Acrylic WiFi Heatmaps User Manual
1. Introduction to Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps
Introduction
Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps is a site surveying tool designed for providing wireless network coverage mapping and RF spectrum analysis. Using Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps, you can perform Wi-Fi infrastructure measurements to analyze actual Wi-Fi network coverage and performance.
The collected data is used to identify, quantify and diagnose all issues affecting wireless communications health and performance.
Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps analyzes the Wi-Fi networks within range to diagnose their working mode and performance, exposing all found issues and limitations under current network configurations.
This User Manual is meant to guide you through all Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps functionalities, its user interface, and how to use it. Furthermore, it provides detailed information on how to diagnose and read wireless network coverage study results.
1.1. System Requirements
Operating System | Windows Vista (32bit, 64bit) Windows 7 (32bit, 64bit) Windows 8 (32bit, 64bit) Windows 8.1 (32bit, 64bit) Windows 10 (32bit, 64bit) |
Library Prerequisites | Microsoft .Net Framework 4.5 (Included by default in Windows 8.1 and later versions) |
Processor | 1.5GHz (multi-core recommended) |
Memory | 2Gb RAM (4Gb recommended) |
Disk Space | 40MB for Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps full installation, plus 500MB extra disk space for reports (+1 GB recommended) |
Wireless Cards | Only required on the equipment performing the data capturing. |
1.2. Supported Hardware
1.2.1. Wireless Cards
Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps supports the use of any commercially available wireless card by making use of Windows native mechanisms to perform Wi-Fi measurements.
Moreover, Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps operates on an advanced capture mode called Monitor Mode, also known as Promiscuous Mode that offers a series of additional features when performing the measurements.
When a wireless card is operating on Native Capture Mode, it reveals the Wi-Fi signaling packets sent by the access points. On Monitor Mode, Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps is able to extend its data capturing capabilities, providing the additional feature of displaying all client devices connected to a wireless network access points, such as smartphones, tablets, laptops, etc.
It is possible to use multiple Wi-Fi devices simultaneously, being one of them connected to a Wi-Fi network to obtain connection related information, such as latency, bandwidth, and roaming values (active site survey), while a second adapter can be set to work on normal mode or Monitor Mode to collect information and operating parameters on other Wi-Fi networks within range (passive site survey).
The selection of the Wi-Fi adapter is an important task to ensure both dependability and long term data validation. To operate on Monitor Mode, there are two groups of wireless cards supported by Windows:
1.2.1.1. Monitor Mode compatible Wi-Fi Hardware (NDIS)
Wi-Fi hardware supporting Monitor Mode on Windows is affordable and commercially available. These are standard wireless cards which have been verified to work using the NDIS driver included in Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps to capture wireless network traffic on Monitor Mode.
Some wireless card drivers may not provide correct information on signal strength or broadcasting channel, limiting their use for Wi-Fi coverage mapping.
For an up-to-date list of supported devices, visit our support section at: https://www.acrylicwifi.com/en/support-webinars-wifi-wireless-network-software-tools/compatible-hardware/
1.2.1.2. Professional Wi-Fi Analysis Hardware (Airpcap)
Airpcap cards by Riverbed support Monitor Mode. Since they are designed for this purpose, they provide good capturing performance.
Airpcap cards are supported by Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps.
● Airpcap Classic – b/g
● Airpcap Tx – b/g
● Airpcap Nx – a/b/g/n
Airpcap cards software can create virtual Wi-Fi adapters, allowing the use of multiple wireless cards simultaneously with Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps.
1.2.2. GPS Devices
The use a GPS device allows Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps to automatically detect an exact user location when performing a measurement. Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps supports any GPS device using the NMEA communication protocol, as well as those built-in GPS devices in tablets and other mobile devices using mix location.
USB GPS devices create a serial port through which GPS data can be read. To configure this port, please check the serial port parameters from the GPS device manufacturer’s User Manual.
GPS coordinates can be also fed into Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps via Bluetooth. Certain GPS devices allow sharing location data wirelessly via Bluetooth. When establishing a Bluetooth connection with one of these devices, Windows creates a virtual serial port that works as if the device is actually plugged to the computer, so this virtual port is configured just as a normal serial port.
Smartphones with built-in GPS devices can share their current location with Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps via Bluetooth. Find the right app at your local mobile store.
It is recommended to make use of this geopositioning mechanism only when an actual GPS device is available. GPS devices such as A-GPS are not encouraged, since, unlike actual GPS devices, they make use of several different data sources for resolving positioning, and they also tend to be somehow less accurate. These mechanisms are:
● Wi-Fi : 30-500m approximately
● Mobile Telephony Cells : 300-3,000m approximately
● IP Address : 1,000-5,000m approximately
GPS devices are classified in two main categories, according to their communication interface:
1.2.2.1. Serial Port
If the tablet or computer has a built-in serial port, also known as COM port, and the GPS device is physically connected to it, then the GPS device will be used to read the geopositioning data.
The latest devices do not come with COM ports; therefore USB/Bluetooth GPS devices should be used. These devices create a virtual COM port to interact with the host equipment:
● Devices Physically Connected to the host equipment. These devices usually do not require batteries or any external power source. Normally, these are USB devices or PC cards.
● External GPS Devices sharing GPS signal via Bluetooth. These devices are usually conveniently portable. However, they do require batteries, but these are normally integrated long lasting batteries. Two main groups can be identified:
○ Smartphones sharing GPS signal via Bluetooth. The latest smartphones today are provided with GPS and Bluetooth capabilities. Since there are several apps for sharing GPS signal via Bluetooth in the marketplace, no special hardware will be necessary for Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps to use GPS geopositioning.
○ Bluetooth GPS Receptors.
1.2.2.2. Built-in
These are devices that include native integrated GPS, such as some tablets and mobile devices, allowing direct GPS data access.
1.3. License
The use of Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps requires a valid license.Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps will not start without a current valid license.
During the license activation process, Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps requires access to the internet.These are the most frequent license activation failure reasons:
● License server cannot be accessed: a firewall, anti-virus software, or a corporate proxy could be blocking Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps communications.
● Expired license: the license is no longer active and a new license needs to be purchased.
● Invalid license.
● Inactive license.
1.3.1. License Types
Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps has a flexible licensing model that adjusts to each specific site survey needs. For more information on our licensing model, visit our website.
1.3.1.1. Free Trial License
Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps offers users a limited time free trial license to allow them to test the software and make sure it meets their expectations.
This evaluation license is automatically generated when Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps is first started, and it allows using the software for a certain period of time.
During the evaluation period, Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps will display watermarks on all modules.
NOTE: The evaluation license is intended for software evaluation purposes only. These licenses are not meant for commercial or professional purposes.
1.3.1.2. Professional Licenses
For professional use of Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps, a professional licensed should be purchased.
These licenses can be purchased from the Acrylic Wi-Fi website at Acrylic WiFi store, or from an authorized partner. Our partners list is available under the Partners tab in our website.
The Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps licenses are issued on a per user/device basis. The license can be deactivated on a certain device and reactivated on another device, so the user can easily transfer the license to a new computer or tablet to continue using Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps on the new device until license expiration.
Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps allows two simultaneous activations in different devices and 1 or 2 device changes, depending on the license type. Find more information on license types and license activation limits under the “Licenses and Activations” in our website.
There are two licensing models for professionals:
· Temporary Licenses: Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps offers a flexible licensing system based on temporary licenses to meet each user’s specific needs. Depending on site survey project duration and recurrence, the user can choose the license type that best suits his/her needs.
· Lifetime Licenses: Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps also offers lifetime licenses that do not expire, so the user is only required to purchase the license once to use the software forever. This type of license is intended for individuals and companies performing recurrent site surveys that require software availability at all times.
All temporary licenses include free software updates and upgrades. For lifetime licenses, software updates are included in their corresponding Support Contract.
Visit License Page for more information on license types, pricing and support conditions.
However, if any of our licensing models adjust to your specific needs, contact the Acrylic Wi-Fi Team at sales@acrylicwifi.com and we will look into your particular request.
1.3.1.3. Educational Licenses
Tarlogic offers students and professors at educational institutions free licenses for all Acrylic Wi-Fi products.
