NetAlly EtherScope nXG Reviews

I use it regularly for both wired and wireless troubleshooting, performance testing, and verification.

I am a customer and beta tester for NetAlly.

One of the reoccurring things that you will see here is it makes it really easy for me to hand this solution to someone else and get them to provide me consistent results. Often, especially in WiFi, one of the problems which occurs is we have highly specialized tools that take a lot of training and years of experience to optimally use. However, in the case of AirMapper, it's really easy for me to quickly demonstrate to someone, "Here is how you use the program," so they can create a heatmap of an area that I may not be at, whether it's across the city, state, or country. It's easy for me to provide that support. Then, the data is easy to review on Link-Live (almost instantaneously) once they are finished completing that walking survey. The most important feature is that those heatmaps do go to Link-Live and are accessible on Link-Live.

When it comes to that remote troubleshooting perspective of being able to survey an area to see if there are problems, make adjustments, and then have that same individual resurvey that same area, I don't have to send people to a week long class on how to use the device. I know I am getting consistent results, which can verify near real-time, and whether or not the changes that I have implemented solve the problem.

The AutoTest feature has improved the way our company functions. With any large enterprise, you regularly have separation of duties. Your systems teams are generally responsible for your DNS and DHCP services. These are not a network function. In some situations, you might even have a security team who is responsible for managing the back-end services: RADIUS, ClearPass, or ACS, which are the back-end for 802.1x. Sometimes there can be a situation where a user reports, "A wireless problem", but the reality is that the wireless is functioning perfectly. The responsible party might be the systems team, the security team, or it maybe something non-related. Because the AutoTest checks and verifies each of those steps, this provides a clear, very easy to understand, dissected explanation. Then, the device is able to associate and authenticate, completing the four-way handshake, that gets the encryptions working. 

For example, if AutoTest was able to get an IP address, but as soon as it tried to do a DNS lookup, things failed. This is a really easy way of now going to talk to the systems team and saying, "Hey, we have a DNS problem. This isn't a WiFi problem, and it's not a problem in the wireless network. This is a DNS server that's not responding. Let's dig into why". It has clear test procedures that provide very clear, easy to understand results that make it simple for anyone to do some basic troubleshooting. More importantly, they can dive deep quickly into a problem to identify the source rather than just simply relying on a user's experience.

The most valuable feature would be the wireless testing capability. 

The newer features are becoming part of my workflow as well with AirMapper by being able to display coverage in a particular area, e.g., doing small surveys in a particular room or area. 

The ability to remotely troubleshoot: Being able to connect it up from my desk, then do wireless testing (or something along those lines) elsewhere. 

The Ethernet testing and verifying for the network connection makes sure it: 

• Goes into an access point or device.
• Correctly configured. 
• Provides the proper POE
• Has the correct links.
• Verifies that my cable installers are delivering on what they promised.

I know when I run AutoTest what I should expect as far as response times from DHCP and DNS. It allows me to create a consistent test that runs exactly the same way every time. Then, whenever I hand it to someone else who isn't as familiar with all of the individual steps, I know that as long as they're running that AutoTest profile, it's the exact same thing as me being there running the testing. Because those results are consistent, when there are inconsistencies, I can assume that it is network or system related rather than user related.

Link-Live's ability to visualize key performance metrics covers the basics quite well. It provides me enough information so I can go, "Yes, this is a signal problem or an SNR problem." Then, I can take it to the next step, "Okay, it's not a physical layer problem because signal, SNR, and all of those things meet expectations. Or, it points out those areas." I can't say that it provides all of the metrics I need, but at least it provides that quick view so I can look at the basics of the physical RF and verify that those do/don't meet the specifications.

This solution provides visibility into our network that we could only get by using many other tools. While there are other tools that provide the same function, it does a great job of covering the basics of a lot of tools all in a single package. For example, some of the other alternatives out there for testing networks end-to-end will do that perfectly fine, but they don't do heatmapping. Ultimately, it's a single toolbox that my support staff and I need to learn. This is rather than having six different solutions that each do their own thing. It's a single device/solution, where if you learn it and learn it well, you can replicate results from disparate systems.

