WiFiMedic – WiFi RSSi in dBm on Your iPhone and iPad on the App Store

Introducing WiFiMedic, our newest WiFi focused app for iOS.

WiFiMedic reports the vital signs of your WiFi connection. If you device is associated to an access point the app can report information below.

Access point manufacturer name
Access point MAC address
Access point network name (SSID)
Access point signal strength in dBm (RSSI)
Access point channel
Access point security type (Open, WEP, WPA, or WPA2)
Associated data rate in Mbps
IP address of WiFi connection

You are probably thinking “No Way!”

Way.

Enjoy!!

Why are GPS, WiFi, and Cell Phone Jammers Illegal in the United States?

If the device doesn’t have an FCC-ID it isn’t legal for consumers own or operate the device. It is also illegal to sell or market the device in the US. See info below from an FAQ about jammers by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Enforcement Bureau. [local archive of FAQ pdf]

Any device that jams or disrupts cell phone calls, text messages, or other wireless communications by emitting an interfering radio frequency signal is illegal and may not be marketed or operated in the United States, except in the very limited context of authorized, official use by the federal government. Please note that it may be difficult to determine from an advertisement how a particular device functions. You should contact the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau at jammerinfo@fcc.gov if you have questions.

We emphasize that consumers cannot legally operate any radio transmitting device (e.g., a Wi-Fi or Bluetooth transmitter, wireless phone, etc.) that does not have an authorization from the FCC and that is not properly labeled with an FCC identification number.

Jamming devices, however, are ineligible to receive a grant of equipment authorization from the FCC or an FCC ID. (The FCC’s Office of Engineering and Technology oversees the authorization of non-jamming equipment that uses the radio frequency spectrum. More information is available at http://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/equipment- authorization.)

Also from the FAQ…

What should I do if I already own a jammer?

Any unauthorized person (i.e., anyone other than an authorized federal government user)
in possession of a jamming device must immediately cease operation of the device. You can also voluntarily surrender the device to one of the FCC Enforcement Bureau Field Offices (located across the country), by calling the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau at (202) 418-7450 for information about the office nearest you, or by sending an email to jammerinfo@fcc.gov.

inSSIDer for Mac OS X

inSSIDer, the app we all have loved on Windows is now available on the Mac App Store.

See description below from the Mac App Store for details.The app looks very similar to the windows version but is currently a v1.0 product and doesn’t have all features of the windows version. I’m sure future versions will add all the great features available in the windows version. I have always liked the clean design of MetaGeek apps and looks like they were able continue with same design in Mac version of inSSIDer .

A big congrats and thanks to the MeteGeek folks for releasing a Mac version of inSSIDer!

Scan the Wi-Fi networks around you and track their signal strength over time. inSSIDer scans all the Wi-Fi networks within the reach of your computer’s wireless card, tracks their signal strength over time, and determines their security settings. Track open or secure wireless networks. Determine the best channel for your own wireless network.

inSSIDer’s Wi-Fi scanner includes a Networks Table that displays all visible access points. inSSIDer tracks the RSSI, Security, Channel, Hardware Vendor, Max Rate, Network Type, and MAC Address for each SSID. The columns in inSSIDer’s network table can be reordered by dragging its header to the desired position. The table can also be resorted by clicking the header of any column. To find the strongest signal, click RSSI and look for the number closest to 0 (The lower the number, the weaker the signal).

The time graph displays the signal strength of any wireless SSID over time. This will help to locate unknown or rogue access points. Click on any network listed in the table and the associated time graph line below will become bold, helping you identify a single network amongst many.

FEATURES
Simple, easy to use interface
Quick Wi-Fi tracking
Sortable table column data
Reorder columns how you would like them to be displayed
Select multiple network with check boxes (all, some, none)
Remembers the size and column order you set before last close
Scalable time graph window
View in full-screen

Raspberry Pi Case Options

If you ordered a Raspberry Pi board and are looking for a case you are probably having a tough time finding one. Below is info from the Raspberry Pi FAQ about cases.

Will it have a case?

Not for the first batch. We’ll be making and selling cases by the summer; you’ll be able to buy a unit with or without a case, or a case on its own. The education release later in 2012 will have a case by default. There are lots of homebrew case discussions on the forum.

Will it fit in an Altoids tin?

Doesn’t quite work, I’m afraid – because we don’t round off the edges of the board, it’s a little too big to fit the tin.

Raspberry Pi Case Ideas

Below are a few ideas I found on the web for cases.

Plastic Case Design

Check Marco’s blog about his plastic case design that will be printed using a 3D printer.

Plastic Case Design 2

Another plastic case design with a video too.

Lego Case

Not sure how practical but this Lego case would be fun to put together for kids who are suppose to use the boards to learn programming.

Lack of cases was one of the reasons why I didn’t go with a Raspberry Pi for now and opted for an alternative development board based on the plug computer project.

© 2008 Copyright WLANBook.com

Dreamplug Development Kit for WiFi Projects

Dreamplug is development kit computer from GlobalScale Technologies that is based on the Plug Computer program.