If you are a university student, you can claim your free educational license. You will only have to register using your email address from your university, college or higher education institution by completing the following form: https://www.acrylicwifi.com/en/blog/free-student-license/
A verification code will be emailed to your registered email address. Using this code, you will automatically get your free educational licenses.
These licenses are for educational purposes only, and they are intended for students and professors to learn about and teach wireless network technologies.
Direct or indirect use of educational licenses for commercial or professional purposes (e. g., network administrators, IT staff) is not allowed according to the terms and conditions of the license.
1.3.2. License Deactivation
As previously mentioned, Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps licenses are intended for a single user, and they can be activated on several equipments of the same user. Once the device activation limit has been reached, Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps will not be able to be licensed on any other device.
Furthermore, licenses can be eventually deactivated. This is especially useful when installing a new equipment or discarding an old one. In these cases, a license can be deactivated from the old equipment to be later reactivated in the new one. Once the device deactivation limit has been reached, Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps will not be able to be licensed on any other device.
The number of activations and deactivations is limited. Please, refer to your license’s terms and conditions for more information.
1.4. Technical Support
Technical support service can be hired during the Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps license purchasing process. This service provides priority communication with the Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps Support Team to address any support request that may arise during a site survey project.
If this service is not hired during the license purchasing process, you can still hire support consulting hours for technical questions on Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps.
2. Getting Started
Introduction
This section covers Acrylic Wi-Fi Heamaps installation and licensing on a Windows system using the installer that can be downloaded from the official download page.
2.1. Downloading Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps
2.2. Installing Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps
2.2.1. Reinstalling/Upgrading
To start an Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps upgrading or reinstallation process, run the installer and follow the steps described in the installation section. In this case, if an existing Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps installation is detected, the installer will proceed to uninstall the previous version.NOTE: Site survey projects, as well as Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps preferences will not be deleted after the software upgrading or reinstallation.2.2.2. Uninstalling Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps
Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps can be uninstalled from the Windows’ Control Panel option, “Programs and Features”.
2.3. Running Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps for the first time
2.3.1. Starting the Evaluation Period
When you run Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps for the first time, a limited time free trial license is automatically generated for evaluation purposes. This license expires at the end of the evaluation period, or when a license purchased from the Acrylic Wi-Fi online store is validated.
2.3.2. Getting Purchased Licenses
Once you have purchased an Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps license from our online store, you will be sent a confirmation message to your registered email address containing your credentials to access the "My Account" section in our website, as well as the corresponding license code.
In order to access our client area, you are required to enter your email address as your user name and the password in your confirmation message. From our client area, you will be able to download the software and the license codes for your purchased licenses, as well as edit your account details.
To get your software install licensed, you can download your license code from our client area, or copy it from your confirmation email.
2.3.3. Getting your Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps Install Licensed
During the evaluation period, you can get your Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps install licensed from to the "License/Registration" option in the main menu. Once you have entered your license code, it is recommended to restart Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps for the license change to take effect.
From the License window you can:
● View license type and expiration date.
● Activate or deactivate your license.
● Paste or read the license code from the license file.
You will be shown a blue confirmation message once the licensing process has been successfully completed.
On the other hand, if the licensing process could not be completed, you will be shown a red failure message indicating the reason why your install could not be licensed, and how to proceed from there on.
NOTE: Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps needs to be connected to the Internet in order to validate your license code.
3. Creating a Site Survey Project
Introduction
Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps main work unit, where all site survey information is stored, is the Project. To start any wireless network analysis task, it is necessary to create a site survey project, or open an existing one to continue analyzing.
Detailed information on how to create a new site survey project for analyzing a Wi-Fi infrastructure and detect possible improvement areas is shown bellow.
Note that a site survey study can be performed periodically in order to analyze the changes in the radioelectric space affecting the wireless network performance.
3.1. Project Structure
3.1.1. Locations
A project is structured by locations. Each location represents a place, area or venue where the site survey is performed. Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps allows you to sort these locations into sublocations, if necessary.A location can be associated with a blueprint of the area to be covered by the site survey. This is optional and not required to perform the measurements.Here are two simple examples on how to use and define locations:
1. Example 1: Site Survey on a 3-story Building
2. Example 2: Site Survey at a 2-campus University
This is a site survey project for a university with two campuses, a northern campus and a southern campus, where each campus has a 3-story building.
3.1.2. Scans
During a site survey, you can perform one or more data captures or scans. Within each location, it is possible to perform all the required measurements necessary to cover all the area to be analyzed.The fact of being able to perform several measurements in one location allows you to:● Perform measurements in different times during the day or week to compare Wi-Fi activity levels. Measurements can be compared by using Layers from the Plot generation view that is shown later in this manual.
● Compare under different conditions:
○ One measurement on Native Capture Mode, and another one on Monitor Mode.
○ One measurement on Passive Mode, and another one on Active Mode.
3.2. Creating a New Project
There are two ways to create a new site survey project in Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps:
● Through the Project → New option in the main menu. For this option to be enabled there should be no opened projects. Projects can be close by selecting the option Project → Close in the main menu.
During the project creation process, you are required to enter the project’s name and description, as well as client’s information, including its corporate logo to be included in the final reports.You are required to specify at least one location, to which a building blueprint or area map will be associated. This blueprint or satellite map is required to perform the measurements.
By default, locations represent a project’s main surveyed areas. If you want to make a certain location dependent on another location, before adding the new dependent location, you will need to select the controlling or master location from the list of added locations.
You can repeat this process until you have created the necessary site survey structure.3.3. Blueprint Calibration
3.3.1. Assisted Calibration
1. Locate the buildings and structures in the blueprint. Navigate the map using the zoom slider as required. If you need help in finding the location, you can use the location browser.
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2. The desired location is then shown on the map that can be rotated and scaled to adjust to the actual building. Opacity can be also adjusted to modify the blueprint transparency to make sure it overlays on the right position.
3.3.2. Manual Calibration
1. Identify in the blueprint an area where the distance between two points is known.
2. Select the first point.
3. Select the second point.
4. Indicate the distance between the two points and the length unit.
The use of blueprints is most suitable for indoor areas, where the area’s position cannot be easily established from a satellite map.
3.4. Project Editing
A project can be edited with the purpose of adding, modifying, and deleting the elements it contains.
NOTE: Changes made to a project cannot be reverted, so if you are unsure about the changes or for security reasons, you should make a backup copy of your project before applying any changes. To open your projects, go to Project → Projects folder.
You can add new locations, modify project information, such as the project’s name and description, client’s name, as well as add blueprints to locations.
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You can modify location parameters, add a new daughter location, delete it from the project, or move it as a daughter location to another location.
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NOTE: If a location is deleted, all dependent locations and measurements will also be deleted.
Adding a Blueprint to a Location
After selecting the location to which the blueprint will be added, click on the Add button. Once the blueprint has been associated with the intended location, you will need to calibrate it to start performing measurements.
If a location has been scanned, Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps will not allow you to delete the associated blueprint until the measurements have been previously deleted or moved to another location.
You can modify, delete or move the performed scans to a different location.
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NOTE: If any of the measurements is moved to a different location, make sure the target location has the same blueprint associated with it, or otherwise there might be some inconsistencies.
On the bottom view, once one or more scans are selected, you will see the access points detected during the site survey.
From the bottom view, you can inventory the project’s access points or delete those that are no longer needed.
NOTE: Once an element is deleted, it can no longer be recovered.
4. Performing a site survey and viewing the results
Introduction
Site Survey is the default view mode when starting Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps. This view mode has double functionality: it allows monitoring your site survey and, once the data has been collected, it allows you to visualize the results.
4.1. Survey Section General View
· Blueprint View
· Satellite View
· 3D View
4.1.1. Blueprint View
The Blueprint view displays the blueprint associated with the currently selected location. This view mode will be available for locations with associated blueprints. You will be able to zoom in and out and move along the blueprint for a more detailed view.
4.1.2. Satellite View
The Satellite View displays a satellite image of the Earth. In case the associated blueprint has been geopositioned, this will be displayed overlaying the satellite map.
4.1.3. 3D View
The 3D View displays the graphics rendered in a three-dimensional representation to improve visualization through elevation curves of the represented parameter values.
