NetAlly's (formerly NetScout) AirCheck G2 gets a facelift with version 4.0 firmware
We learned at Mobility Field Day 4 that NetAlly has been working on version 4.0 of the AirCheck G2 firmware, so here is a quick post on how I upgraded mine. I decided to take the “offline” approach because sometimes you don’t have an Internet connection to get the job done. I know that seems hard to believe, but I once worked at a place where no USB anything, no phones, no cameras, no nothing was allowed through the checkpoint.
So here goes:
Download the AirCheck G2 Manager v3.1.485 software from the support page at NetAlly.com (http://www.netally.com/support/downloads), and install it on a PC. (I installed on Windows without issue)
Note: When you get to the website, scroll down until you see this, and select the Aircheck G2.
When AirCheck G2 is selected, these files will show up: I downloaded all of them into the same folder.
For whatever reason, I could not download the MAC Prefix File, so I scraped it into a Notepad and saved it as a .txt file.
Download AirCheck G2 v4.0 firmware (https://www.netally.com/support/), and save it also. I put mine in the same folder. The firmware is the ACFX file.
Launch the newly installed AirCheck G2 Manager v3.1.485.
Attach your AirCheck G2 unit to your computer using the micro USB cable.
In AirCheck G2 Manager v3.1.485 go to the Device Info screen, select the “Update AirCheck G2 Firmware…” button.
Follow the prompts to upgrade your unit to the v4.0 firmware. The unit reboots and takes several minutes, so do not do this step if you don’t have time to do it.
Next, I uploaded the vendor OUI text file I created. This was extremely simple.
Now I am going to see if everything “added” to the firmware works as described:
1. 802.11ax Visibility: I have an 802.11ax client on the network and I will see if the AirCheck G2 sees it: (and it does)
How did I take that screenshot from my AirCheck G2? This is on page 104 of the manual: (I didn’t know how to do it either)
I used the AirCheck G2 Manager to get the screenshot since I am using the non-link-live way of upgrading my AirCheck G2 today. I simply transferred them to my PC – it was very painless to accomplish.
Identify 802.11ax Networks – Sadly, I do not have an 802.11ax access point to verify this – however I could clearly see my 802.11ax laptop was identified.
2. Combined Utilization View: This option allows the combination of 802.11 utilization and non-802.11 utilization into a single total utilization graph that will include 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax traffic and non-802.11 traffic.
Here is how to get there to make the change: (I made the change back and forth but did not have an environment to see any results)
3. iPerf Test Results Uploaded to Link-Live:
In order to get to the iPerf test function, you first need to connect the G2 to an AP or Network, run a test and when complete, look at the bottom of the screen for “Tests”.
If you use the NetAlly Test accessory, it should show up in the list. If you don’t know what I am referring to, look at this link: https://www.netally.com/products/testaccessory/
I use the WLANPi iPerf server (available here: http://www.wlanpi.com/ and I had to enter in the IP address of my device. I ran the iPerf test just fine, and it did upload to Link-Live, however it did not end up in my inbox like all the other tests I ran. I am not sure if this is because I am using the wlanpi instead of the NetAlly device.
Overall, the new version 4.0 does what it says it does. I would like to see the iPerf end up in my inbox automagically in a future release, or possibly some documentation on how to make it happen.