The test profiles could be improved a bit. It could be better at managing and adding them, but more importantly, switching between different profiles. Some of the results from the tests could go a little deeper - maybe with an expert mode that allows you to review the pcap for any part of the process, such as, an automatic pcap generation. Especially on Link-Live, I would love it if they would make it so that you could see the capture file. For example, if you go to the DCP request portion of that report, then in a second screen, it will show you the capture file in the pcap. I think there is a lot of ability to improve this area.

I would love to see port profiles. This is something I've expressed to them. The ability for a technician to plug it into a switch port, and say, "Okay, this port will be an access point or this port will be a phone and desktop PC," thus choosing a profile. It will then push a configuration to the device it's connected to and verify that the switch port is correctly configured, so I can hand this to a phone tech who doesn't have any access to a network switch to be able to make changes. They can go out and plug this into a port, then they are able to push a profile to the switch port through the device. That would be pretty fantastic as a next step for this device.

Nine months.

I handle maintenance for the devices, which includes:

• Semi-regularly, NetAlly pushes out firmware updates, which are fairly easy to run via Link-Live. 
• Quarterly, checking firmware updates and ensuring that everything is up-to-date.
• The initial setup and configuration of the AutoTest profiles and those components.
  

There are five people who use EtherScope in my company. Their roles include network admin, network engineer, server and system admin, and unified communications admin.

I have not used NetAlly's techincal/customer support for this solution.

Previously, I used some older Fluke devices before going with EtherScope.

I have been really impressed with NetAlly and the way they are advancing the product. Every year, they release a new major revision. Those major revisions are incorporating features that customers have asked for. They are incorporating new capabilities into the existing piece of hardware which expands its capabilities. That is the biggest thing followed by the ease of use for people who I might hand it to.

We have seen ROI in man-hours, time to resolution by shortening the time that systems are down and affecting users, and its ability to find problems before they are experienced by end users (dealing with the problem before it is a problem). 

EtherScope has reduced our troubleshooting times. I think the average person who goes from no tools to this tool would probably see a 20 or 30 percent reduction in time to repair or resolution. I have so many tools, if anything, sometimes it might take me the longer to just decide which tool I want to use. 

The solution has made our networking staff more productive. From the perspective of my junior network admin whom I regularly hand this tool to, it probably saves one or two man-hours a week because of the all-in-one interface. This allows him to troubleshoot wired and wireless quickly.

The learning curve is moderate. I don't think this is a device that you can just simply hand to somebody and say, "Here it is. Use it." I think AirCheck G2 (another one of NetAlly's devices) is that the type of device where I can pretty much hand it to somebody who has never used it before. I can let them play with it for five minutes and maybe answer a question or two, then they are ready to go. I don't think EtherScope is that easy, but I do think that it is easy enough that I can spend 35 or 40 minutes with someone showing them the ins and outs of the device, then they can use it for most of their tasks. While the learning curve is moderate, spending 30 minutes teaching someone how to use this device can save me hours. Therefore, I feel like there is a really good return on the investment of my time in doing the training, because it's not such a complex device that I have to send them off for a week of training just to be able to use it.

For the average network shop, the cost is a bit high. In a lot of organizations, people don't share test devices between teams. Generally, you need a device for the network team and a device for the system team, the security team, etc. While the cost is a little on the high side, that is offset by the regular updates and continued improvements that NetAlly adds to the device. Those improvements continue to increase the perceived value of the device.

I pretty much use all the solutions in one form or another because I do a lot of testing for a bunch of companies. So, I have definitely evaluated a lot of other products.

I also use NetAlley AirCheck G2.