“A plug computer is a small form factor server, intended to provide network-based services within the home. Built on a Marvell system-on-chip, the Marvell plug computer enables high-performance, always-on, always-connected, and environmentally-friendly computing that is readily available for developers. Unlike other embedded devices in the home it contains a gigahertz- class processor designed to offer PC-class performance.”

I discovered this device while looking for an alternative to buying a Raspberry Pi development board. The Dreamplug is priced higher than the $35 Raspberry Pi but is a full kit unlike the Raspberry Pi solution which I believe is just the board and power supply and requires the user to supply the SD Card, OS, and enclosure.

Below is a photo of my unit plugged into a power strip under my desk with a Netgear WG111v2 USB adapter and output from airmon-ng, airodump-ng, aireplay-ng, and kismet commands.

airmon-ng command output

airodump-ng command output

aireplay-ng command output to test injection

Kismet

Zap Wireless / ZapPerf

Dreamplug Specifications and Unique Power Adapter

The Dreamplug is a complete development kit for under $200.

1.2GHz Kirkwood 88F6281 processor
Linux 2.6.3x Kernel
512MB 16-bit DDR2, 800 MHz
512MB NAND Flash
2 x GbE 10/100/1000 Mbps
2 x USB 2.0 ports (Host)
1 x eSATA 2.0 port, SATA 3Gb/s 1 x SD socket for user expansion/application
Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g
Bluetooth v2.1 + EDR
Audio interfaces
5V 3A DC power supply

If you remove the power power adapter from the Dreamplug body it looks like it isn’t much bigger than the Raspberry Pi board.

Dreamplug Video Options

If your project requires a video out interface a newer model called the D2Plug is available from GlobalScale. The D2Plug is about $275 and has a VGA out and an HDMI interface.

ARMADA 510 processor, 800MHz
1GB DDR3-800 x32 bus
Boot from SPI NOR Flash
Linux OS and Ubuntu roots in 8GB eMMC
One Ethernet 10/100/1000 Mbps port
Two USB 2.0 host ports
One eSATAp – Powered eSATA & USB 2.0 host combo port
One USB 2.0 device port
One SD card slot
One HDMI 1080p output port with CEC
One VGA output port
Audio line out
One MIC in
One S/PDIF optical out
One console port (USB)
One JTAG connector
Integrated 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi & Bluetooth v3.0 + HS

D2Plug Side View

View of my D2Plug with VGA, USB keyboard/mouse, and network cable.

D2Plug Ubuntu GUI

Very usable graphical user interface with Firefox and several other apps preinstalled.

Raspberry Pi Alternatives

“The Raspberry Pi is a credit-card sized computer that plugs into your TV and a keyboard. It’s a capable little PC which can be used for many of the things that your desktop PC does, like spreadsheets, word-processing and games. It also plays high-definition video. We want to see it being used by kids all over the world to learn programming.”

There are two models of Raspberry Pi, Model A is priced at $25, Model B is $35 and adds one Ethernet port.

Raspberry Pi Model B

Raspberry Pi and WiFi

Both models of the Raspberry Pi have a USB port that can be used to add WiFi connectivity to the device. Any USB WiFi dongle that works with Linux and has a driver for an Arm processor should work. I had hoped to purchase a Raspberry Pi Model B and confirm this but was not able to buy a board when they went on sale.

Actually, I’m glad I didn’t buy a Raspberry Pi Model B because it forced me to look for alternatives. I found several other development boards that are available now and in many ways are as good or better than both Raspberry Pi boards.

Globalscale DreamPlug

While I like the idea of tinkering with a development board I just don’t have the time. What I really needed was a small computer that I can run iPerf3, Zap and a few other utilities for WiFi app projects. I went with the Dreamplug over others because it is self contained finished product that comes with WiFi. Also having TWO gigabit ethernet interfaces is a big plus.

2 x Gigabit Ethernet 10/100/1000 Mbps
2 x USB 2.0 ports (Host)
1 x eSATA 2.0 port- 3Gbps SATAII
1 x SD Socket for user expansion/application
WiFi: 802.11 b/g/n
Bluethooth: Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR

The DreamPlug is one of several Plug Computer development kits. Below info from PlugComputer.org.

A plug computer is a small form factor server, intended to provide network-based services within the home. Built on a Marvell system-on-chip, the Marvell plug computer enables high-performance, always-on, always-connected, and environmentally-friendly computing that is readily available for developers. Unlike other embedded devices in the home it contains a gigahertz- class processor designed to offer PC-class performance.

The plug computer is suitable for file sharing, running a media server, back-up services, and remote access functions. It can be used as a bridge between home computing devices and Internet-based services. Plug computing is quickly expanding—delivering new devices, services, value-added applications, and advanced network connectivity to users.

GuruPlug

Another Plug Computer kit that looks really nice is the GuruPlug. I almost went with the GuruPlug but decided on the DreamPlug because Amazon offered it via Prime Shipping.

The GuruPlug Server is a Linux-based GbE networked general plug computer featuring a Wi-Fi access point router and two USB 2.0 ports for flexible expansion. Powered by the 1.2 GHz Marvell Kirkwood 88F6281 processor, the GuruPlug Server delivers lots of horsepower and storage capacity in a very small form factor, making it ideal for the professional demonstration of new applications.

