What is our primary use case?
Currently, I use the product for daily troubleshooting as needed. That ranges from wireless or wired problems, performance testing, certification, network certification, and proof of concepts. Since I am a beta customer as well, I've had very specific targeted tests at the request of the manufacturer on top of my own lab testing. I've tested heavily in our lab environment over the years, including stress tests, break/fix tests, and testing specific features and bugs. It's a very wide gamut of use cases. As of the initial writing of this, I am now my companies CIO and I cannot stress enough just how valuable this product is to us and our customers needs.
How has it helped my organization?
It's really not completely applicable for me as there weren't any necessary direct challenges. Unfortunately, going back to being a beta customer, I was tasked with testing specific new features and software-hardware combinations that include industry standards. That was the forefront of how I used the product.
First and foremost, it makes us a little more productive, effective, and quicker. We know we have good data as long as we follow specific processes and procedures for collecting the data with the device and the AirMapper program. It's fairly easy for me to show someone who's not familiar with the product how to walk around and tap on the device and keep track of where they are walking and then when they're done, upload it to Link-Live. They let me look at it if they don't know what they're doing. That cross-functionality between an average user or a low-level technician on-site collecting the data is great. I don't have to worry as much about the quality of the data as I did in the past, and I don't have to have a seasoned AirMagnet expert walking around collecting the data. That part is far more productive, more effective, and efficient and offered us a better bang for the buck. We can keep our experts focused on the more complex and more expert issues.
What is most valuable?
My impression of the multi-technology functionality of the solution is positive. It's worth its weight in gold and probably more. It's nice to have a smaller handheld device that doesn't kill your biceps after an hour.
More specifically, as I do have products that are bigger and heavier and do similar functions, yet, on a spreadsheet, I can very quickly give line items of $1,000 to $3,000 handheld testers that do something similar to a specific single function of the product. As such, there are ten or fifteen of these features which very quickly add up to ten or fifteen products, and it's going to exceed the cost of one unit. As such, I have one tester that does these fifteen plus tests instead of having fifteen different tools in my tool belt and fifteen different costs and maintenance. It's pretty much priceless to me to have something portable, small, and one unit with so many functions.
I use the pre-programmed auto-test feature. It’s also priceless. I have also added/customized my own tests, customer environment specific needs.
Out of ten times, I'm on-site at a customer's premises using the device probably greater than five times, and that provides sufficient information for me to initially start or even prove where the problem is within the first 30 seconds. Therein lies my statement of it being just priceless. You can't do that with a laptop or some other MacBook, even with special tools, it just isn't as reasonable. Compared to all the other hardware testing tools I've got, this has easily become my go-to tool if I'm running out of the office for any emergency or troubleshooting a problem.
I made use of the solution's full line rate, and 10-Gig capability. At multiple times I can do packet capture and flooding of a 10-Gig circuit to essentially verify and certify a 10-Gig link or multi-network links.
It’s very reliable and very stable, and I can always count on it. A friend of mine who was a network expert once said "Follow the data, yet always make sure you have good data.” I never have to be concerned if I've got good data with this product.
I can use other tools or my laptop and I can guarantee that I may not have all my data, meaning it may drop packets. I may lose things and if I'm analyzing it and missing pieces and don't know it well, that puzzle never gets solved.
Whereas, with this unit, out of the gate, I know I'm not missing anything. Every piece is there. I’ve just got to be able to know how to look at it and analyze it and follow the data. I know it's good data.
I use the solution's AirMap or Site Survey app quite a bit. It's come a long way. The current version and the last few versions are very good.
I use the AirMagnet version for my laptop as well. I'm most familiar with that. The fact that they are smaller and handheld has become far more reasonable for me to start using them more often. I find myself leaning more towards the NetAlly EtherScope now versus my laptop whereas, a year ago I would've said I was always grabbing my laptop.