I would tell other engineers to decide what their total testing needs are: 

• To resolve whether or not they need wired and wireless testing? 
• Do they need to be able to test copper and fiber? 
• Do they need to be able to test just pure physical and verify that the cabling is correctly installed? Or, do they need to be able to test Layers 2, 3, and 4, as far as verifying that the network is fully functioning and network services are available? 
• Is the Internet available in their internal servers and external servers? Is it responding?

I would tell them to look at what they need to test, then look at the devices which are capable of running what they need to test. If they find themselves in a situation where they do need to test all of those various things, then I don't think they are going to find a better all-in-one solution than EtherScope.

Would it make sense to hand a EtherScope nXG to a cabling guy? No, it absolutely doesn't. I wouldn't recommend that. However, so many of us perform lots of roles, have to troubleshoot, and test in a lot of different scenarios. In those situations, we do need a tool that is capable of testing all of the various layers, both wired and wireless, and can verify things remotely. EtherScope is a single tool that performs all of these tasks.

I have only tested to 1 gig at this point.

I would rate it a solid eight. I think that there are a lot of places it could be improved, but for the average user, it solves the majority of their problems and concerns.

We are a managed service provider. We provide network as a service to other people. We use this solution to help to diagnose and troubleshoot their networks.

We use it daily. That is our go-to meter for anything abnormal or weird.

It is a game changer for us. It has one meter to validate network changes, troubleshoot connectivity, and detect performance issues. It reduces the amount of things that we have.

It definitely reduces our time onsite, which is killer for us. We used to spend hours looking around for stuff. We would have to pull out three or four different tools. You would kind of have to guess or judge. With the app, it just kind of brings the information to you. Realistically, we have a pretty good idea what the problem is within 15 to 20 minutes of being onsite. It saves us at least 10 times on the onsite troubleshooting time.

The solution is easy to use for less-skilled staff, but with deep diagnostics for experts on our staff. This is super cool because we can send out an entry-level tech into the field to gather that survey data. Our engineer could be in the office and pull that up instantly through NetAlly Link-Live. In almost real-time, we can see what that lower-end tech is doing in the office and team up on it. It is super fast for us.

Our field techs will carry one of these from now on. As we grow and hire more, this will be our meter that we purchase for them.

The speed testing is very cool. It does 10 gig speed testing. It also does full on network mapping. So, it will go out and discover devices on the network from the tester. Those two would be our go-to things. These are generally the two biggest complaints that we get. Clients will say, "Hey, everything's running super slow." Or, they will say, "We have something, but we just don't know what or where it is at."

You can actually program a bunch of tests altogether. When you plug it in, it actually runs all those AutoTests. This is a heavy hitter for us. It can find network problems easily. 

For a handheld tool, it is very functional. We are big fans.

The solution’s AirMapper Site Survey app is extremely easy to use. We give it to the technicians and send them out to go do that function. We hand it to the technician who goes onsite, then they take a photo of the overall area of a floor plan and are able to go do that site survey without almost any instruction from any engineer. So, it is very usable for beginner-type techs.

The AirMapper Site Survey app is very accurate in its ability to gather WiFi site survey data. We have some more expensive site survey equipment, and this solution has been in line with that equipment, i.e., matching the more expensive stuff.

The AirMapper Site Survey app works well to create heat maps in the vendor’s Link-Live Cloud Service. One of our favorite things is to hand that visualization to the client so they can see exactly what we know.

The AirMapper Site Survey app works well when validating changes or troubleshooting problems.

The largest complaint that we get is the battery life on the unit. If you are using it heavily, you get about five hours of usage out of it. In an eight hour day, that is not perfect for us. We would like more battery usage. The battery thing is annoying.

We have been working with NetAlly for about two years. We purchased EtherScope about a year ago.

We have had zero issues.

We have two of them. We have a total of two field techs and one engineer, and the solution will bounce between them, depending on what the problem is that day. We are a small company.

We send it out for Ally Care. NetAlly offers the maintenance for anything that is not just wiping the screen down every now and then.

We have never had to use the tech support.

