NETSCOUT – Nuthin’ But a G(2) Thang

A few weeks ago at Mobility Field Day 2 I was afforded the opportunity to listen to a presentation from the fine people of NETSCOUT (all capitals because that is how Kendall Hershey told me it should be).  It was somewhat of a reunion for Brennan, Rob, and myself as we had established a relationship with NETSCOUT and their Social Media Manager, Kendall Hershey, at Cisco Live 2016 (shameless blog plug) .  It was great to see her again as well as take a deeper dive into the NETSCOUT product line, especially the AirCheck G2.

Chris Hinsz, NETSCOUT Product Manager, was the main presenter and he gave a nice overview of the NETSCOUT product line, more specifically the beloved AirCheck G2.  Many of us WLAN professionals use the AirCheck G2 at our day jobs and have come to love the simple yet powerful tool.  Chris went on to offer a closer look into what makes the AirCheck G2 so great as well as some lesser known tips and tricks.  Check out the presentation here.

Chris also gave us a quick demo of the Link-Live dashboard.  The Link-Live dashboard is a clean, easy to read area where you can collect the information that your various NETSCOUT tools gather.  I have had the opportunity to use the Link-Live dashboard with my LinkSprinters for some time and I appreciate the simple layout.  I can quickly get the information I need with a quick glance.  The dashboard organizes your tests into a table and allows you to make annotations, as well as create reports from the collected data.  NETSCOUT has definitely spent some time refining the layout making it easy to get the information you need from your test equipment.

I have been drooling over the AirCheck G2 since it was released.  We recently purchased one for work so I have only recently had the opportunity to use it on a regular basis.  I love the features of the G2 especially the touchscreen and well laid out menus.  The testing features are straight forward.  The G2 is hands down the first device we go to when we get called out for wireless issues.  The G2 saves us a significant amount of time troubleshooting.  Before the G2, troubleshooting wireless issues took much longer.  These handheld testers bring you to a solution much faster with the information that they supply.  I personally own the G2’s predecessor, the **Fluke AirCheck.  The original AirCheck is still very useful to me because it is able to extract a Meru/Fortinet/FortiRu AP ID out of a beacon’s information elements.  This makes it very easy for me to identify an AP that is a member of a Virtual Cell (virtual BSSID).  I still love my original AirCheck for this reason, but mostly because Kendall Hershey gave it to me.  I am told that they will look into adding the FortiRu information element to the G2 in the near future.

The AirCheck G2 has been, and continues to be, a staple in the WLAN professional’s bag of tools.  The NETSCOUT product line is built on a solid platform and is sure to deliver for the foreseeable future.  Anyone who uses a G2 will let you know how much it enhances their troubleshooting experience.  Issues that may have previously taken a few hours to figure out are easily diagnosed in a much shorter time period.  NETSCOUT is another one of those companies who I hold near and dear to my heart because they listen to their customers. I am looking forward to what NETSCOUT has coming in the future.

Blogs about the NETSCOUT G2 from my MFD2 peers:

Lee Badman – https://wirednot.wordpress.com/2017/08/06/catching-up-with-netscout-on-their-flagship-wlan-support-tool/

Clear to Send – https://www.cleartosend.net/cts-087-aircheck-g2-w-netscout-mfd2/

**On July 14, 2015, the following products from Fluke Networks were merged with NETSCOUT Systems; Visual TruView™, OptiView® XG, OneTouch™, LinkSprinter™, LinkRunner™, AirMagnet™ and AirCheck™. Fluke Networks continue to retain the DTX CableAnalyzer™, Versiv Cabling Certification System, LinkWare™ Live and Telecom products.