Cotton Candy

Cotton Candy is a USB stick sized compute device that allows users a single, secure point of access to all personal cloud services and apps through their favorite operating system, while delivering a consistent experience on any screen. The device will serve as a companion to smartphones, tablets, and notebook PC and Macs, as well add smart capabilities to existing displays, TVs, set top boxes and other media that supports USB mass storage.

Dual Core ARM Cortex A9@1.2GHz CPU
Quad Core ARM Mali-400MP Graphics Processing Unit
1GB DRAM
Up to 64GB memory local storage (microSD)
480p/720p/1080p decode of MPEG4-SP/H.263/H.264 AVC/MPEG-2/VC1
USB 2.0 male connector for power and connection to devices that supports USB mass storage
MicroUSB
HDMI 1.3 Connector with audio
Wifi 802.11b/g/n
Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR

PandaBoard

The PandaBoard features a dual-core 1 GHz ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore CPU, a 304 MHz PowerVR SGX540 GPU, a C64x DSP, and 1 GB of DDR2 SDRAM. The PandaBoard ES uses a newer SoC, with a dual-core 1.2 GHz CPU and 384 MHz GPU. Primary persistent storage is via an SD Card slot allowing SDHC cards up to 32 GB to be used. The board includes wired 10/100 Ethernet as well as wireless Ethernet and Bluetooth connectivity. Its size is slightly larger than the ETX/XTX Computer form factor at 4 × 4.5 in (100 × 110 mm). The board can output video signals via DVI and HDMI interfaces. It also has 3.5 mm audio connectors. It has two USB host ports and one USB On-The-Go port, supporting USB 2.0.

BeagleBoard

The USB-powered Beagle Board is a low-cost, fan-less single board computer utilizing Texas Instruments’ OMAP3530 processor that unleashes laptop-like performance and expansion without the bulk, expense, or noise of typical desktop machines.

Beagle Board is based on an OMAP3530 application processor featuring an ARM® Cortex™-A8 running at up to 720MHz and delivering over 1,200 Dhrystone MIPS of performance via superscalar operation with highly accurate branch prediction and 256KB of L2 cache. Focal to Beagle Board experience is the high-speed USB 2.0 on-the-go (OTG) port that can be utilized to provide power to the board or to deliver highly flexible expansion. Standard PC peripherals can be connected to Beagle Board using the USB with a mini-A to standard-A cable adapter, DVI-D using an HDMI to DVI-D adapter, or through the MMC/SD/SDIO connector enabling a complete desktop experience.

Arduino

Arduino is a popular open-source single-board microcontroller, descendant of the open-source Wiring platform, designed to make the process of using electronics in multidisciplinary projects more accessible. The hardware consists of a simple open hardware design for the Arduino board with an Atmel AVR processor and on-board input/output support. The software consists of a standard programming language compiler and the boot loader that runs on the board.

Gumstix

Gumstix motherboards are single-board computers which come in two different configurations. The brand names for these are Overo Earth and Verdex Pro. The Overo Earth uses a TI OMAP 3503 processor running at 600 MHz and have 256 MB of SDRAM, while the Verdex Pro motherboards use a Marvell XScale PXA270 processor running at 400 MHz or 600 MHz with up to 128 MB of SDRAM. Both boards run Linux 2.6 with the BusyBox utilities, and use the OpenEmbedded build environment to provide a full-blown Linux environment and a large range of Linux applications.

Software-Based WLAN Sensors

During our consulting engagements with government, financial and retail organizations we continue to hear that they know they need and should deploy a wireless intrusion detection system (WIDS) / wireless intrusion prevention system (WIPS) solution but they just can’t afford it. Even after negotiating the best pricing from vendors and following most efficient deployment methods the hardware, cabling, switch ports and manpower requirements makes it too costly.

To reduce the cost of a dedicated WIDS / WIPS solution some organizations leverage the scanning features of access points and utilize them as “part time” or dedicated sensors. This is only possible for organizations that have an enterprise WiFi network and even then, the density of access points is usually not at the level needed for a proper wireless monitoring.

For smaller organizations, using WiFi scanners and performing “war walks” to discover rogue WiFi devices is an option. This method is not practical for large organizations because the area that needs to be covered is too large and the manpower needed to perform the monitoring for 24 hours a day / 365 days is year is impossible.

For large organizations the only option is to deploy a continuous monitoring solution that is able to scan the organization’s entire air space with distributed WiFi sensors.

Cloud WLAN Security Using Software Sensors

After running into this budget issue way too many times we decided to come up with a solution for organization that need a continuous monitoring solution but just can’t afford the traditional hardware based sensor WIDS / WIPS solutions.

The results of our efforts are the WLANController service and client. WLANController.com monitoring solution has two components, a software sensor agent that transforms Windows / Mac OS X / Android based computers and devices into WiFi scanners and a web based dashboard that can manage multiple devices from a single graphical user interface.

The WLANController Dashboard and client make the deployment and management of large dedicated WiFi monitoring easier and low cost. We eliminated the need for any new hardware and software (other than our software sensor agent) by using the WiFi scanning capabilities available in Windows, Mac OS and Android.