Previously, we had a bunch of little things that did similar work. We had something that did WiFi heat maps. We could pull out a laptop to do a network scan and have a WiFi scanner analyzer on our phone. Before, we never really had anything that was multipurpose on one tool.

Fluke Networks makes most of our network meters that we own. We have been with them for years, and they have recently changed. Some of their stuff is not available anymore. So, we were just out there looking for something similar. We actually purchased some of NetAlly's competitive equipment that is on the lower-end stuff about two years ago. We have kind of started to fall in love with the NetAlly brand. We have grown into EtherScope, which was just the next step in our evolution.

It was very quick to set up. If we are using it on the field, it turns on in about a minute. It is good to go as soon as that happens.

It took us two months to even want to go grab it. We didn't really go through any of the training processes that they offered. We just bought it because it checked a bunch of boxes. Therefore, for about two months, it just sat in its bag. We might have pulled it out two or three times, until we were like, "Huh, that will work for this."

This solution has provided visibility into our network that we could only get by using many other tools. It allows us to service more clients. I don't know if we have seen cost savings. We have just been able to increase our income. It makes us more money because we can do more jobs in a day. 

We saw value from the product within the first six months.

If we were to purchase separate meters to do similar things, it would be double or triple the cost for us to have each toolkit available. Being a small business, putting that much money on a single truck is not cost-effective. Instead, we could put the analyzer, network heat map, and cable tester all in one meter. That is why we went for it.

We looked at Fluke Networks and a couple other brands. The reason that we went for NetAlly was the price point.

I didn't like its multi-use technology in the beginning. I was like, "Oh, this is way too much." However, we keep finding features that solve things for us. We have really enjoyed it.

The learning curve is minimal. It is an Android-based app. Anybody who is familiar with Android can click on the apps and run through what is there.

It definitely pairs well with its little brother. There is the EtherScope nXG, then there is its little brother for 10 gig testing. I definitely recommend that.

We are a group that tests WiFi routers and interaction between those routers and client devices, such as laptops, etc. We use these NetAlly devices pretty extensively for getting a third-party view of what's going on over the air.

We use it primarily for its WiFi-related features, such as looking at what channels are being used, what other access points are on the air nearby. At times we use it at a customer's location in real-world settings, and at other times we use it in the lab when we're creating our own scenarios.

It helps us confirm what's in the air.

Since we're previous users of this type of product from NetScope and Fluke, I don't have metrics that show where this device has sped up our work, but it is an integral part of how we do our work. One way of saying it is that we have multiple RF chambers and test environments and we've equipped each one of those test locations with it's own NetAlly. We consider it an important enough tool that we have one in every place we're doing a test, so that we have the ability to get a quick view of what's on over the air.

It also provides a faster view of the network than what we could get by using other tools. In terms of our efficiency, our ability to perform tests and debug test environments quickly is enhanced by this device.

Compared to if we didn't have the nXGs at all, and we were troubleshooting a problem that could be identified by the device, it speeds up work by a factor of between two to 10 times. Rather than doing a packet capture and slow analysis, you can just take a look at something and be off and running. It speeds things up greatly.

It has also made our networking staff more productive, although I'm not sure how to quantify that. It's kind of like asking a plumber how long it will take him to do his job if he doesn't have the wrenches he needs.

Compared to any other means of getting a given type information, using this tool provides that information in a fraction of the time. It may be that we would go through an entire week and never use these units. So in that week they wouldn't save us anything at all. But when a problem comes up, the ability to pick it up and get the answer we need in a couple of minutes, versus an hour, makes a big difference at that point in time. You may only need that particular "wrench" 15 times a year, but every time you need it, it really is useful.

One of the key measurements that we use out of the device is the channel utilization measurement, how much traffic is on the air in a given channel. That's the most valuable feature for us. The ability to make a very fast measurement of how much traffic is on the air is a key value. Otherwise we'd have to do a packet capture and do some analysis. It speeds up our testing.

