Share your experience using AirMagnet Spectrum XT

The easiest route - we'll conduct a 15 minute phone interview and write up the review for you.

Use our online form to submit your review. It's quick and you can post anonymously.

Your review helps others learn about this solution
The PeerSpot community is built upon trust and sharing with peers.
It's good for your career
In today's digital world, your review shows you have valuable expertise.
You can influence the market
Vendors read their reviews and make improvements based on your feedback.
Examples of the 83,000+ reviews on PeerSpot:

Programmer at SolutionPronto
Real User
Top 10
Performs real-time spectrum analysis and is stable
Pros and Cons
  • "The airCheck is the real-time spectrum analyzer to see clients that could be connecting to our network, not just rogue networks out there, but rogue clients and other interference in that particular spectrum."
  • "The solution doesn't have much functional information online."

What is our primary use case?

I use AirCheck to track down rogue devices connecting to my access point.

What is most valuable?

The airCheck is the real-time spectrum analyzer to see clients that could be connecting to our network, not just rogue networks out there, but rogue clients and other interference in that particular spectrum.

What needs improvement?

The solution doesn't have much functional information online. Most of the information online is regurgitated from marketing brochures. I purchased the solution for a job and sold it afterward because it is expensive.

The AirCheck is no longer available and its software is not updated for current use. Additionally, it is not compatible with Macintosh and must be run on an emulator to access the outdated Windows software. Since Fluke sold all its intellectual property to NetAlly, there is no longer any support for the original Fluke AirCheck, which further influenced the decision to discontinue it. Going forward, I would attempt to buy the newer NetAlly product.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the solution for a couple of months.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The upfront cost of the solution is around $4,000. This cost does not include service contracts for support.

What other advice do I have?

I give the solution a ten out of ten.

New users should consider purchasing the latest edition. The outdated models lack the latest Wi-Fi band, rendering them a poor investment. I made the mistake of buying an outdated version on eBay for $500, which I only used for a single project. I eventually had to resell it since it was incompatible with the new Wi-Fi band that emerged in the past five years. Hence, it is advisable to invest in the new version.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
DonniUgalde - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior I.T. Systems Engineer at Pro Techs MSP
Real User
Provides visibility into the network, and the GUI is easy to use
Pros and Cons
  • "The GUI is easy to use."
  • "I wish the filters were a little bit more prepopulated."

What is our primary use case?

I use the solution for port mirroring the SPAN ports to send the packet output out of a mirrored port I'm capturing. It helps me determine where the network communication is dropping. Six months ago, I used the tool with a Palo Alto firewall. We had a problem connecting to Azure ExpressRoute. We had to configure QinQ encapsulation. The solution helped us see that the configuration of the network equipment wasn't encapsulating QinQ. So, we knew what the problem was and what we needed to fix.

What is most valuable?

I like the feature that captures voice calls. It helps me see where the specific latency and jitters happen in the call. If there's a gap in audio, I can see the gap. If there's a digitization as a result of latency, I can see that. I love looking at the packet and seeing Expedited Forwarding or the DSCP tag.

The live capture and offline analysis have been helpful because I can see the real-time capture of the package coming in. The GUI is easy to use. I love that there's a portal feature and an install feature. We can look at multiple interfaces. We can set time frames for capture. I can only capture for ten minutes or only capture a certain amount of packets. I love the ability to see the color codes and change them. I can save the PCAP historical reference. 

What needs improvement?

I wish the filters were a little bit more prepopulated. It would have been easy to hit a drop-down and select a filter. If I only wanted to look at DCP, UDP, or IP, it would be easy to filter it out. Advanced network knowledge is required to get a lot out of the tool. However, it's very easy to install and deploy.

It would be nice if there were some handheld Android devices with a Wireshark-specialized application that would allow us to mirror a Cisco port. Then, we can just plug into the port and click the green start button, and it will start ingesting the packet capture. Then, we won’t be using a laptop.

The only downside is that we must have a laptop and connect a network cable. Some new laptops don't have network ports, so we have to get another adapter. Having an all-in-one device, like NetAlly or Fluke, and some of their network devices would be cool.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the solution for 12 years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The tool has 100% stability. It never crashes.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I rate the tool’s scalability a six out of ten.

How was the initial setup?

The ease of setup is relative to the individual's skill set, but I think the setup is relatively simple. The product does not require maintenance. It just has to be updated. It gets flagged on newer or high-trust security scans where organizations want to know that all third-party applications on the computers are up to date. If there are any vulnerabilities, Wireshark gets flagged. The update feature is a manual process. When we get prompts about an update, we run it. However, it can be automated with a tool like Ninite. I'm sure it can be automated with others as well.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The tool is free.

What other advice do I have?

Wireshark is its own thing. It doesn't have a competitor that I know of. We can packet capture on firewalls, but I've never seen it on a switch. It's agnostic, and those are proprietary. The product is pretty well recommended in the IT community. Overall, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Flag as inappropriate