This software only WLAN security solution has been available for use at no cost for three software sensors since 2010. You can download software sensor agents from WLANController.com

WiFi Scanner for Mac OS X 1.5

WiFi Scanner is an easy-to-use tool for designing, verifying, and troubleshooting WiFi coverage. The tool provides information such signal strength, noise, manufacturer name based on MAC address prefix of device (OUI), and AP channel assignments for WiFi access points.

WiFi Scanner can also be used a security tool for detecting unauthorized and rogue access points. The app includes an audio alert (beep) feature that is directly related to RSSI / access point signal strength. This feature can be used to track down devices by listening for beep frequency instead of watching app screen.

New Features in WiFi Scanner v1.5

- plot RSSI value for SSIDs
- detect 40 MHz channels
- updated OUI database
- signal and noise plot for interface
- performance improvements
- Requires 10.7 or later

Scan Screen

Monitor Screen

Interface Screen

Remote GPS Screen

ZapPerf 1.1 Adds Cumulative Distribution Function (CDF) Plot

ZapPerf is an iOS version of the Zap wireless performance tool. Like Zap, ZapPerf is a wireless throughput test tool which can be used to fully characterise the statistical performance of a wireless link.

Version 1.1 adds cumulative distribution function (CDF) plots and also logs BSSID and SSID of access point used during test by device.

ZapPerf CDF Plot

ZapPerf Text Results

Client Test Screen

ZapPerf Server Screen

ZapPerf Client Settings Screen

History of Wireless LAN Vendors + WLAN Vendor Tiers Mashup

I took Keith Parsons updated WLAN Vendor Tiers and mashed it up with some of the History of Wireless LAN Vendors posts I have done. I’m missing many vendors and hope to get to all of them in 2012.

Tier One

Cisco (Aironet, Airespace, Cognio)
Aruba
Motorola (Symbol)

Tier Two

Ruckus
Aerohive
Meraki
Ubiquiti
Hewlett Packard
Xirrus
D-Link
Meru
Enterasys/Siemens
Trapeze

Tier Three

Senao/Engenius
Mikrotik
Bluesocket
3Com
LANCOM
Extricom
Proxim Wireless
Belkin
Linksys
Netgear
Fon
SMC
RealTek
TrendNet
ZyXEL

OpenWIPS-ng – Open Source and Modular Wireless IPS (Intrusion Prevention System)

OpenWIPS-ng is an open source project WIDS/WIPS by Thomas d’Otreppe, the author of Aircrack-ng. The idea started from a project where Thomas came up with a way to monitor all the 2.4 channels using multiple cards and he continued expanding on idea for detection and also prevention since the cards used supported injection. For those familiar with Aircrack-ng, you probably understand how the capabilities of Aircrack-ng can be utilized for a WIPS solution.

The hope is that OpenWIPS-ng will be an alternative to commercial WIDS/WIPS solutions that usually cost over $10k for a server and hand full of sensors. The solution is modeled after the architecture of the commercial systems but will rely on commodity hardware for sensors, servers and leverage the capabilities of Aircrack-ng for scanning, detecting, and injection.

OpenWIPS-ng is an open source and modular Wireless IPS (Intrusion Prevention System). It is composed of three parts:

Sensor(s): “Dumb” devices who capture the wireless traffic and send it to the server for analysis. Also responds to attacks.
Server: Aggregates the data from all sensors, analyze it and respond to attacks. It also logs and alert in case of an attack.
Interface: GUI to manage the server and display informations about the threats on your wireless network(s).

Great video from Derbycon presentation introducing OpenWIPS-ng.

My favorite quote form the video is about wireless denial of service (DOS) attacks…”vendors say they can stop it, that is bullsh*t”. The author of OpenWIPS-ng recommends a “hardware add-on” that can stop DOS…as baseball bat…haha.

Download OpenWIPS-ng Beta

Version 0.1 beta 1 can be downloaded from project page. Current the solution has below.

- Contains the sensor and server
- Detect attacks
- Attack detection plugins:
**Deauthentication detection
**Fragmentation detection
**Information Element check
- Frame check plugins:
** FromDS and ToDS bit check
** Frame subtype check
** Protocol version check
- Logging to a file or to syslog

Cloud WiFi Scanning Solution/WIDS

Looking forward to next version of OpenWIPS-ng. It is a big challenge since commercial versions are very mature and have addressed many of the challenges related to scaling a WIDS/WIPS solution.

The one area that all existing solutions have not been able do, is reduce the effort and cost of installing sensors. This is what we have done with our cloud WiFi scanning/WIDS solution at http://wlancontroller.com. We are leveraging the existing scanning capabilities of Windows, Mac OS, and Android devices for WiFi scanning/WIDS.

iBooks Author EULA is Not a Big Deal

iBooks Author is a *FREE* tool for creating and publishing multi-touch books for the iPad.