4.2. Scanning
1) Wi-Fi Device:
a) Normal Mode.
b) Monitor Mode.
2) Site Survey Type:
a) Passive (default).
b) Active.
4.2.1. Selecting the Wi-Fi Device
Before starting a site survey, you need to specify the Wi-Fi interface that will be used to perform the measurements.
4.2.1.1. Native Capture Mode
When monitoring on Native Capture Mode, the wireless card acts as any standard Wi-Fi device, using Windows native mechanisms, capturing only a specific type of Management packets, Beacon to be specific, which are the ones originated by the access points.
4.2.1.2. Monitor Mode
The Monitor Mode in Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps allows the use of a wireless network card on Promiscuous Mode. Operating on this mode, the wireless network card is able to capture all types of Wi-Fi packets, including Management, Data, and Control packets.This way, it is possible to detect not only the access points, but also the client devices that are transmitting on the Wi-Fi frequency bands, as well as all the devices that are connected to the access points.
4.2.1.2.1. NDIS Driver Installation
The NDIS driver should be previously installed to operate on Monitor Mode with NDIS compatible cards.NOTE: You will need a wireless card that supports Monitor Mode. Refer to the section on compatible Wi-Fi devices.When activating the Monitor Mode, from the Wi-Fi device selector, click on the installation button to install the NDIS driver in case it has not been previously installed.
4.2.1.2.2. Channel Hopping
Wi-Fi devices can transmit on two different frequency bands, 2.4GHz and 5GHz. These bands are divided into different channels, so that each channel covers a frequency range within the band.A Wi-Fi device transmits on a certain channel within said frequency bands. For some devices, this default channel can be configured.
4.2.2. Types of Network Surveys
Scans performed using Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps are classified in two groups, Passive Surveys, where the card only “listens” to the Wi-Fi data transmitted through the air and saves the measurements data; and the Active Surveys, where the Wi-Fi device interacts with the wireless medium to obtain network performance values.4.2.2.1. Passive Survey
This type of survey is performed by default. During the type of analysis, no Wi-Fi packets are transmitted and the card can be operating either on Normal Mode or Monitor Mode.4.2.2.2. Active Survey
If you have a second wireless card installed in your system, you can use this device to perform an Active Survey.During an Active Survey, the system is connected to a Wi-Fi network, interacting with the wireless medium, and performing network performance measurements.During an Active Survey, data packets are sent and received to obtain actual latency, bandwidth, packet loss rate, and roaming measurements. Therefore, this type of survey is appropriate to measure user experience standards.
● Two wireless network cards. One of them will be set on passive capture mode, and the other one will be set on active capture mode.
● The wireless card selected on the menu will be always used for the passive capture, so it should not be connected to any network. It will only be used to perform measurements without interacting with the wireless medium.
● The second wireless card will should be connected to the network to be analyzed.
● The Active Survey configuration options (Menu → Configuration → Active Survey) should be correctly configured.
● The active capture selector in the menu should be enabled.
Option | Description |
Bandwidth | This option is configured if bandwidth measurements will be performed. In case this option is activated, the user will have to choose the preferred measuring method. There are two options to choose from: Iperf: Free software that only performs bandwidth and latency measurements. This software can be found in the Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps installation software. To use this method, Iperf should be running on a corporate local network server that can be accessed through a Wi-Fi connection. The run the software on server mode, use the following command: ‘iperf -s -p <port>’. Next, you should include the IP address of the server indicated in the Active Survey configuration (Server text box), along with the selected port. Once the site survey is initiated, Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps will connect to this service and will perform the bandwidth measurements. It is important to have the server connected to a network with no delays and fluctuations that could negatively impact the measurements. NOTE: Iperf is the recommended option to perform these measurements. File Download: A files is downloaded using a standard protocol such as HTTP or FTP. This method is not recommended, since it would produce less accurate results that the first one. Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps will use this file download to perform the measurements. Once the download is finished, the software will restart automatically. For the download, it is recommended to use a large size file of at least 500MB. To configure this option, you need to specify a valid URL, such as: http://www.software.com/big_file.dat or ftp://ftp.software.com/pub/file |
Latency | When latency measurement is enabled, the user should configure a host that responds to ICMP requests (PING). Normally, the Wi-Fi connection gateway IP address (to which the second wireless card used in the Active Survey will be connected) is used. |
Scale Bounds | These options are exclusively used for representing the Active Survey results and generating the site survey reports. Since bandwidth and latency data can have wide data ranges, these parameters can be easily adjusted to the data obtained from the site survey. |
4.2.3. Starting a Site Survey
4.2.4. Performing Measurements
During a scan, Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps captures the data from the wireless medium, and it is necessary to establish exactly where the data has been collected. Therefore, there are three different methods to identify the Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps current position in order to georeference the measurements.Scan Modes:1. Single Measurement: Useful for small measurements or to cover areas with no measurements.
2. Continuous: Used to cover large indoor or outdoor areas with minimum effort.
3. GPS: A GPS device is used to geoposition the measurements. Useful for outdoor scans.
4.2.4.1. Single Measurement Mode
Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps resumes the scan on single measurement mode
, so it is necessary to reselect Continuous Mode to continue with the current scan.4.2.4.2. Continuous Mode
).Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps performs measurements along the way, helping reduce time and effort at the time of covering large areas during a site survey.Recommended for: Large outdoor and indoor areas when a GPS device is not available or GPS precision is not sufficiently accurate.Example: Performing a site survey in a squared room. Position yourself at the room’s entrance door, select your position on the blueprint and start walking straight at a steady pace until you reach one of the corners. Once you reach the corner, select the new point on the blueprint, and continue walking to the next corner. You do not need to stop walking to mark the point on the blueprint.Repeat the procedure until you reach the room’s door.This way, we can quickly perform a site survey on a large area, covering the perimeter of a rectangular room with just 4 clicks, no matter what size the room is.4.2.4.3. Real-time GPS Mode
4.2.4.4. Undoing Measurements
During a site survey, you have the option to delete or “undo” the most recent real-time measurements by clicking on the Undo button (
). This way, you do not need to delete or edit the measurements once the site survey is completed.Note: If you “undo” a measurement on Continuous Mode, the last measured point is deleted, along with the previously computed points, and the site survey will automatically switch to Single Measurement Mode. To continue the site survey on Continuous Mode, you need to reselect this mode. The reason behind this is that you are required to indicate your current position once again, since after deleting or “undoing” your most recent measurements, this data is permanently lost.4.2.5. Support Instrumentation During a Site Survey
During a site survey, you are able to see detected device information, as well as graphics based on the collected data and collected data general status so you can verify the measurements are being performed correctly.