Both the handheld device and the app are easy to use. I have a long history with AirMap Pro on a laptop and building up my biceps when walking around with it. I did that for five or ten years several times a week at a previous job. That definitely was cumbersome. My arms hurt from having to carry my laptop the whole time. With this tool, this is not the case. It's easier, lighter weight and the functionality is very similar. I can see that they are focusing on that moving forward. It is extremely easy to use and I very, very much appreciate the development, given the history I've had with other tools.
I'm very eclectic with my tools. I have Macs, Linux, and several other tools, homegrown, commercial, or open-source. They all serve a function and purpose at times. EtherScope has allowed me to put some of those tools to bed as I don't need them as much. On that level, EtherScope provided a much-needed tool.
The solution reduced troubleshooting time. I've been a network professionally since 1997. I've been doing it for a very long time. EtherScope specifically has rapidly increased my functionality and abilities to where I don't have to spend as much time doing something else.
I would like to add, the built-in LANBERT testing has been priceless to confirm if whatever the cabling is can support whatever line-rate speeds we need, or the customer needs.
What needs improvement?
I don't have any issues right now. However, in terms of my beta relationship, sometimes I'm at the forefront and I know there are timelines for certain fixes.
Even right now, it's come such a long way. They keep adding features to the software side and the hardware side functionality that I have, however, it’s mostly just priceless in the case of both hardware and software. I am able to do much more now.
On a hardware spec, it'd be nice to have something above 10-Gigs. I have recently started looking at some products that are 25, 40, and 100-Gigs. I realized they probably have something in the works already, however, there’s nothing I'm aware of and certainly, this device cannot do that. I would say that a tool that has above 10-Gigabit of support would be needed and of value in the near future.
However, as far as software and functionality, I really can't think of anything missing. Even all my creative tips on VNC, web server functionality, and remote access have been included over the last couple of years. I can't think of anything really off the cuff for software development that I would highly recommend.
For how long have I used the solution?
I was in their beta program. I had one of the first products off the assembly line within the first six months before it ever came to market. I don't remember what year that was, but it's been several years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It's one of the few tools that I have used in the last fifteen years. I know it's not been around that long, however, in general, it's one of the many tools I've acquired in 15-plus years of networking that has rarely if never let me down. It's my silver bullet. I used to call it my kitchen sink, even though it's a very small kitchen sink since it has everything in your kitchen that you would want.
It's like the Swiss Army Knife of tools. I can count on it. It's reliable, it's probably going to be in my left hand when I walk out the door. If I'm going to customer premises and I absolutely know that there's no need for it, then I'll leave it here. Other than that, I usually default to always taking it with me.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
One person primarily uses the product. I've got two more that use it on occasion. One is on a technician level and the other is more of an advanced season technician. Usually, if either of them are going to use it, I would be involved a little bit, at least to tell them what I'm looking for or what I'm going to need from them when they get on-site, or I'll be on the phone with them, telling them what to do. I would say I'd be the primary user only due to the fact that I have a long history with it.
It's extremely useful to have a non-seasoned person in the field with the device, have it connected to the Internet, while doing things on the LAN side, or Wi-Fi. Since there are dedicated Management ports (WiFi and wired) you can test the network and still have remote access to the equipment. Therefore, I can have the Tech on the phone and based on what I'm seeing on the device advise how to proceed with the next steps based on live data.
How are customer service and support?
Technical support is probably one of the best I've ever dealt with in my 25-plus years in the technology and networking realm. I've dealt with a lot of what I would call technical assistance centers and a wide range of manufacturers vendors, VARs, and subcontractors. Anytime and every time I've needed any support for their software or hardware, it has been pretty, pretty remarkable, especially in comparison with other support centers. They seem to care. They listen, they try and get the problem fully resolved versus just a workaround or add a band-aid where others just don't listen at all. They seem to go the extra mile.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I've been doing beta work for five to eight different manufacturers since mid-2013. I had three to four different beta manufacturers, off-and-on. There's been a long history of multiple products and manufacturers. The more recent ones would've been probably the betas prior to this particular product.