Per Apple, “now anyone can create stunning iBooks textbooks, cookbooks, history books, picture books, and more for iPad. All you need is an idea and a Mac. Start with one of the Apple-designed templates that feature a wide variety of page layouts. Add your own text and images with drag-and-drop ease. Use Multi-Touch widgets to include interactive photo galleries, movies, Keynote presentations, 3D objects, and more. Preview your book on your iPad at any time. Then submit your finished work to the iBookstore with a few simple steps. And before you know it, you’re a published author.”

Apple has the follow EULA items that some people don’t like.

IMPORTANT NOTE:
If you charge a fee for any book or other work you generate using this software (a “Work”), you may only sell or distribute such Work through Apple (e.g., through the iBookstore) and such distribution will be subject to a separate agreement with Apple.

B. Distribution of your Work. As a condition of this License and provided you are in compliance with its terms, your Work may be distributed as follows:
(i) if your Work is provided for free (at no charge), you may distribute the Work by any available means;
(ii) if your Work is provided for a fee (including as part of any subscription-based product or
service), you may only distribute the Work through Apple and such distribution is subject to the following limitations and conditions: (a) you will be required to enter into a separate written agreement with Apple (or an Apple affiliate or subsidiary) before any commercial distribution of your Work may take place; and (b) Apple may determine for any reason and in its sole discretion not to select your Work for distribution.
Apple will not be responsible for any costs, expenses, damages, losses (including without limitation lost business opportunities or lost profits) or other liabilities you mayincur as a result of your use of this Apple Software, including without limitation the fact that your Work may not be selected for distribution by Apple.

I disagree with what many are saying – Apple is not claiming rights to content but only distribution rights to “Work” created via iBooks if you plan to charge a fee. If authors use exact same content and recreate an ebook, blog post, or publish a paper book using a different tool like MS Word, they are free to do what they want with final “Work” but “iBooks” must be published via iBookstore.

Bottom line, Apple wants their cut if you want to distribute your book via their storefront – iBookstore… Amazon does this and every other for profit business. Software publishers on Apple App Store are familiar with this type of fee structure and restrictions.

I’m OK with above and am willing to agree to EULA to get access to iBookstore. I think this also adds protection for authors and allows Apple to go after future iBookstore copy cats that may start hosting iBooks online. My guess is they will continue to clarify EULA like they have done with App Store and App Store developer guidelines.

USB to Serial Adapter for Mac OS X Lion with Driver

Find a USB to serial adapter that uses the Prolific part number PL2303 chip. I have the Tripp Lite USB to Serial DB9M Adapter (U209-000-R) that sells for $17 on Amazon.

“The PL-2303 USB-to-Serial Bridge Controller is a low cost and high performance single chip solution. It provides a simple and easy way to use bridge/connectivity between the Universal Serial Bus (USB) and Serial Port interface. With the advantage of USB port, users have the capability to utilize the peripheral with serial port interface in an easy-to-use environment such as plug and play & hot swap function.”

PL2303 Mac OS Snow Leopard and Lion Driver

PL-2303 (H, HX, X chip version) Mac OS X Universal Binary Driver v1.4.0 (DMG file format), Prolific Edition For Mac OS X 10.7 Lion and 10.6 Snow Leopard (32-bit and 64-bit kernel)

I didn’t use above but used driver from http://xbsd.nl/2011/07/pl2303-serial-usb-on-osx-lion.html and followed directions from website.

download osx-pl2303.kext.tgz and extract
cd /path/to/osx-pl2303.kext
cp -R osx-pl2303.kext /System/Library/Extensions/
next you need to fix permissions and execute bits:
cd /System/Library/Extensions
sudo chmod -R 755 osx-pl2303.kext
sudo chown -R root:wheel osx-pl2303.kext
cd /System/Library/Extensions
kextload ./osx-pl2303.kext
kextcache -system-cache

Terminal / Console Software

Zterm v1.2 works on Lion.

Other USB to Serial Adapters that Use PL2303

I don’t have access to below items but they use the PL2303 chipset and should work with above drivers.

Plugable USB to RS-232 DB9 Serial Adapter With Prolific PL2303HX Chipset — $11.95 on Amazon

USB to RS232 Serial Adapter Cable DB9 With Prolific PL2303 Chipset — $3.24 on Amazon

Syba SY-ADA15006 USB A Male to Serial Cable DB9 (RS232) — $9.97 on Amazon

ATEN USB to PDA/Serial (DB9) Adapter w/ PC & Mac Drivers UC232A — $24.20 on Amazon

Will add more as I learn about Adapters that use PL2303 chipset.

WiFi Repeater, WiFi Booster or WiFi Extender?

Lots of confusion on the best way to improve WiFi signals for business and residential users. The best answer depends on your goal. Do you need a few more signal bars, better throughput, or serve more clients. The best solution to address your needs will depend on below.

1) Are you able to run a network cable to location with a weak signal?
2) Do you have access to power outlet near location with weak signal?
3) What is your budget?

Post a comment with your exact issue and we’ll reply with possible options.

Low Budget Solutions

Try low budget solutions below first before spending money on additional hardware.