The newer version of NetAlly, the nXG, does a better job than previous models of allowing us to drill into conversations between individual clients and access points and get packet captures.

Its ability to do 802.11ax is also useful.

In addition, the device is easy to use for less skilled staff but with deep diagnostics for our experts on stuff. The graphical approach that it uses makes it very easy to see what's going on over the air and where your potential problems may be. And the graphical interface to pursue a problem is also very easy to use. 

Having said that, we're a fairly highly-specialized group, so I don't know that I have a good answer about less skilled users. What I'm judging by is that everybody in our lab, whether they're WiFi-specific experts or not, can pick it up and use it very easily. But in terms of whether technicians and other other folks could use it, I really don't know since I haven't given it to other users. But the ability to get to the view that you're interested in, and get a number quickly, makes it an easy-to-use test tool, as compared to a spectrum analyzer or a more complex tool. It's definitely an easy to use device, easy to navigate around, and it makes good use of the user interface.

The one thing that it doesn't do well, when it's doing airtime utilization measurements, is that it will classify things as non-802.11, and that isn't correct. What it could do better is make sure that it classifies all traffic that's in the air correctly. That's something that I've complained to them about before. It can infer that you have interference that really isn't there.

Also, the ability to integrate it into automated testing is fairly limited. Part of what we do is automate things whenever we possibly can. The ability to integrate it into automated test environments more readily would be useful.

Finally, while it does support 802.11ax technology, if it were able to give us a bit more information about what's happening in the 802.11ax realm, it would be useful. For example, we can't use this device to determine when something like OFDMA is being used in a conversation between an access point and a client. So more 802.11ax-specific data would be useful.

We have been using this particular device for several months. We bought them last year. We've been users of previous models as well, when it was NetScope, and even back when it was a Fluke device.

The stability is improved over previous versions. It has been fine. No problems with it at all. We got the previous device to "blue screen" a few times but we think that was tied to it's being in the presence of 802.11ax traffic.

If additional features are added that enhance our ability to troubleshoot WiFi problems, then it would get increased use. But we don't know of any such features at this moment in time.

I haven't used NetAlly's customer support in over a year, and that was on the previous model.

They have been very interactive. We've had conversations all the way back to their design engineering teams and that's very valuable: having a company that is active and responsive. We value that.

We originally used the Fluke version of the WiFi analyzer and then we used what I think was called NetScope, the version that was the predecessor of this one. We've been users of this same product line for some time.

The driver for us to switch to the newest version was to pick up the 802.11ax capability.

The learning curve was short. It does behave a little bit differently than the previous version, so we had to unlearn how the previous model worked. But once we understood it, it was easy to remember and use.

I wouldn't say it's completely intuitive. The company provided training for us for certain things and, while it was only an hour's worth of training, it really did help. So you can master it in an hour with a little bit of a tutorial. And to be fair, that tutorial took us through the entire product; all the features beyond WiFi. You could learn to use all the WiFi functions in a half an hour.

We have seen return on our investment. What we thought we were buying was the ability to quickly assess the WiFi environment wherever we needed to. And it does that.

In terms of the cost of the device versus its ability to save you time or solve problems faster, it's a good value.

I don't consider the pricing to be a problem. It's not a cheap device, but it's a very capable device for the money. It's a good value.

My advice would be "use it." Get a demo and try it to see how effective it is at identifying, for WiFi situations, what's going on in the air around you. Try it out, go debug something with it. If you are someone in the business of being in the field, day in and day out, try out all of the interfaces on it. If you're a person who has to debug a variety of different network issues every day — Ethernet, WiFi, fiber — I would definitely encourage you to to try it out. It's very capable. It doesn't do MoCA — that's coax cable — which is important to our market space, but for most network installers, I don't think that would be an issue. If you're a network installer you should definitely have a look at this tool.