4.2.5.1. Bandwidth
4.2.5.2. Latency
4.2.5.3. Access Points
Column | Information Provided |
SSID | Stands for: Service Set Identifier. In other words, the network’s name. A network can hide its name. In such a case, the network’s name is shown as [Hidden]. This field can be configured from the Preferences window that appears by clicking on the Configure option in the main menu. However, even when a network is not broadcasting its name, in some cases, the network name can be obtained on Monitor Mode by inspecting and analyzing the Wi-Fi traffic of the devices that are connected to that network. Whenever possible, Acrylic will display this name in red, which means that this is a hidden network and the name has been inferred by the software. |
# | This column displays the number of devices connected to that network. If empty, this means that no device has been detected as connected to the network. When the measurements are performed on Native Capture Mode, this field will be automatically hidden. This is due to, while operating on this mode, Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps can only collect information from the network’s access points, and not from client devices. |
Mac Address | (Media Access Control Address) Unique identifier assigned to network interfaces used as a network address. This field can display a name instead of the 6-bytes address when the MAC address is previously inventoried. |
RSSI | A Received Signal Strength Indication is a dBm value that indicates the wireless signal strength received by the client, and it usually ranges from 0 to -100. The higher the value, the stronger the signal. |
SNR | Signal-to-Noise Ratio measured in dB that is used to compare the signal received with the background noise. The higher the value, the better the communication quality. This field is only available when the site survey is performed using an AirPcap device. |
Chan | Network operating channel. It can be shown as an addition of two numbers (such as: ‘1+5’), indicating that the network is operating on both channels (primary and secondary). |
Width | Channel bandwidth measured in Mhz. Possible values are 20, 40, 80 and 160. |
802.11 | These are the communication standards that are supported by the network’s access points. Possible values are: a, b, g, n and ac. |
Max Rate | Maximum transfer ratesupported by a network access point measured in Mb/s. |
Retries | Percentage of packets that had to be resent due to a transmission error. The total number of resent packets is shown between brackets. |
WEP | Type of WEP security of the access point. If empty, this means that the network does not support WEP security. Possible values are SharedKey and Open. |
WPA | Access point WPA security type. If empty, this means that WPA security is not supported by the network. Possible values are PSK and MGT. |
WPA2 | Access point WPA2 security type. If empty, this means that WPA2 security is not supported by the network. Possible values are PSK and MGT. |
WPS | WPS version supported by the access point. If empty, this means that WPS security is not supported by the network. If WPS Authentication is enabled, it is displayed in green. If not, it is displayed in red. |
Vendor | The manufacturer brand name of the network interface being used by the Wi-Fi device. |
Data | Amount of Data packets sent by the Wi-Fi device. |
Mgt | Amount of Management packets sent by the Wi-Fi device. |
First | Time at which a device has been first detected. |
Last | Time at which a device has been last detected. |
Type | Network type. Possible values are Infrastructure and Ad Hoc. This field only applies to access points. |
Latitude | For a GPS enabled site survey, this value corresponds to the latitude of the position where the device was last detected. |
Longitude | For a GPS enabled site survey, this value corresponds to the longitude of the position where the device was last detected. |
4.2.5.4. Signal Strength
4.2.5.5. Access Points by Channel on 2.4GHz
4.2.5.6. Access Points by Channel on 5GHz
4.3. Site Survey Results Analysis
● Graphics: In this section, you can select and generate the different graphics and heatmaps available for each access point identified during the site surveys.
● Access Points: This section displays the location of all access points identified during the site surveys.
● Scans: This section displays the paths followed during the site survey scans.
4.3.1. Plots
4.3.1.1. Passive Capture Plots
Plots that can be generated after performing a site survey on Passive Mode are shown below.
4.3.1.1.1. RSSI
Heatmap representing RSSI or ‘Received Signal Strength Indication’ in the site survey area.
4.3.1.1.2. AP Coverage
This plot represents the access point with the best coverage for each area.
4.3.1.1.3. Channel Coverage
This plot represents the channel received with the strongest signal for each point.
4.3.1.1.4. Data Rates
This plot represents the transmission rate supported by the access points with the better coverage for each point. It is important to cover the largest area possible at the closed transmission rate to the highest supported transmission rate. This rate does not imply that the highest supported transmission rate can be archived, since there are other factors impacting data transmission efficiency, such as signal strength, noise in the radioelectrical medium, network saturation, etc. In order to accurately measure actual bandwidth values, you need to perform a site survey on Active Mode.
4.3.1.1.5. Cell Density
This heatmap represents the density of client devices connected to the selected access points. It displays the areas with the most client Wi-Fi devices, to identify those access points that need to be optimized to support a larger number of connections or those areas with high client device density where additional access points are required to prevent saturation on the existing ones.
4.3.1.1.6. Number of Access Points
This plot represents the number of access points detected in each area.
4.3.1.1.7. Retry Rate
This plot represents the retry rate detected during the traffic analysis on Passive Mode.
4.3.1.1.8. Channel Coverage
This plot represents the overlapping level of the channels used for each area. Co-/adjacent channel interferences are also included in this plot, so that these two parameters can be easily visualized.
4.3.1.1.9. Detailed Grid
This plot arranges the surveyed area in a grid, displaying gross data for each cell.
4.3.1.1.10. Signal-to-Noise Ratio
This plot displays the value for the relation between signal strength and noise in the wireless medium, also known as SNR, which is associated with the signal level a client device receives the data packets from the access point.
4.3.1.1.11. RF Spectrum
Depending on the access point configuration, and the 802.11 standard revision, networks can operate in frequency bandwidths of 20, 40, 80, or even 160 Mhz.RF values range from 0dBm to -100dBm.NOTE: This option is only available for site surveys which have been performed using a compatible spectrum analyzer.4.3.1.2. Active Capture Plots
Plots that can be generated after performing a site survey on Active Mode are shown below.
4.3.1.2.1. Bandwidth
This plot represents the bandwidth in Kbps for each point covered by the site survey. The accuracy of this parameter varies according to the chosen method: iPerf or file download. For more information on the difference between these two methods, refer to the Active Capture section.
4.3.1.2.2. Latency
This plot represents packet latency in milliseconds, in other words, the time elapsed from a data packet is transmitted to the confirmation packet is received.
4.3.1.2.3. Packet Loss
The packet loss rate is the percentage of packets that are lost, in other words, that do not reach their destination, and that are usually retransmitted.
4.3.1.2.4. Roaming
This plot catalogs the surveyed area based on data roaming performance in relation to the connected access point.
4.3.2. Plot Generation
Once the site survey measurements have been performed, the collected data can be analyze and visualized. Under the Plots tab, you can visualize the status of the selected networks according to multiple parameters, as detailed in section 4.3.1 (intensity, transmitting frequencies, channel overlapping, etc.)Plot generation steps are shown below:1. Select the type of plot to generate.
2. Select the access points.
Optionally, plot characteristics can be configured.
4.3.2.1. Layers
The multiple simultaneous plots mode (Layers
) allows you to select data from each plot in a disaggregated way, where you can select the collected data from one or multiple scans. This way, you can separately analyze all the parameters for each scan.This mode allows multiple plot overlay. You can visualize at the same time a signal strength plot overlaying a SNR plot, or a channel overlapping plot. This feature is helpful when comparing network improvement in different moments in time after taking corrective actions, or for more advance analysis.The steps to generate a plot on Layer mode are shown below:1. Click on the Multiple Plots button.
2. Select the type of plot to generate.
3. Select the scans.
4. Select the access points.
4.3.2.2. Visualization Modes
The generated plots can be visualized from three different views.
). By clicking on this button, the right panel is hidden, providing a larger plot visualization area. To restore the view to its previous mode, click on the 
button.
4.3.2.2.1. Blueprint View
The plot is shown over the blueprint associated with the selected location.
● The location requires an associated blueprint.
● The blueprint must be calibrated.
4.3.2.2.1.1. Saving a Plot
You can save the displayed plot by clicking on the
button. The plot will be saved to a KMZ file that contains both graphical and geopositioning information. This type of files can be opened using GIS applications, such as Google Earth.4.3.2.2.2. Satellite View
The plot is displayed over the satellite image. If the location has an associated blueprint that has been already calibrated, then the blueprint shows overlaying the satellite image, and the plot, in turn, overlaying the blueprint.Requirements for this visualization mode:● The location must have an associated blueprint that has to be calibrated over the satellite image; or
● The scan has to be performed using a GPS device.
4.3.2.2.2.1. Satellite Mode Options
Clicking on the 
button unfolds all the available options for the Satellite view. From this panel, you can perform the following actions:
– View latitude and longitude of a view point. Hover you pointer over the areas where latitude and longitude values are wanted. The panel will immediately update this information.
– Search a desired address, city, or geographical point. Using the dialog window, you can enter the area to be geopositioned.
– Select the desired satellite image provider. Google Maps is the default satellite map provider. However, you can choose from many other providers, including Bing, OpenStreet, OpenCycle, etc. Each one of them offers different map versions, such as Map, Satellite, Hybrid, etc.
– A geopositioned map can be shown or hidden. This option is enabled by default.
4.3.2.2.2.2. Saving a Plot
You can save the displayed plot by clicking on the
button. The plot will be saved to a KMZ file that contains both graphical and geopositioning information. This type of files can be opened using GIS applications, such as Google Earth.4.3.2.2.3. 3D View
This visualization mode displays the plots in an additional dimension that represents the value of the represented magnitude. This three dimensional representation of the plot is shown over the satellite and/or blueprint view(s), if the location has an associated blueprint.
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4.3.2.3. Plot Options
The generated plots can be customized, from the Graphics options, in terms of appearance and data to be display. You are able to adjust parameters such as color scheme, maximum values, and values from which the data is discarded.