Aluminium Can Signal Booster

more info on thechive.com

Aluminium Foil Signal Booster

photo and solution by @wifi_guy

© 2008 Copyright WLANBook.com

What The Karate Kid Can Teach You About Becoming a WLAN Pro

The Karate Kid movie came out in 1984 and starred Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita. IMDB summarizes the movie as “handyman/martial arts master agrees to teach a bullied boy karate and shows him that there is more to the martial art than fighting.” The main character Daniel LaRusso – aka Daniel-san is taught how to fight by Mr. Miyagi and by end of the movie wins the local karate tournament and the respect of the bullies.

Believe it or not the movie can teach us many lessons on how to master WiFi. Below are some of the lessons and how they relate to becoming a WLAN Pro.

Get Mentored by Pros: Daniel knew some karate from a book he read and from lessons at the local YMCA but he never had professional training until he started working with Mr. Miyagi.

Get access to professional training from others who have mastered WiFi. If you don’t have access to professional training, start leveraging the Internet for information and advice. You can follow some of the best WiFi minds on Twitter at no cost.

Master the Fundamentals: Mr. Miyagi has Daniel waxing cars, sanding deck floors, and painting his fence. Daniel thinks that Mr. Miyagi is using him for free labor but in reality he has been learning the fundamentals needed for karate the entire time.

There are no secrets to 802.11. All the information you need about the standard and amendments are very well documented but the fundamentals skills needed to make use of the technology are not always easy to master. Some items are labor intensive and not exciting but once mastered will help with project management, technical and security aspects of projects.

- Physical Surveying
- RF Surveying
- Cabling
- Post Site Surveying
- Client Troubleshooting
- 802.11 Frame Analysis
- Bill of Materials (BOM) Creation
- Installing Access Points
- Racking/Stacking Equipment
- L2/L3 Networking

Never Give Up, Think Big: Daniel overcame injury in the tournament and won fights against several Cobra Kai fighters to reach the finals. But his goal was bigger than that..he wanted to win the tournament.

When times are tough and it seems like you’ll never get the job, pass the certification test or figure out the technical issues, continue pushing and learning more and lean on friends and family to get you through.

Help Others: Mr. Miyagi comes to the aid of Johnny, the Cobra Kai fighter Daniel just beat for the championship trophy, even though he was one of the bullies that caused so much trouble for Daniel.

The lesson here is that once you reach your goal give back and help others.

How to Tell a WLAN Pro from a WLAN Joe

WiFi / wireless LAN networking has become complex enough that for a good size network (200+ access points, 5+ locations, 500+ clients) a full time WLAN Pro on staff or through a consulting firm is recommended.

Telling the difference between a WLAN Pro from a WLAN Joe is not easy, especially if you are not a WLAN Pro yourself. It is similar to hiring a good software developer if you aren’t a developer or a sales leader if you have never been a sales professional.

Below are several areas of experience and knowledge that should to be considered when determining if a candidate for hire is a WLAN Pro or a WLAN Joe.

This list can also be used to help guide your career if you want to become a WLAN Pro.

1. RF Surveying: Ask how many square feet have they RF surveyed using professional grade software like AM, Ekahau, or TamoSoft? If they have never heard of AM, Ekahau or TamoSoft…..WLAN Joe!

   This is tough one…there are many WLAN Pros who have designed, secured and managed complex networks that have never RF surveyed, only surveyed a few thousand square feet or have only used predictive survey software.

   RF surveying is a skill that every WLAN Pro should have. At the minimum a WLAN Pro will know when a RF survey is needed and how to perform survey for different types of environments (warehouses, hospitals, old construction, outdoors, etc).

   If I had to give a number, I would say anyone that hasn’t RF surveyed more than 6 million indoor square feet in their lifetime is a WLAN Joe.

2. Enterprise Equipment: This is one of the biggest tells. If they only have experience with SOHO gear (Linksys, Netgear, D-Link, etc.) they are a WLAN Joe.

   A few years ago getting access to enterprise gear was costly but as companies move to 802.11n, the cost of used and excess inventory of 802.11 a/b/g equipment has come down. In many cases you can find enterprise class WLAN controllers and access point kits for less than $250.

   There could be many valid reasons why a candidate doesn’t have hands on time with enterprise gear..but no grey area here…no enterprise gear experience, not a WLAN Pro.

3. Direct Experience: Having 10 of years of experience in networking is not the same as even one year direct experience with 802.11. There are many rock star networking professionals out there but without direct experience implementing WLANs they are probably a WLAN Joe.

   Below are several experts in their field who are not automatically WLAN Pros.

   • CCIE R&S does not equal CCIE Wireless
   • 30 Years of radio engineering experience does not equal 802.11 expertise
   • A CISSP will help with understanding WiFi security issues but does not equal 802.11 expertise
4. Relevant Experience: For this topic relevant means equal to in size and scope. WiFi networks come in many sizes and are implemented for different purposes. For example, a 5000 room hotel has different requirements than a 5 million square foot warehouse or a thousand 5000 square foot retail store chain. All will require access points and proper wifi coverage but the details of security, management, performance will vary. Confirm the candidate has the experience in terms of size and scope to your project requirements.
5. 802.11 L1/L2 Knowledge: Expertise is not needed but solid foundation of 802.11 L1/L2 is the difference between a WLAN Pro and WLAN Joe.

