobile device.

Part III. Mobile Client Testing Case StudiesThe following case studies offer examples of how makers both of traditional mobile communications devices and specialized, application-specific equipment expanded their WiFi client testing efforts. Using Ixia’s purpose-built IxVeriWave WiFi test systems and Professional Services assessments, the two premier providers were able to rapidly source and remedy performance issues that stood to cause great damage to their global brands.

Case Study 1: SmartPhone Manufacturer Optimizes WiFi Design and Sees Improved PerformanceA prominent manufacturer of market-leading computers, smartphones, and other mobile equipment was receiving negative feedback from customers about devices underperforming in WiFi networks. A landmark provider of mobility solutions, the company routinely conducted Layer 1 testing of basic RF capabilities before releasing new devices, but had no way of mapping or projecting the results of radio testing to predict the performance users might expect with real-time, multimedia applications such as Microsoft Lync, Facebook, and You Tube.

The traditional approach used a relatively small number of real devices to manually test range and roaming by physically walking throughout facilities. This limited method does not scale to reflect fully loaded networks, and makes it impossible to reproduce speeds, high-load traffic volumes, and diverse client mixes, and to repeatedly run tests in a controlled manner.

To bridge the assessment gap, the manufacturer installed an IxVeriWave WaveTest 90 Traffic Generator and Performance Analyzer and other components of the Ixia Client Test solution including a programmable RF step attenuator used to prompt and control range and roaming between APs. They were able to benchmark the performance of their devices against competitive offerings by using the Ixia system to simulate live network environments and generate traffic representative of high-load and interference conditions.

The manufacturer was also able to assess devices in conjunction with multiple WLAN APs and clients, and to reproduce issues encountered in the field. By adding L2-7 test capabilities, automation, and repeatability, Ixia WiFi testing quickly delivered actionable insight that enabled the manufacturer to rapidly isolate and address issues, harden designs, and optimize user QoE for high-profile applications such as voice, streaming video, and unified communications.

Case Study 2: Printer Manufacturer Accelerates Problem Resolution to Protect the Brand

One of the world’s largest suppliers of business process solutions was beta testing a high-end device with newly added Multiple In Multiple Out (MIMO) WiFi capabilities. Though the device had recently been certified by the Wi-Fi Alliance, transactions that should have taken 2-3 minutes were taking up to 30 minutes to complete in live network scenarios.

The company urgently needed to source and resolve the problem in order to release the product on schedule and safeguard its iconic brand reputation. In addition, its development team was about to enter into an agreement with a WiFi chipset provider and

14

needed to rule out hardware as the source of performance issues before engaging the vendor.

To help meet these objectives and stay on track for the formal product launch, a leading global WLAN infrastructure provider referred the device manufacturer to Ixia. Upon demonstrating the capabilities of the Ixia WiFi test solution to distinguish between and analyze good and bad RF traffic, the manufacturer engaged Ixia’s Professional Services Organization (PSO) to conduct a proven week-long WiFi client test assessment.

Good vs. Bad RF: Sample graphs used to demonstrate IxVeriWave’s ability to rapidly measure

and analyze good vs. bad RF performance in mobile client devices.

While the manufacturer operated an extensive test lab of its own, Ixia’s ability to simulate live network scenarios and expertise in dealing with the nuances of WiFi helped to quickly reproduce and source the problem to a particular driver during the first day of testing. Ixia worked with the manufacturer to demonstrate the problem to the appropriate supplier and quickly resolve it without having to undergo additional WiFi Alliance testing.

10.00 20.00 30.00 40.00 50.00 60.00

Time (secs)

PHY

Dat

a Ra

te (M

bps)

Client PHY Data Rates Vs Time

0.00

6.00

12.00

18.00

24.00

30.00

36.00

42.00

48.00

54.00

60.00

66.00 Client Connected to AP1 Client Connected to AP2

Client Connected to AP1

10.00 20.00 30.00 40.00 50.00 60.00

Time (secs)

PHY

Dat

a Ra

te (M

bps)

Client PHY Data Rates Vs Time

Client Connected to AP2

0.00

6.00

12.00

18.00

24.00

30.00

36.00

42.00

48.00

54.00

60.00

66.00

Ixia WiFi test solutions

distinguish between and

analyze good and bad RF traffic.

15

Comprehensive testing to assess overall product performance was then completed using Ixia systems to simulate real-world conditions, generate traffic volumes, and introduce variables such as distance, roaming, interference, and security mechanisms one at a time. Upon rapidly completing hundreds of tests, the manufacturer was able to confidently harden and optimize the new design, contract suppliers, and move forward with the launch as planned.

Part IV: “Gold Standard” Testing for the Mobile Device Lifecycle For mobile device manufacturers looking to expand or outsource comprehensive WiFi testing, Ixia offers the industry’s only comprehensive lifecycle solution reaching from the lab to the live network. For nearly a decade, both manufacturers and users of mobile client devices and Wireless LAN infrastructure equipment and services have relied upon Ixia solutions to assess and optimize the real-world performance of WiFi networks, services, devices, and applications.