4.3.2.3.1. Color Scheme
The plots representing heatmaps and using color gradients to represent the collected data, allow you to select the desired color range that will be displayed in the plot, as well as its limits based on the magnitude value for that range.
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4.3.2.3.2. Min RSSI
It is possible to configure a threshold beyond which the plot is displayed. Values below the threshold are not represented in color, so there will appear as a transparent area.
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4.3.2.3.3. Opacity
This is the plot transparency level that applies when it overlays the blueprint or satellite view.
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4.3.2.3.4. Gradient Lines
The plots can display gradient lines. These gradient lines connect points with the same magnitude values within the plot.
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4.3.2.4. Detailed Grid
For the Detailed Grid plot, you can define which parameters are displayed, showing the selected parameters in each one of the cells.
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4.3.2.5. Legend
Legends can be displayed when it is necessary to identify a color with a certain parameter value, such as channel, BSSID, etc.
For those plots displaying legends, an icon on the left upper corner is shown, for both Satellite and Blueprint views. Available for:
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4.3.3. Access Points
4.3.4. Locating an Access Point
The access points detected during a scan, which signal strength values are higher than the predefined minimum signal strength thresholds, are automatically located.If you want to modify or adjust either the physical location or the access point association with a project’s location, there are several options to perform this task manually. To use these options, the access point to be modified has to be selected.4.3.4.1. Manual Location
4.3.4.2. Automatic Location
4.3.4.3. Remove AP Location
4.3.5. Routes
This section shows the list of locations that have been scanned in the selected surveyed area.
Type of Scan | Description |
Manual
| These points have been manually selected from the blueprint or satellite map by the user during a scan. These points are generated during a scan on Normal or Continuous Mode. |
Calculated
| This type of points is generated during a site survey on Continuous Mode. Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps performs measurements between two points defined by the user, and these measurements are referenced through this type of intermediate points. |
GPS
| This type of points is automatically generated by Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps during a GPS enabled scan for each GPS coordinate.
By using this type of data acquisition, it is possible to feed GPS positions faster than by using a Wi-Fi adapter that is capable of collecting data from the radioelectrical medium. As a result of using this method, there might be some unmeasured points. These points appear in the GUI with no information on the number of access points. |
Embedded
| This type of points is automatically generated by Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps during an Embedded GPS enabled scan, where the Microsoft Windows geopositioning service is used. This service uses the geopositioning providers available in the device. Normally, this mode is only required in GPS embedded devices such as tablets. |
4.3.5.1. Options
When selecting a point, all the available options are shown on the bottom context panel, such as Move Point, Delete Point, etc, including the information on the access points detected in that point.To move a point, click on the Move Survey Point button, and select the point position on the blueprint or satellite map.
5. Wi-Fi Quality
Introduction
Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps includes a tool to analyze and evaluate Wi-Fi network quality based on predetermined parameters. This tool generates two-color graphics, categorizing the different areas in the selected location in green and red. An area is displayed in green when the quality predefined requirements are met, and in red when those requirements are not met.
These automatic controls can quickly and easily identify the wireless network weaknesses and issues.
A Wi-Fi quality assessment allows the user to visualize actual wireless infrastructure status, providing an overview of the network status based on quality parameters.
The Assessment Controls included in the Wi-Fi network quality assessment generate two-color graphics, green 
to represent those areas where quality requirements are met, and red 
to represent those areas where minimum quality requirements are not met. A quality control list is also generated, showing percentage of compliance for each control.
Control requirements are grouped by Profiles, being quality analysis based on network usage their main purpose. By default, Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps offers two different profiles: Web Browsing and VoIP. Each one of them defines minimum requirements to guarantee browsing and VoIP support.
The steps to analyze network quality are shown below:
1. Select the scans on a location where the quality controls are to be applied.
2. Select the access points to which the quality controls are o be applied.
3. Hover over the control to be applied over the blueprint or satellite map view.
4. If necessary: Select the Wi-Fi Quality profile.
5.1. Wi-Fi Quality Sections
5.1.1. Location
This section contains a list of locations and the scans performed during the site survey. Here you can select the locations and the scans over which the quality controls will be applied.
5.1.2. Access Points
This section displays all access points identified during the selected scans.
5.1.3. Quality Assessment Controls
This table shows the Wi-Fi network quality controls to be applied to the selected access points and the results obtained.
When selecting a quality control, you will see the graphic resulting from applying the control to the selected site survey areas.
The green color on the graphic indicates those areas where the minimum predefined quality requirements have been met for the selected control. On the other hand, the red color indicates that those requirements have not been met.
The following table details the content of the columns of the Control section:
Assessment Control | Name of the Wi-Fi Quality Control | ||||||||||||||
% | It indicates the percentage of the area covered by the site survey that meets the predefined requirements for the selected control. Control parameters can be configured by editing the control’s Profile. Example: If a control has a RSSI minimum threshold of -75, the area with a RSSI equal or higher than -75 will be displayed in green, while the area with a RSSI lower than -75 will be displayed in red. | ||||||||||||||
Quality | This parameter shows, as a compliance percentage, the resulting wireless network quality after applying the quality control requirements to the selected network.
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The Wi-Fi network quality controls applied by Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps are shown in the following table:
Assessment Control | Description | Site Survey |
RSSI Coverage | It verifies that the RSSI thresholds are met within the Passive site survey coverage area. | Passive |
Simultaneous RSSI Coverage | It verifies that the RSSI thresholds are met within the site survey coverage area. It is verified that there are enough access points to provide the dependability defined in the selected profile. | Passive |
Channel Overlapping | It verifies that there is no channel overlapping interference within the site survey coverage area. | Passive |
Co-Channel Interference | It verifies that there is no co-channel interference within the site survey coverage area. | Passive |
Latency | It indicates if the latency value during the active site survey is lower than the predetermined threshold value. | Active |
Bandwidth | It verifies that the bandwidth across the site survey coverage area meets the requirements specified for the selected profile. | Active |
Packet Loss | It verifies that the packet loss rate is lower than the predefined threshold value. | Active |
AccessPoint Roaming | It indicates if Roaming has worked correctly during an active site survey scan. | Active |
5.2. Profiles
A Wi-Fi quality control profile establishes each control’s minimum service quality requirements for a dependable wireless network performance.
For example, the Web Browsing profile establishes minimum bandwidth values, as well as maximum latency values, and ensures a satisfactory web browsing experience for the connected users.
By default, Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps provides two threshold configurations and parameters for each one of the Wi-Fi Quality controls. These parameter sets are grouped within the Profiles:
5.2.1. Default Profiles
● Web Browsing: Standard wireless network configuration that ensures web browsing service to all wireless client devices.
● VoIP: This is the most important wireless network configuration to guarantee the necessary service quality required for VoIP communications through the wireless network.
5.2.2. Creating and Editing Profiles
To create new profiles or edit existing ones, go to Preferences (Main Menu à Configure), Wi-Fi Quality section:
NOTE: The default profiles included in Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps cannot be deleted, but their configuration parameters can be edited to adjust to the infrastructure manufacturer’s requirements.
5.3. Wi-Fi Quality Controls
5.3.1. RSSI Coverage
The RSSI Coverage control displays in green those areas where the signal strength received from any of the selected access points falls below the selected threshold value.Signal strength has a significant impact on the quality of wireless communications. Signal strength is measured in dBm, and ranges from 0 dBm (strongest) to -100 dBm (weakest).Acceptable values range from 0 -75 dBm. Proper communication cannot be guaranteed with lower signal strength values.This control displays in green those areas where the RSSI Coverage requirements are met, and in red those non-compliant areas.
5.3.2. Simultaneous RSSI Coverage
The Simultaneous AP Coverage control displays those areas where the signal strength received from a number of the access points is equal or higher than the predetermined threshold value.To ensure dependable wireless communications, it is necessary, under certain circumstances, that all the points in the coverage area can access a certain number of access points within the network infrastructure, preventing channel overlapping, with at least the minimum required signal strength.These requirements depend on the type of infrastructure being analyzed and they can be configured in the profile. For example, VoFi (Voice over Wi-Fi) service typically requires connectivity with two access points with at least -65dBm signal strength.Those site survey areas meeting these requirements are displayed in green. Non-compliant areas are shown in red.