   In home networks, clients just work even with SOHO gear. In an enterprise network there are so many possible issues that you really have to be confident that the RF is not the issue before starting to troubleshoot DHCP, DNS, client hardware, security settings, and the end user.

6. Certifications: Vendor certifications or vendor neutral certifications (CWNP) don’t guarantee anything but do demonstrate that the candidate is serious enough about their profession to know what certifications exist and they made the effort to get certified.

   If the candidate has no WLAN focused certifications or has never heard of any wireless vendor certifications or the CWNP, they are a WLAN Joe.

If the candidate doesn’t meet any or some of the above items, I recommend they be considered for less WiFi focused portions of the project such as cabling, AP installation, racking/stacking equipment, configuration/staging, project management, and post install support.

From WLAN Joe to WLAN Pro

It doesn’t take 10 years to go from a WLAN Joe to a WLAN Pro. With the right type of WLAN project experience and dedication to learning about 802.11 someone with solid networking experience can become a WLAN Pro in about a year.

Anything missing from above list? If so, let me know via Twitter @WLANBook.

Note: There is nothing wrong with being a WLAN Joe, everybody has to start somewhere…based on criteria above…I’m a WLAN Joe!

History of Wireless LAN Vendors – Ubiquiti Networks

On October 14, 2011, Ubiquiti went public and as of January 13, 2012, UBNT’s market cap is over $2 BILLION and looks like it is trending up.

Per a Forbes.com article “in the 12 months ended Sept. 30, 2011, Ubiquiti netted $64 million on $243 million in sales. That 26% net margin is the highest of any publicly traded computer hardware firm, according to FactSet Research Systems.”

Some other nuggets from article.

- Nearly 70% of Ubiquiti’s top line comes from developing countries like Brazil, Indonesia and the Czech Republic, often in spots where there are simply no cables in the ground

- Ubiquiti has no direct sales force and operates globally using resellers

- Ubiquiti makes systems that provide Internet access for as few as ten people within a 9-mile radius, to 10,000 customers (or more) within a 36-mile radius.

- Motorola’s former Canopy unit (now called Cambium Networks) charges $2 million to $4 million for a system with 10,000 subscribers; Ubiquiti’s equivalent system goes for $1.65 million.

History of Ubiquiti Networks

Wikipedia says that “Ubiquiti Networks formally entered the wireless technology market in June 2005, after announcing its “Super Range” mini-PCI radio card series”. Not sure what “formally” means but below is Ubiquiti Networks’ website front page from March 22, 2004 which seems to indicate that they already were public with info about the Super Range and AP-ONE products.

2006

Early on, Ubiquiti Networks was best known for their Super Range internal WiFi cards for embedded systems. A quick trip down memory lane of their 2006 product line is below.

Embedded Mini-PCI

Super Range 2 – 2.4 GHz Band Card

Super Range 3 – 3.5 GHz Licensed Band Card

Super Range 4 – 4.9 GHz Public Safety Band Card

Super Range 5 – 5 GHz 802.11a Card

Super Range 9 – 900-928 MHz Unlicensed Band Card

Portable Cardbus Adapters
Super Range Cardbus – one of the best 802.11 a/b/g cardbus cards. Still have one in my desk drawer. Waiting for cardbus PC Card slots come back to laptops (sigh).

Mesh Basestation

AP-One

The AP-ONE was pushed as a high powered mesh AP with very sensitive radios. Back then city wide WiFi network builders were looking for ways to reduce the number of access points needed to cover large areas vendors were pushing high power radios as solution.

“The AP-ONE can instantly create ubiqutious, scalable Wi-Fi networks. Featuring world class output power (1 Watt, 30dBm) and 802.11 receive sensitivity (-98 dBm), the AP-ONE is powerful enough to penetrate walls. Additionally, an independent 1 Watt 108 Mbps 5.8 GHz radio provides a fast and clean backhaul connection to create powerful mesh networks.”

Subscriber Station

LiteStation 2

2008

Around 2006, I stopped tracking Ubiquiti Networks. Not sure why but most likely because enterprise players like Cisco and startups like Airespace, Aruba Networks, and Trapeze were getting all the press. While these vendors fought for who had the most enterprise market share according to Dell’Oro and who was in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant, Ubiquiti Networks continued to add products that addressed the needs of Wireless Internet Service Providers (WISPs) in emerging markets.

By 2008 they had four additional products lines.

The Bullet – Allows any antenna to become a radio system starting at $39.

NanoStation loco – A low cost wireless CPE device that started at $49.

PicoStation – A small form factor access point.

RouterStation – An embedded single board computer that was compatible with Ubiquiti cards.

Ubiquiti SR71 Series

Ubiquiti’s high performance wireless-cards based on an Atheros AR9160 which supports 802.11a/b/g/n.