I don't know that I've learned the following by using the nXG, but it has certainly helped reinforce it: Being able to attain a third-party look at what your WiFi environment is, is key to troubleshooting problems. Devices themselves that may be a part of your network may not necessarily always be telling you the truth. Your ability to get an independent view of what is going on over the air is key. That's the key takeaway for me. I need a reliable way to get visibility into what's going on over the air so that the analysis and the troubleshooting that are going to be done are appropriate. Visibility of what's really going on from an independent piece of test gear is very critical.

The multi-technology functionality of the device, that it does WiFi and wired Ethernet analysis in one device, is not that important to us. We use the multi-function capability maybe 10 percent of the time. Since most of our focus is on WiFi, while it's convenient to have the ability to test other things, we don't use it that often.

We rarely use the pre-programmed AutoTest feature. We typically have our own test protocol for how we want to conduct a test. I can definitely see how AutoTest could be very useful in the field-deployment arena. But we don't use it all that much. It appears to be effective at being able to find top-level network problems. A good example would be if you are testing a device and the WiFi appears to be working but you aren't getting connectivity to the internet. You might want an independent test of that with another device, and that's where AutoTest could quickly determine if you are really getting out to the internet through your router or not.

Within our group, the maintenance and systems engineering group, there are 11 of us using this solution and we are all test engineers. In terms of maintenance, we just use them. We perform firmware upgrades as they are available, but beyond that there is no other maintenance.

This product is a 10 out of 10. It's a solid little product.

I'm a wireless engineer. I do both troubleshooting and design. I use NetAlly EtherScope nXG mainly as a troubleshooting device, and I also use it to collect data so that when I do my designs, I have all of the data that I need.

One of the great things about it is that it is a small and portable device. We're based in London, and we had a customer in New York. We were finding it really difficult to troubleshoot a problem remotely even though we had cloud-based controllers and other things for wireless. It was an intermittent problem that was difficult for us to replicate. So, I ended up sending the device to the customer. They were able to set it up and plug it in. Because it can charge over PoE, they were able to just leave it there, and then effectively, I could log into that device through Link-Live. I could run all the tests that I needed to run. I could have the AutoTest running for 24 hours, and then I could look at that data. We figured out what the problem was. I was able to do remote packet captures and other things. We were able to fix the problem, and they just shipped the unit back to us. That was obviously much cheaper than me flying over to New York for two weeks. I could carry on with the work that I was booked into day to day, but I was also able to log in and look at things over there. It was really useful to be able to just send that device and get that fixed. It has basically enabled me to be in two places at once, which is invaluable. There aren't a lot of wireless engineers. So, the fact that I can be both in New York and in London at the same time is the value that we are getting from it.

It is easy to use for less skilled staff but has deep diagnostics for experts on staff. I told the customer at the New York site to just walk around with it and let it do everything it needs to do because I'm connected via wireless. After walking around, they said that this is a problem area, and then effectively, I could just run the device. For something simple, I could get them to click on something, but if I wanted to run more of a test, I could just remotely use the device. I told them, "Stick this in the middle somewhere and make sure it has got PoE power. I can run everything I need to run. Don't worry about it, and when I've got everything I need, just ship it back to me."

Its multi-technology functionality when it comes to validating network changes, troubleshooting connectivity, and detecting performance issues is very helpful. A lot of the time, it is proving that it isn't a Wi-Fi problem. The nice thing about having a product that has all of it in there is that I can test not just the wireless; I can also test up the stack. If everything looks good from the wireless side, I can then start to troubleshoot up the stack. No other product that I have gives me that flexibility.

I create my own tests. The test is different for each site depending on what I am troubleshooting or what applications they're using. To be able to just leave something and collect data over time is really valuable.

I have made use of its full line-rate 10 Gig capability. Because I've two nXGs, I can use the LANBERT tester as well. I've done that a few times where customers have got pre-existing cabling, and they said that they will have to completely rip out the cabling to be able to go with the new 6 GHz APs and things like that. In such cases, I've been able to just test that cabling and tell them that this cabling will be absolutely fine. There is no need to rip it out, which obviously makes the customer quite happy because it means that they don't have an additional cost of re-cabling everything.