5.3.3. Channel Overlapping
The Channel Overlapping control shows those areas where adjacent interference requirements are met. An access point is considered to have an adjacent interference when there is another access point operating on an adjacent channel, and due to the channel bandwidth in the communications, some of the frequencies transmitted by the access points overlap. This causes interferences that decrease the signal quality.Example: If an access point is operating on channel 1 over the 2.4Ghz band, and there is another access point transmitting on channel 2 over the same 2.4Ghz band, this one could be interfering and degrading the quality of the communications.These interferences not only depend on the selected channel, but on channel bandwidth. The 2.4Ghz frequency band (802.11 b/g/n) supports channel bandwidth values of 20 and 40 Mhz. The 5Ghz frequency band (802.11 a/n/ac/ad) supports channel bandwidth values of 20, 40, 80, and 160Mhz.Besides frequency and bandwidth, these interferences also depend on the level of overlapping between two signals, that is to say, the signal strength from the interfering access point. If there is enough intensity differential (in case the signal transmitted by our access point is received with higher intensity), then the communications will not be impacted by an adjacent interference.A difference of at least 20dBm in signal intensity is enough to prevent network performance degradation.Example: If a wireless network is operating on channel 1, it is received in a certain area at a signal strength of -65dBm and, in this same area, a -50dBm signal strength is detected from another access points operating on channel 2, the wireless network performance will be degraded by channel overlapping since there is a -15dBm differential.This control displays in green those areas where Channel Overlapping requirements are met, and in red those non-compliant areas.
5.3.4. Co-Channel Interference
The Co-Channel control displays those areas where the co-channel interference requirements are met. An access point is considered to have a co-channel interference when there is another access point operating on the same channel.The IEEE 802.11 standard contemplated this issue. This type of interference results from two or more access points sharing the same radioelectric spectrum and taking turns while only one of them is able to transmit at a time.These interferences downgrade communications quality when it comes to consider wireless medium availability before transmitting. While an access point is transmitting, the other access points operating on the same channel have to wait for their turn. This causes transmission delays among the access points operating on the same frequency.Besides same-channel operation, these interferences are also affected by the overlapping signal strength. In case of high signal strength differential (in other words, the access point signal is significantly stronger than the interference), then the communication will not be negatively impacted by a co-channel interference.A 20dBm signal strength differential is high enough to prevent network communications downgrade due to interference.This control displays in green those areas where Co Channel requirements are met, and in red those non-compliant areas.
5.3.5. Latency
The Latency control displays those areas where the predetermined minimum latency requirements are met.Latency is the time it takes for a packet to travel to its destination and back.The factors affecting latency can be classified in two types: fixed and variable.Fixed factors are those that would always cause the same delay, such as signal encoding or decoding, preparation for sending the signal, etc.Variable factors usually impact latency the most. Some examples are the queuing delays, transmission errors, packet retries, data contention and congestion, etc.In a VoFi (Voice over Wi-Fi) communication, optimal latency values should be lower than 150ms. During a voice communication, data is transmitted in a large amount of small-sized packets, each containing a small portion of the audio being transmitted. The delay between transmission and reception of the sound should be kept to the minimum to guarantee a fluid conversation.In order to visualize latency, a site survey should be performed with the Active Survey option enabled. When the Active Survey option is enabled, bandwidth and latency measurements are taken at the same time during a passive site survey.This information is processed to display those areas where the control requirements defined in the selected control profile are met. This control displays in green those areas where latency requirements are met, and in red those non-compliant areas.
5.3.6. Bandwidth
The Bandwidth control ensures that minimum bandwidth quality requirements for the connection established by the active survey are met across the coverage area.This control displays in green those areas where bandwidth quality minimum requirements are met, and in red those non-compliant areas.This control is only available when the Active Survey option is enabled during a site survey.
5.3.7. Packet Loss
The Packet Loss control displays those areas where minimum packet loss requirements are met.The packet loss rate is the percentage of packets that are lost, and do not reach their destination during a communication. Packet loss has a negative impact on network performance.Packet loss rate values of under 10% are acceptable and will have a negligible impact on network performance in most cases.To visualize the packet loss percentage, the site survey should be performed with the Active Survey option enabled. Using this information, it is possible to calculate packet loss rate for each location.This control displays in green those areas where Latency requirements are met, and in red those non-compliant areas.
5.3.8. AccessPoint Roaming
The Roaming control shows those areas where a client device can move along the surveyed area without experiencing connection interruptions by connecting to the different network’s access points.Normally, in a wireless infrastructure, multiple access points are deployed to provide coverage throughout the desired area. Roaming allows moving devices to maintain wireless communication by quickly connecting to new access points within the same network to maintain the quality of communication and prevent degradation of signal strength. This service is called Roaming.To visualize Roaming performance, the Active Survey option should be enabled during a site survey.This option displays in green those areas where Roaming was successfully maintained by keeping devices connected to the wireless network, and in red those non-compliant areas.
6. Reports
Introduction
Once the scans have been completed, detailed reports can be created to present the project’s results. The result reports can be created in three different formats, with three detail levels, depending on to whom the report is intended for.
6.1. Report Types
There are different types of reports, depending on whom the report is intended for, each one with different detail levels.
Report sections and contained information are configured when selecting one of the three report types from the pull-down menu.
These are the configurations that enable or disable the final report sections. If you need a report with more o less detail level, you can manually select or delete sections.
6.1.1. Executive
This type of report includes a summary of the site survey project results.
It briefly explains by means of graphics and tables how the survey has been performed, which access points have been analyzed, and the results obtained after applying Wi-Fi Quality controls that indicate whether the network meets the predefined requirements.
This type of report is oriented to managerial level recipients, and they provide an overview of wireless infrastructure status.
By default, this type of report is only generated in the editable Word format (.docx).
6.1.2. Technical
This type of report is more thorough than the executive report. This report includes the information contained in the Executive report, along with more technical information that has been analyzed during the site survey, sorted by the different study parameters.
Since this report is more thorough and includes detailed information, it is perfect for technical staff, so they can study, analyze, and justify technical elements.
The report provides a large number of heatmaps and plots, intended to visually represent the actual wireless network status, and provide technical details and information.
By default, this report is generated in the editable .docx format, but it can also be generated in KML/KMZ format (Keyhole Markup Language) that is used to represent geographical information, and can be opened using a GIS (Geographic Information System) tool.
6.1.3. Complete
This type of report combines the information included in Executive and Standard reports, and it also contains detailed graphics for every access point and for each one of the site survey parameters.
This report is highly technical and offers a great number of plots for each surveyed wireless network. This is also an extensive type of report, which is useful at the time of evaluating and analyzing each access point individually.
The generated plots included allow visualizing the represented parameters individually, to analyze each access point separately as well as the global plot.
An editable text report is provided, as well as a KML and RAW format reports with all the extended information.
Depending on the dimensions of the surveyed wireless network infrastructure and the number of locations, this type of report may have hundreds of pages.
6.2. Output Formats
6.2.1. Document
This report is generated in a .docx format file, a standard open source file format. These files can be easily opened and edited using several commercial and free office suites.The information contained in this type of reports is sorted by sections, which can be configured from the Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps document manager. The file has the following sections:Section | Description |
Site Survey Summary | This section is an overview of the performed site survey:
In the first place, you can see project and client information, along with other general details, as well as the total number of locations and scans included in the report.
Next, you are presented an overview of the networks detected during the site survey, which contains the following information: ● Column chart showing the number of networks, access points and MAC addresses per location. ● Pie chart showing the percentage of networks per location. NOTE: Only shown if more than one location is included in the project. ● Pie chart showing the percentage of access points per location. NOTE: Only shown if more than one location is included in the project. ● Pie chart showing the percentage of MAC addresses per location. NOTE: Only shown if more than one location is included in the project. ● Column chart showing the number of MAC addresses grouped by channel in the 2.4GHz frequency bandwidth. ● Column chart showing the number of MAC addresses grouped by channel in the 5GHz frequency bandwidth. ● Bar chart showing the number of MAC addresses grouped by maximum data transfer rate. |
Access Point Inventory | This section shows a table listing all the inventoried devices selected for the report. Once inventoried, the devices are show in the report sorted by their inventoried name, allowing access to each device’s characteristics, such as MAC address, SSID, or device manufacturer. NOTE: In case there were no devices inventoried in this section for the selected access points, the section will not be included in the report. |
Networks | This section displays a table with all the information of the selected networks.