SR71-E

MiniPCI Express

SR71-A

MiniPCI (not express); 2,4GHz & 5,4GHz; 3 Antenna Connectors (3×3 MIMO); 24dBm, +/-2dB

SR71-2

MiniPCI (not express); only 2,4GHz (b/g/n); 2 Antenna Connectors (2×2 MIMO); 27dBm, +/-2dB

SR71-5

MiniPCI (not express); only 5,4GHz (a/n); 2 Antenna Connectors (2×2 MIMO); 27dBm, +/-2dB

SR71-C

Cardbus; 2,4GHz & 5,4GHz; 2 Antenna Connectors (2×2 MIMO); 24dBm, +/-2dB

SR71USB

USB; 2,4GHz & 5,4GHz; 2 Antenna Connectors (2×2 MIMO); 24dBm, +/-2dB

SR71 Express Card

2010

By early 2010 Ubiquiti Networks started marketing the AirMax product line, a full range wireless ISP solution as a lower cost alternative to products big name telecom equipment vendors were offering.

UniFi WNMS and Access Points

Towards the end of 2010, Ubiquiti released a wireless network management system (WNMS) and access points as their UniFi product line.

“Unlike traditional enterprise WiFi systems utilizing a hardware WiFi Switch, Unifi uses a virtual client/server application that requires zero cost and no additional hardware.”

UniFi Indoor and Outdoor APs

UniFi AP Mini

UniFi AP

UniFi AP Long Range

UniFi AP Outdoor

2011

In August 2011, Ubiquiti announced the AirVision IP Camera/Network Video Recorder Management System and airCam, airCam Dome, airCam Mini cameras.

Why Did Apple Ban iPhone / iPad WiFi Scanning Apps?

Official Answer: Because there are “no published APIs that provide the ability to manipulate the wireless connection or the show level of information regarding the wireless connection”.

English Translation: Apple has not documented a way for developers to collect RSSI, Noise, Channel, and other information usually displayed by WiFi Scanners.

iOS 4 WiFi Scanner Apps

WiFI Scanner apps that were on the app store prior to the ban in 2010 most likely used methods documented by the folks who created an app called Stumbler.

Stumbler iPhone WiFi Scanner App

Info from Stumbler / “iphone-wireless” website below.

Stumbler lets you view the wireless networks in your area. While right now Stumbler only handles 802.11 networks, soon you should see Bluetooth and GSM capabilities as well. Stumbler is still in a early Alpha stage, but it is fully functional, and pretty stable.

Planned Features
Auto Scanning
Manufacturer detection
Logging
A-GPS
Raw 802.11 packet capture (monitor mode)

Screenshot of Alpha Version of Stumbler App

iOS 5 Broke WiFi Scanner Apps that Worked on iOS 4

In iOS 5 a few items changed causing apps that worked on iOS 4 to stop working. The developer community was able to make changes to get their apps working again but iOS 5 scanning feature only works on jailbroken devices.

My fear is that Apple doesn’t want others (ahem..Google) using their large iPhone/iOS user base to create/improve their WiFi position database that would compete with Apple’s WiFi location database so they are in no rush to provide this capability. Or it could just be that they have many more important features that need attention.

My hope is that Apple will provide a documented way to get needed information on iOS like they have done on Mac OS.

USNAP – Utility Smart Network Access Port Alliance

The USNAP Alliance is similar to the Wi-Fi Alliance for “Smart Grid” solutions.

“The mission of the Utility Smart Network Access Port (USNAP) Alliance is to create a protocol independent serial interface standard that enables any HAN (Home Area Network) standard, present and future, to use any vendor’s Smart Meter as a gateway into the home, without adding additional hardware in the Smart Meter. The USNAP Alliance fosters collaboration and education among utilities, AMI suppliers, HAN venders, industry consultants, academics and regulators who seek interoperable, secure and cost effective solutions for extending the Smart Grid to energy aware consumer products.

USNAP Port

“The term USNAP is an acronym for Universal Smart Network Access Port, a simple, yet cost effective solution that enables any HAN (Home Area Network) standard, present and future, to smart meters, energy gateways or other devices within the home. By providing industry with a protocol independent serial interface, it is possible to extend the Smart Grid directly to energy aware consumer products.”

USNAP enables smart appliances and devices.

USNAP WiFi Module in WiFi Thermostats

If you read my previous post about WiFi Thermostats and have seen the 3M Filtrete Thermostat’s at Home Depot you may have noticed that the WiFi capability was via a WiFI USNAP module. The thermostat can accommodate a second USNAP module that could someday be linked to a smart meter via ZigBee or WiFi to maximize energy savings.

How Android and iOS Can Protect Users from WiFi Protected Setup (WPS)

Wi-Fi Alliance’s Wi-Fi Protected Setup specification describes how a wireless device can be automatically configured with wireless network security settings. The goal was to make it easier for non techies to configure devices to securely connect to wireless routers. On Dec 27, 2011 the US-CERT released Vulnerability Note VU#723755 outlining that the WiFi Protected Setup (WPS) PIN is susceptible to a brute force attack.

Getting the word out to the people most impacted by this vulnerability is not easy. Non-techies don’t track alerts from US-CERT or read techie blogs and may never know that their device has WPS enabled (talking to you Mom).

This is where Google and Apple can help by updating iOS and Android with core functionality that detects WPS.

If the device the user is connected to has WPS enabled iOS or Android would alert the user and direct them to a web page with more info about issue and what they can do.