It is a handheld tool, which makes it easy to use, and you do use it. Some of the other tools that we have are great tools, but because they're cumbersome and they require you to put lots of things in and have lots of extra things attached to them, you only use them if you absolutely have to, whereas you can use this tool every time because it is portable and easy.

The AirMapper Site Survey app is brilliant at gathering WiFi site survey data, and the Link-Live service that you have afterward is the crown jewel of it. You can easily share that with customers. All that data is readily available on any platform, which is really good. I can use an iPad, I can use a Mac, or I can use a Windows device. It doesn't matter.

The Link-Live part of the whole system is very good. You can build up reports. You can create heat maps, and you can have all that other data in there as well. You can have raw test data, and you can have your discovery data. It is all there in one place, and then you can easily share that with customers. It is very good in terms of the ability to visualize key performance metrics. It has got everything we need, and it is clear for customers too.

It impacts our ability to validate changes or troubleshoot problems. I use it for both. It has the data, and I can also see the before and after. I can go onsite really easily and collect that data. I can then make changes based on the recommendations and then go back to the site and see the difference between how it was before and how it is afterward. Being able to display that and easily show that to the customer is a great thing, and I'm not printing off 100-page reports. I can just send a link.

It has provided visibility into the network that we could only get by using many other tools. It has both the wireless and the wired in one device, and that's the thing that separates it from anything else on the market. You get some really good wired devices. You get some really good wireless-only devices. This is the only one that I've come across that has not just both of them but also a lot of detail and a lot of expertise in both of those areas. It has affected the efficiency and cost of our network troubleshooting massively. I didn't have to fly to New York for two weeks. It is helpful for the remote support that we can offer to customers. It is so much easier for us to send that device than it is for us to send a Level 3 or Level 4 engineer.

It has reduced the troubleshooting time. Now, I can walk onto the site and within a couple of minutes, I'm able to determine if this is a wireless problem or a wired problem. I still have everything I need to fix that problem, whereas previously, I would either have to take a lot of equipment with me, which is expensive and a hassle, or I would turn up thinking it is a wireless problem and not have the other equipment with me, and then I would have to come back another day or book in another session. I don't have the actual number of time saved, but I wouldn't go anywhere without this equipment now.

The things that I find most valuable are the Wi-Fi app and the Discovery app. Those two things help a lot when I'm doing the initial discovery of a space. I also use the AutoTest feature quite a lot, especially if I'm troubleshooting.

It is one of the best solutions for finding network problems quickly. The Discovery app that I use as I'm walking around the site picks up loads of things such as retries, APs that are using wrong channels, APs that are moving channels regularly because of DSS events, etc. That's one of the best features that I use the most.

We should be able to do online wireless design through Link-Live. We should be able to take the information that we've gathered and send a customer the way to fix it, in terms of moving APs and how that would affect things, within Link-Live.

The ease of use of AirMapper could do with some improvements. I don't use the AirMapper Site Survey app a lot. I have used it recently with the new 6 GHz device because effectively, it is the only device I have that can do that. For most of my site surveys, I use a different tool. AirMapper is very quick and easy once everything is on there, but I would like to see an improvement on how you get things on there. Currently, rather than being able to build up buildings or a site of things, every map is an individual piece. We should be able to set up an AirMapper survey easily and more effectively. At the moment, we just have separate floor plans. It'd be great to be able to build a building and tell where different floors are so that if it hears an AP on the floor below, it doesn't put two APs, one on that floor and one on the other floor, and it knows that there are two floors here. One is on top of the other, and it won't put the AP at both places. It would put it on one of the floors where it would be strongest. This would be one of the biggest improvements.

I've got two of these. I've been using them for about three years. I'm currently using the 6 GHz model.

It is very stable and reliable. I've never had a crash, and I've never had it not collect data. It has always been rock solid.