The industry gold standard, Ixia’s IxVeriWave test solutions provide the comprehensive traffic generation and analysis needed to simulate ideal and “worst case” scenarios, replicate field issues, and optimize performance. Real and “golden” clients generated by Ixia combine for virtually limitless assessment of interoperability and “what if” scenarios. QoE is measured for each application—voice, video, Web, data—from the end-user perspective, and both the impact of the device under test (DUT) on the intended network and of environmental conditions on device performance thoroughly assessed.

WLAN Infrastructure

Live Network DeploymentsMobile Devices

Network Under TestAP1

WaveDeploy runson standard laptop

AP2

AP3

AP4

EF1101

Ecosystemtraffic generator

IxVeriWave

The preferred test solution of both generic mobile device manufacturers and makers of specialized devices used in retail, healthcare, travel, education, and other industries, Ixia systems and professional WiFi assessment services deliver distinct, increasingly critical business advantages:

• Brand protection through better performing products that meet user expectations and SLAs while avoiding liability

The industry gold standard, Ixia Wi-Fi test solutions provide the comprehensive traffic generation and analysis needed to simulate ideal and “worst case” scenarios, replicate field issues, and optimize performance

16

• Compelling marketing differentiation with claims not only documented but easily reproduced

• Accelerated time to market through reduced test and development cycles and rapid identification and resolution of potential design issues

• High end-user satisfaction that promotes brand loyalty

• Reduced cost through automation and efficient, repeatable test configuration

• Rapid problem resolution that safeguards satisfaction and ROI in new products

Users quickly define, automate, and repeat testing, simulating a wide variety of complex traffic mixes and profiles. Industry-specific environments such as hospitals, hot spots, retail, and campus environments can be modeled using a diverse mix of WLAN clients (laptops, smart-phones, scanners, printers, patient monitors, etc.) and traffic types (HTTP, SIP, unicast, multicast MPEG-2 video, FTP, and bar code transactions).

Ixia WiFi testing features comprehensive 802.11 coverage from legacy a/b/g to 802.11n and emerging 802.11ac implementations. Having helped to test virtually every type and make of mobile equipment, Ixia’s front-lines experience produces invaluable insight into what and how to test, helping to maximize operational efficiency and quickly resolve issues.

Ixia’s proven methodology features:

Access point emulation enabling comprehensive, fully automated performance testing early on in the design cycle. Along with test coverage against hundreds of APs and thousands of settings, the golden AP simulates distance between APs;

Traffic generation / performance analysis including monitoring traffic between client devices and APs and taking measurements used to compute roaming delays and other aspects of performance. Ixia generates active traffic typical of a live network ecosystem to enable testing under real world and future “what if” scenarios as well as ideal conditions;

RF Management Unit (RFMU) signal attenuation allowing users to define and control critical parameters such as client velocity, WLAN access point density, and distance from APs;

“Golden client” software that runs on mobile devices being tested, sending and receiving traffic to/from APs and the Ixia test system;

“User perspective” software that runs on client devices evaluating end-user QoE by application type (voice, video, Web, data, etc.).

In a single solution, Ixia provides AP emulation channel emulation, distance emulation, expert protocol analysis, vector signal generation and analysis, and real-time performance metrics by application. On the whole, this approach increases test coverage while speeding problem resolution and time to market.

Along with test coverage for

hundreds of APs, the golden AP

provides channel emulation, vector signal generation and analysis, and

expert protocol analysis.

17

ConclusionThere are hundreds of mobile device manufacturers and thousands of WiFi-enabled client devices shipping worldwide. Makers of both traditional mobile devices such as laptops and smartphones and of specialized scanners, printers, monitors and the like need to conduct the comprehensive testing described above to effectively harden and optimize new designs.

Ixia offers the only industry-standard, purpose-built test solutions, insights, and specialized assessment services needed to meet the rigorous requirements of today’s fast-paced mobile arena. Ixia’s comprehensive mobile client test systems and services overcome the risks inherent both in releasing new products to market too soon or not soon enough, thus ensuring successful launches and customer support out of the gate.

White Paper

This material is for informational purposes only and subject to change without notice. It describes Ixia's present plans

to develop and make available to its customers certain products, features, and functionality. Ixia is only obligated to

provide those deliverables specifically included in a written agreement between Ixia and the customer.

IxIa WorldWIde Headquarters 26601 Agoura Rd. Calabasas, CA 91302

(toll Free NortH amerIca) 1.877.367.4942

(outsIde NortH amerIca) +1.818.871.1800

(Fax) 818.871.1805 www.ixiacom.com

otHer IxIa coNtacts

INFo: info@ixiacom.comINvestors: ir@ixiacom.comPublIc relatIoNs: pr@ixiacom.comreNeWals: renewals@ixiacom.comsales: sales@ixiacom.comsuPPort: support@ixiacom.comtraININg: training@ixiacom.com