Comparing NetAlly to a different manufacturer is a night and day difference or apples and oranges since there were a few features and functions that were common between the two, however, probably 80% of each product was different than the other. If you only focused on the 20%, hands down, NetAlly had some room to grow at that time because they were still fairly new and they have come a long way with that. Back in those days, the other product was more seasoned.
That's why it's apples and oranges. That other product had what I wouldn't necessarily call more reliability or stability, however, with it being a little bit more seasoned, I would say I would rely on that more at that time. I had used it longer and it proved to be reliable, however, if we gave it numbers, and I don't have the exact numbers, while NetAlly has fifteen tools that I would use, for this particular product, maybe there were three.
Of those three same products, I would've probably used at that time, the other manufacturer, however, now, in the last three to five years, that other manufacturer is sitting on the floor collecting dust.
What other advice do I have?
I'm an end-user and beta tester. However, I am definitely an evangelist of their product and their company. Anytime I get an opportunity, I show and tell it, I've been asked to guest speak for colleges and I usually bring one of these with me in my hand and also explain why it's important to use. I would sooner say we are a VAR of sorts. We would resell this if a customer asked and if they had a budget, but my customers are typically small businesses.
I would highly recommend it. If it isn't being used by someone, it should be.
I’d urge others to not shy away from it due to the price tag if that's the biggest concern. I came from a University where we had to justify everything and I had to create a spreadsheet to prove that it was of value and that it made sense to purchase it. As such, it did not take me very long after about five or six comparisons to where I started listing the needs for each particular product for my networking needs. After about four or five products, there are four or five combinations that were greater than the price of one NetAlly. I could buy five products and carry five tools in my tool belt and I'm only getting five functions. Whereas, with NetAlly, I had 15. It’s one Swiss Army knife versus five or ten other knives.
In our case, once we got it in our hands and I was able to then improve productivity. If productivity is a concern, there are some demo depots out there that you can get your hands on for a week or two, take advantage of it, and you should be able to prove to your administration just how much more productive you have become. You will have saved money and have helped the bottom line of your business or university.
A combination of the Swiss Army hardware versus functionality and productivity, hands down, to me, is a no-brainer, however, I had to fight for it. Our company went from one unit as a trial to the following year scrambling to figure out how they could buy three more. They put one in every network engineer's hands permanently versus having to have one checked out that four guys fought over all the time.
Truthfully, hindsight being what it is for me, I would fight tooth and nail to at least have one of these at the ready for as many people as I could. I really would try and get one for every full-time staff member.
I'm not sure of the learning curve. I just hired a technician who has little to no networking experience. It will be interesting to see how this works out.
For example, he doesn't know certain network protocols. He does have a lot of other skill sets, however, that all being said, for a basic technician, an out-of-the-box could pick up some things fairly quickly and likely be off the races with a little bit of direction in 30 minutes or less. I would say the ease of use, and the ease of adaptability are probably there. Probably, it wouldn't take too long for an average person to hit a ceiling limit though, to where they are beyond some of the basics, and they might struggle a little bit, especially if they know little about networking.
They could ramp up quickly for some basics and get to become intermediate with it fairly quickly and then stall a little bit for a while until they either had some direction or some expert to give them a little bit of guidance. However, once you know a little bit more about it, do research, or watch some YouTube videos, maybe you could be off the races in short order. If you're a geek like me, who's just fascinated by technology and wants to learn a lot, you could spend an hour or two to be very well-versed in it and fall in love with the hardware and the software. It will then become a very key part of your daily routine or process and become priceless very quickly. It's nice to have one tool that can do ten or fifteen functions easily. Those ten or fifteen functions are reliable and they're not going to let me down or give me false data.
I'd rate the solution ten out of ten. I use it, I believe in it, and I trust it. I've got to know some of the staff through the beta program. I realize my view could be a little bit tainted on that level, however, the reality is that these guys are sharp. They care and they listen whenever a beta customer like myself finds something.
*Disclosure: PeerSpot contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor.
