NetSpot: how to find out the weaknesses of its Wi-Fi-network and optimize it

The convenience of wireless networks is undeniable, however, compared with traditional wired, they are much more capricious. The quality of coverage, speed and connection reliability is influenced by many factors, which reveal the naked eye is virtually impossible. A kind of microscope or, to be precise, the scanner acts in such a case NetSpot utility.

All who have set up their own wireless networks, not by hearsay know about the problem "immediately catches, and there does not catch." Choose the optimum location for the router can only empirically, moving it around the apartment, and measuring the quality of the coating. To simplify the problem, it would be more correct to use utility for the diagnosis of NetSpot. With it you can do everything right the first time.

This application is designed to search for wireless networks and a detailed analysis of each of their many options. The Discover NetSpot mode continuously monitors the air and displays a list of networks around you. It can be filtered by various parameters, to find out, for example, utilization of a channel and select a free for your network.

More interesting for us Survey mode, which allows you to conduct a full examination of your network and provides a detailed report on all its nuances. Let's try to deal with NetSpot features a concrete example - my country.

Following the wizard, choose the room type and throws it scheme (you can import a ready-made from a file). I am not the best artist and did not guessed with proportions, but more importantly, we need to know - it's total area of ​​about 75 square meters.

Next, begin to make measurements at different points in the room. Logical to go to places where you use the internet, so I started with living room, checked the signal at the bedside, in the kitchen, in the office, on the veranda and, of course, in the bathroom. The more points you add, the more accurate the result will be, so do not be lazy. After the end of measurement we press Stop scan and move on to the analysis.

Based on these data NetSpot draw us a map of the quality of the coating, that is, show where Wi-Fi signal strength, where - is weak, and where it do not exist. To visualize the color range is used. Just note that the green color indicates areas of poor reception, and not vice versa, as you might think. To avoid confusion, be guided by the scale of the map at the bottom.

If your network uses several access points, from which the signal can be displayed separately, tick the right. This will identify problem areas in order to move the repeaters or add new ones for more reliable prokrytiya. access point, by the way, will automatically appear on the map, but if their location is determined not entirely accurate (that's why need more measurement points), it can be changed manually.

By default, the map is visualized SNR value, that is, the ratio "signal - noise". This is the main parameter of evaluation, but further from the dropdown menu, you can select more more than a dozen others: the level of the signal, the number of available networks, the level of interference coating according to a certain frequency, loading rate and transmission power access points and others.

When building a network, you probably want to signal not only was caught, but was at a good level. For this to be useful dialogue change threshold signal level. By default, the range is very large, the minimum level implies only the ability to connect and work at a very low speed.

By clicking on each access point the menu is displayed with detailed information about it (the channel, frequency, etc.). It is useful if you are caught in the house of the neighbor network, and if your network has an access point operating in two bands.

All data are provided with explanations (albeit in English). They will help you to identify areas with a weak signal, to determine the optimal location for the installation of the router and, if necessary, repeaters.

In my case, it confirmed the need to install another access point to good coverage in the office. The signal is caught there, but the speed leaves much to be desired. I spent testing in a private home with a minimum amount of foreign networks, where the use of free channels are not so important. In urban areas clogged with ether 2.4GHz importance of this nuance is hard to overestimate. With NetSpot you can identify the least busy channel and switch to it.

Using NetSpot on a commercial basis is completely free, but there are certain limitations that at home have little or no value. Pro-version offers advanced features, including multi-zone projects, unlimited the number of access points and measurements, data export, as well as recommendations for setting up and troubleshooting Troubleshooting. There is such version of the $ 149. Currently NetSpot utility is only available for Mac, but soon scheduled release Windows-based version.