NetSpot is a software tool for
wireless network
A wireless network is a computer network that uses wireless data connections between network nodes.
Wireless networking is a method by which homes, telecommunications networks and business installations avoid the costly process of introducing c ...
assessment, scanning, and surveys, analyzing
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio wave ...
coverage and performance. It runs on Mac
OS X
macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac computers. Within the market of desktop and lapt ...
10.6+ and
Windows
Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
7, 8 and 10. Netspot supports
802.11n,
802.11a,
802.11b
IEEE 802.11b-1999 or 802.11b is an amendment to the IEEE 802.11 wireless networking specification that extends throughput up to 11 Mbit/s using the same 2.4 GHz band. A related amendment was incorporated into the IEEE 802.11-2007 standard.
...
, and
802.11g
IEEE 802.11g-2003 or 802.11g is an amendment to the IEEE 802.11 specification that operates in the 2.4 GHz microwave band. The standard has extended throughput to up to 54 Mbit/s using the same 20 MHz bandwidth as 802.11b uses to achieve 11 Mbit/ ...
wireless networks and uses the standard Wi-Fi
network adapter and its Airport interface to map radio signal strength and other wireless network parameters, and build reports on that. NetSpot was released in August 2011.
Functions
NetSpot provides all professional
wireless site survey
A wireless site survey, sometimes called an RF (Radio Frequency) site survey or wireless survey, is the process of planning and designing a wireless network, to provide a wireless solution that will deliver the required wireless coverage, data rate ...
features for Wi-Fi and maps coverage of a living area, office space, buildings, etc. It provides visual data to help analyze radio signal leaks, discover noise sources, map channel use, optimize access point locations. Also, the application can perform Wi-Fi network planning: the data that are collected help to select channels and placements for new hotspots. Survey reports can be generated in PDF format.
Usual uses
* Mapping Wi-Fi
* Mapping Wi-Fi signal strength
* Optimizing networks
* Trouble-shooting networks
* Visualizing wireless networks
* Diagnosing signal problems
* Analyzing wireless network coverage
Release history
See also
*
iStumbler – an
open-source
Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open-source model is a decentralized sof ...
utility to find wireless networks and devices in Mac OS X
*
KisMAC
KisMAC is a wireless network discovery tool for Mac OS X. It has a wide range of features, similar to those of Kismet (its Linux/BSD namesake). The program is geared toward network security professionals, and is not as novice-friendly as simil ...
– a wireless network discovery tool for Mac OS X
*
WiFi Explorer
WiFi Explorer is a wireless network scanner tool for macOS that can help users identify channel conflicts, overlapping and network configuration issues that may be affecting the connectivity and performance of Wi-Fi networks.
History
WiFi Explore ...
– a wireless network scanner for Mac OS X
References
External links
* {{Official website, www.netspotapp.com
Site survey