For each network, their publishing access point’s MAC addresses, operating channel, frequency, signal strength, and security type are shown. |
Access Points | This section shows the information on the physical access points detected during the site survey that have been selected to be included in the report. For each physical access point (an access point can broadcast multiple networks), a table containing MAC address, publishing SSID, operating channel and frequency is included. If any of these physical access points is detected on Monitor Mode, the number of clients connected to that access point is also shown. |
Location Details | This section is included in the report for each one of the selected locations.
The section provides information such as location name, location description, number of scans included, and associated plan or blueprint, if applicable.
Additionally, it shows the site survey route for this location, both general and per individual scan.
Finally, the positions of all the detected access points for each location are also shown over the map or blueprint, together with a table displaying their characteristics. |
RF Spectrum | Wi-Fi devices can transmit on two different frequency bands, 2.4 GHz and 5GHz, depending on the 802.11 communication standard they use.
Within these bands, Access Points transmit on a certain subset of frequencies. Depending on its configuration and the revision of the 802.11 standard they use, APs can operate with 20, 40, 80 and 160 MHz channels.
This section shows any transmission on the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, either produced by a Wi-Fi device or not.
NOTE: This information is only available when the site survey is performed using a compatible spectrum analyzer. |
Network Details | This section includes all the networks detected that have been detected for each one of the locations. In the first place, the information is shown as a table, based on the access points publishing the network at the location. Next, the information is presented as a table, based on the channel(s) on which the network is being broadcasted at the location. Finally, the positions of all the detected access points for each location are also shown over the map or blueprint, together with a table displaying their characteristics. |
Wi-Fi Quality | A Wi-Fi quality assessment allows the user to visualize actual wireless infrastructure status, providing an overview of the network status based on quality parameters. This section includes a chart for each one of the quality parameters:
You can configure as many Wi-Fi quality profiles as you want to include in the report by clicking on the gear icon next to the desired section. The two profiles that include the following controls are used by default:
● RSSI Coverage ● Simultaneous RSSI Coverage ● Channel Overlapping ● Co-Channel Interference ● Latency ● Bandwidth ● Packet Loss ● AccessPoint Roaming |
Passive Survey | This section includes the following plots resulting from processing the collected data without interacting with the wireless medium: ● RSSI ● Access Point Coverage ● Channel Coverage ● Data Rate ● Cell Density ● Number of Access Points ● Retry Rate ● Channel Overlapping ● Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) ● Detailed Grid You can configure plot parameters such as colors and ranges by clicking on the gear icon next to each section. |
Active Survey | During a capture on active mode, apart from obtaining the wireless medium measurements without interaction with the wireless medium, (Passive Mode), active measurements are perform by connecting to the surveyed wireless network.
Data packets are sent and received to obtain actual latency, bandwidth, packet loss rate, and roaming measurements.
This section includes the following plots resulting from processing the collected measurement values while actively interacting with the wireless medium: ● Bandwidth ● Latency ● Packet Loss ● Access Point Roaming
You can configure graphic
parameters such as colors and ranges by clicGoogle Earth heat mapn ( |
6.2.2. KMZ
The KML/KMZ (Keyhole Markup Language) format is normally used to represent geographical data. You can open these files using GIS (Geographic Information System) visualization tools such as Google Earth.
Section | Description |
Blueprint | The associated plan or blueprint will be included in the location information.
Including a plan or blueprint adds contexts and site situation when visualizing the other plots and information included in the KMZ file. |
Survey Route | Location information includes the routes followed during a site survey scan performed at that location. |
Access Point Position | Location information includes the position of the access points detected in that location.
When clicking on each one of the access points, you will be able to visualize AP information including MAC address, latitude or longitude. |
RF Spectrum | Wi-Fi devices can transmit on two different frequency bands, 2.4 GHz and 5GHz, depending on the 802.11 communication standard they use.
Within these bands, Access Points transmit on a certain subset of frequencies. Depending on its configuration and the revision of the 802.11 standard they use, APs can operate with 20, 40, 80 and 160 MHz channels.
This section shows any transmission on the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, either produced by a Wi-Fi device or not.
NOTE: This information is only available when the site survey is performed using a compatible spectrum analyzer. |
Wi-Fi Quality | A Wi-Fi quality assessment allows the user to visualize actual wireless infrastructure status, providing an overview of the network status based on quality parameters. This section includes a chart for each one of the quality parameters: You can configure as many profiles as you want to include in the report by clicking on the gear icon next to the desired section. The two profiles that include the following controls are used by default: ● RSSI Coverage ● Simultaneous RSSI Coverage ● Channel Overlapping ● Co-Channel Interference ● Latency ● Bandwidth ● Packet Loss ● AccessPoint Roaming |
Passive Survey | This section includes the following plots resulting from processing the collected data without interacting with the wireless medium:
You can configure plot parameters such as colors and ranges by clicking on the gear icon next to each section. ● RSSI ● Access Point Coverage ● Channel Coverage ● Data Rate ● Cell Density ● Number of Access Points ● Retry Rate ● Channel Overlapping ● Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) ● Detailed Grid |
Active Survey | This section includes the following plots resulting from processing the collected measurement values while actively interacting with the wireless medium: You can configure plot parameters such as colors and ranges by clicking on the gear icon next to each section. ● Bandwidth ● Latency ● Packet Loss ● Access Point Roaming |
6.2.3. RAW
A RAW format report is made up of gross measurement data, and it is saved as a Comma-Separated Values (CVS) text file that is arranged in rows and columns.This type of report allows you to export the data for later use on third-party applications.The file comprises the following columns:Column | Description |
Point# | Sequential number that identifies each measurement. |
Latitude | Latitude of the point where the measurement was performed. NOTE: You will only have the coordinates in case the measurements are geopositioned. |
Longitude | Longitude of the point where the measurement was performed.
NOTE: You will only have the coordinates in case the measurements are geopositioned. |
Altitude | Altitude of the point where the measurement was performed. NOTE: You will only have the coordinates in case the measurements are geopositioned. |
Accuracy | GPS precision of the point where the measurement was performed.
Normal GPS accuracy values will rarely fall below 6 meters.
NOTE: Accuracy is only ensure in case the measurements are geopositioned |
Source | The type of point where the measurement was performed. Possible values are: ● Blueprint: The point was measured on a calibrated blueprint. ● Satellite Map: The point was measured on a satellite map, so it is geopositioned. ● GPS: The point was measured using a GPS device. ● Calculated: The point was measured during a site survey performed on Continuous Mode, and Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps calculated its position. |
X | X position en pixels per point.
NOTE: In case of using a calibrated blueprint, only the position on the X axis will be shown. |
Y | Y position in pixels per point. NOTE: In case of using a calibrated blueprint, only the position on the Y axis will be shown. |
LocationID | Unique number that identifies the location where the measurement was performed. |
LocationName | Name of the scan where the measurement was performed. |
ScanID | Unique number that identifies the scan where the measurement was performed. |
ScanName | Name of the scan where the measurement was performed. |
MacAddress | MAC address of the detected access point. |
InventoryName | Name of the inventoried device. NOTE: Only applicable when the inventory has been previously added to the device. |
SSID | Name of the network broadcasted by the access point. |
Vendor | Device manufacturer. This information is extracted from the MAC address. |
RSSI | Surveyed network signal strength. |
SNR | Signal-to-Noise Ratio. Relation between signal strength and noise. NOTE: This value is only obtained when the capture has been performed using an Airpcap card. |
Chan | Channel on which the access point is operating. |
Frequency | Frequency on which the access point is operating. |
ChanWidth | Bandwidth of the channel on which the access point is operating. |
802.11 | Communication standard used by the access point. Possible values are: · 802.11a · 802.11b · 802.11g · 802.11n · 802.11ac · Unknown |
Rates | Transfer rates supported by the access point. |
WEP | WEP encryption type: ● Open ● Shared |
WPA | WPA encryption type. |
WPA2 | WPA2 encryption type. |
WPS | Determines whether the access point supports WPS. |
Type | Informs the type of connection supported by the access point. Possible values are: ● Infrastructure ● Ad-hoc |
PacketCount | Information only available for site surveys performed on Active Mode.
