AirCheck G2 gets a v3

You may recall my blog post year lauding the version 2 firmware for the Netscout G2. I’m very pleased that Netscout has continued product development, taking feedback from users (including myself) on ways to further improve the already-awesome AirCheck G2. I’ve been working with the v3 firmware for the AirCheck for a bit over a month now and I’m happy to report in with my new favorite improvements – all delivered via a software update under a current support contract!

1) Improved packet captures

One of the things I didn’t write about last time was the ability to do packet captures that was introduced in v2. Admittedly, it felt somewhat half-baked and there are two very important enhancements that make this the tool I always hoped it would be. Firstly, we get the ability to slice packets. Those of you familiar with packet captures will know that in the vast majority of cases, we’re interested with the beginning of the 802.11 frames (since the payload is commonly encrypted). The ability to slice packets means that we can get very valuable packet-level analysis without capturing the entire frame!

Packet slicing

Secondly (and leading directly into my next favorite thing) is a *much* easier way to get the actual packet captures off of the AirCheck. In the past (and in addition to dealing with file sizes that were needlessly cumbersome), you’d have to grab the AirCheck G2 Desktop software and hook your AirCheck up to a computer to copy the capture off. Now you can just plug in an ethernet cable and the upload the tests right into the Link-Live service that comes included with your AirCheck! From there, you can download the raw .pcap file for use in your favorite packet capture analysis tool (Omnipeek, CloudShark, WireShark, Wi-Fi Analyzer, etc).

.pcap files in Link-Live

2. Cloud (Link-Live all the things)

You may have guessed from my above comments that the Cloud enablement is right up there on my list of awesome things that this update brings. With a notable decrease in reliance on the Windows-only desktop application, the improved Link-Live integration now supports a whole slew of AirCheck uploads including:

• Full AutoTest results
• Session files
• Screenshots
• Packet captures (mentioned above)
• Job, location, comments

Further reliance on the Link-Live portal is clearly a huge focus for the AirCheck team and they’ve delivered on many key integrations to help our field teams get data off of the AirCheck G2s in a timely fashion. In addition to being able to pull files off of the AirChecks enabled by Link-Live, the ability to push profiles lands squarely in the ‘awesome to have’ column. Being able to upload pre-configured profiles to your fleet units removes much of the inconsistencies that large teams can sometimes run across. 

3. Over the network firmware updates

Last, but certainly not least of the new features, the ability to do over-the-network firmware updates means that you no longer have to have access to a USB cable and Windows machine just to get all of the future improvements that Netscout is clearly on track to deliver. For an awesome product that continues to get software based improvements that genuinely move the needle, this feature changes the game for getting current software onto our AirChecks. Simply plug the unit into a working network connect and click the ‘Check for Software Updates’ and you’re good to go!

Software Update

Way to go Netscout team for bring a truck load of features to an already indispensable tool. Making new features that people will actually use (as opposed to the bloat we commonly see) is not only a refreshing take from the Netscout team, but continues to make the AirCheck G2 the best in Wi-Fi handheld triage tools. If you’ve not gotten your hands on an AirCheck G2 by now, you’re missing out.