It indicates the number of PING requests to a server for measuring latency in a specific location (defined by the field ‘# Point’). |
PacketsFail | Information only available for site surveys performed on Active Mode. It indicates the number of PING requests to a server for measuring latency in a specific location (defined by the field ‘# Point’). |
LatencyMs | Information only available for site surveys performed on Active Mode.
Indicates average latency measured in a specific location. |
BitsPerSec | Information only available for site surveys performed on Active Mode. Indicates the available bandwidth in this measurement. |
ConnectedAP | Information only available for site surveys performed on Active Mode.
MAC address of the access point to which the scanning wireless card was connected. |
SSIDConnectedTo | Information only available for Active surveys. Name (SSID) of the access point to which connection will be establish. |
Spectrum Frequencies | This information is only available when the site survey is performed using a compatible spectrum analyzer. Each column represents a frequency and the values obtained at that point. |
6.3. Data Selection
To generate a report, you first need to select, among all the collected information, the access points on which the report is generated, as well as the locations and scans that will be included.
To select this information, follow the steps below:
– Select the locations and, from within them, the scans that will be included in the report.
– Select the access points that will be included in the report.
6.4. Additional Configurations
While generating a report, you can also select report language, as well as the destination or output folder for the documents.
You can define the report language among all available languages.
All the generated reports (DOC, KMZ, and CSV formats) are saved to the selected output folder.
NOTE: When generating an editable format report (DOCX), the estimated number of pages of the report will be shown. This information is merely informative, although quite accurate.
In case the generated document is too large, a warning is shown so you can review the report’s configuration and the number of selected elements if necessary.
Generating documents of over 200 is not recommended, since large documents are usually harder to handle, visualize, or print out. In such a case, it is recommended to generate individual reports per network or location.
7. Configurations and Aditional Features
Introduction
Apart from the main features that have been previously described that allow you to perform a complete site survey, Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps has a series of additional features, mostly configuration options, that allow you to establish parameters to modify the software’s behavior.
7.1. Configure
7.1.1. Main
This Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps configuration section contains the general options of the software.– Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps software updates.
– Error corrective actions.
– Wi-Fi device chipset manufacturer (OUI) list updates.
7.1.1.1. Updates
You can enable or disable automatic updates for Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps. If this option is checked, Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps will check for new software versions at startup, and will prompt you if you would like to continue with the update process.
7.1.1.2. Error Reporting
This option allows you to send anonymous error reports.If while using Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps you experience any kind of software error or bug, you are prompt if you want to anonymously send the bug to the Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps software development team so we can identify the cause of the issue to fix it.
7.1.1.3. Update MAC address
This option allows you to manage the wireless device database to identify each device manufacturer by MAC address.
7.1.2. Colors
This Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps configuration section allows you to set the colors for certain parameters, and also allow you to define the names for some elements, such as clients and hidden networks.
– Clients: This refers to the client devices associated with the access points. Both the descriptive text and the color to be displayed can be configured.
NOTE: Client devices can only be detected when the scan is performed on Monitor Mode, by using either a NDIS supported device or an Airpcap card.
– Hidden SSID: An access point can hide the name of the network it is broadcasting. In this case, the software assigns the predefined text and color to that access point.
– SSID exposed from a hidden AP: Through traffic inspection, Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps can infer, in some cases, the name of a hidden network. In such a case, the name of the network is shown instead of “Hidden SSID” in the predefined color.
– WPS: You can define the color for the WPS configuration for an access point.
– Channel: You can define the color for the frequency band the channel is operating on (2.4Ghz or 5Ghz).
7.1.3. Visualization
This Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps configuration section allows you to manage aspects of the user interface.
7.1.3.1. Visualization Controls
Refresh Rate: This option allows you to set the refresh rate for the information that Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps receives on network status.
7.1.3.2. Station Visibility
This option establishes the time after which the access points and its connected client devices will stop being visualized after Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps stops detecting them.This functionality is particularly useful to visualize the access points detected during a site survey in real time; otherwise a complete list is always shown in the access point view.
7.1.3.3. Hints
This option enables context hits that are shown in different sections of Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps.
7.1.4. Plots
This Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps configuration section shows the general options related to the generation of heatmaps and plots resulting from a site survey.
7.1.4.1. Visual Propagation
Diameter: This parameter defines the surveying area for each point in a site survey. This is a confidence parameter: it is considered that beyond the selected diameter, no accurate estimations can be made regarding the parameters to study, such as RSSI, SNR, etc. This parameter limits the area to consider based on the performed measurements, depending if they have been performed in indoor, outdoor, or extensive areas.It is recommended to configure this parameter according to the type of site survey to performed, since indoor locations usually require more measurements, mostly closer to each other, for more accurate results, because, between construction elements, the Wi-Fi signals do not behave the same way: they signal bounces, gets attenuated, etc.
7.1.4.2. Plot Generation
When generating a new plot, the satellite view is centered for a correct visualization of the generated plot.
7.1.4.3. Cell Density Plot
This option specifies the maximum value of devices that will be represented in a device density plot. Available for the plot options.
7.1.4.4. Locate Access Point
Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps can estimate the location of an access point once the site survey is completed.In this section, you can enable or disable access point automatic location after the site survey is completed.
7.1.5. Reports
During the report generation process, plots common to all types of reports are generated.Enabling plot cache implies that, once the plot is generated, this is saved to be later used when required during the report generation process. This reduces the time it takes to generate the reports, since some of the plots do not need to be generated once more. On the other hand, this option function requires more RAM during the report generation process.The time saved greatly depends on the sections selected for the report and the amount of data to be processed.
7.1.6. Active Survey
This Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps configuration section allows you to configure parameters associated to a site survey.For detailed information, refer to the Active Survey help section.
7.1.7. Spectrum
In this configuration section, it is possible to define frequency ranges that will be included in each channel to display the signal obtained with the spectrum analyzer.
7.1.8. Wi-Fi Quality
This Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps configuration section allows you to manage and configure the Wi-Fi network quality control profiles that are available in Wi-Fi Quality the section.
7.1.9. Misc
This Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps configuration section contains allows you to define those additional options that are related to the software behavior under certain situations.
7.1.9.1. Inventory
You can enable or disable the option to replace the MAC addresses by the names that have been assigned to them in the inventory.
7.1.9.2. Main Options
You have the option to hide or show the Quick Star window that appears by default when Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps is started. Additionally, is after performing a measurement that fails to any capture data packets, a warning window appears to indicate that the measurement is void.
7.2. GPS
their signal strength. Under optimal conditions, and if valid coordinates are being correctly fed to the GPS device, these coordinates, along with their accuracy, are displayed at the top of the window.To verify if the data is being received, you can check the Debug Data box.NOTE: In indoor areas, GPS devices are less accurately. NMEA data can be displayed if the debug box is selected, but this data will not contain valid coordinates.For more information on supported devices, please refer to the section on GPS devices.7.3. Inventory
Column | Information Provided |
Mac Address | (Media Access Control Address) Unique identifier assigned to network interfaces that is used as a network address. |
Name | Friendly name given to a device. This name will be displayed in Acrylic Wi-Fi Heatmaps instead of the MAC Address. |
Vendor | Name of the device manufacturer. Non-editable: It is automatically obtained from the MAC address. |
Description | Description of the access point. |
SSID | Network name. |
The available options are shown below:
Menu Item | Function |
Add new | Adds a new entry in the inventory |
Modify | Allows to modify the information of an inventoried element |
Delete | Removes an inventoried element |
Copy to Clipboard | Allows copying inventoried elements information on the clipboard. |
Export to File | Allows exporting inventory content to a .csv file. |
Import to File | Allows to import inventory content from a .csv file |
8. Copyright
Copyright
Acrylic Wi-Fi and Tarlogic are trade names and service names by Tarlogic Security S.L., including its respective logos, are registered in the European Patent Office (OEP), and may be registered in other countries’ patent and trade name offices.
All other trade names are exclusive property of their respective owners.