I've never had to use their support. Their documentation is good, but the main place I've gone to find out how to do things has been YouTube. When there is a new feature, or there is a webinar that's being recorded, I can just watch that back on YouTube.

I've added the NetAlly solution to what I already had. It is not replacing these, but it is better than the tools that I still take with me. I'm a wireless engineer rather than a wired engineer, and I didn't have any Fluke or Netscout products previously. I don't have a wired networking tester. I do have Ekahau, and I still use that. With NetAlly, I've now got additional capability that I didn't have previously. I used to have a separate device for doing packet captures, which effectively is just my laptop with USB wireless cards plugged into it, and now, I don't use that. I just use EtherScope nXG.

In terms of the return on investment, when you use it onsite once or twice, it has already paid for itself. I've said to people that it makes your life so much easier when you're onsite, especially if you're troubleshooting, that it doesn't make sense to not pay for it.

The main benefit is that it just saves time. It saves time on the site. Because it is a handheld device and I can walk around with it, I don't have to walk around with my laptop everywhere. My site visits now are 50% of what they were previously because I'm able to gather that data at the same time. I'm not having to go back and use different tools or take lots of different things to do it. This one tool allows me to do it all in one go or one sweep of the building. A site survey that might've taken two days can be done in a day now. It takes me less time, and I can charge more per day. It also means that on the second day that I would've been there, I can be on another site, effectively earning money twice.

It is worth it. The cost benefit of Link-Live is massive because it is included with the cost of the device and the licensing. A lot of people miss that part of it. It is not just the device that you get but it is the ability to look at all of that data later on. You're not having to do all of that on the device. You can just be there, use the device, and then look at the data from the comfort of your office or home afterward.

I am currently the only user of this equipment, and I also take care of its maintenance. I've planned an internal demo of the equipment for some of the other engineers in the company. Some of our NOC engineers and some of our wired engineers could really use something like this.

It is relatively easy to learn. There are a lot of videos and other resources that you can check out. A lot of the content is pretty intuitive. The only issue is that because there is so much there, people might feel that they don't really understand where to start with this. However, if people have a particular problem they're trying to solve, they will be able to figure out how to solve that because it has everything they need. There is just so much in there that when people first start out, they won't necessarily know where to go to check something out, but most people who are buying this type of solution would be savvy enough to open everything, figure out where everything is, and then go with it. I certainly had no problem.

I would rate it a nine out of ten.

I use it for WiFi troubleshooting, network validation, and cabling validation.

It provides visibility into networks that you could only get by using many other tools. It saves time and that helps with costs.

The nXG also reduces troubleshooting time. Most regular things that would take 10 to 15 minutes can be done in a minute.

The most valuable features are the WiFi troubleshooting, network validation, and cabling validation, and the fact that it's an all-in-one tool. You don't have to carry different tools. The multi-technology functionality and its ability to do WiFi and wired Ethernet analysis in one device are the best aspects.

Also, the pre-programmed AutoTest feature is good. It checks where it's supposed to. The basic functionality that it comes with, the checkpoints and the parameters it checks against, those are all good. I like it.

I also use the solution’s full line-rate 10 Gb capability. It works great. It's very easy.

And the AirMapper Site Survey app is good for visualizing key performance metrics. It works well for validating changes. If we are making a change on the grid at a specific point, it works well.

It's easy enough for people without skills to use, and it does provide other tools for people who are more expert. It saves a lot of time.

For troubleshooting, the pre-programmed AutoTest feature is not as intuitive as it could be because there are different windows.

The user interface could be a little bit more streamlined, a little bit easier. Sometimes it's hard to find a specific thing that you're looking for. 

In terms of hardware-based improvement, the battery would be the biggest issue. The battery goes out very quickly.

It would be nice to be able to use the device to test from the device and do a hyper-wireless to wired, while using the same device. You would plug it in on one side of the device and then use a wireless to run a throughput test of the wireless without needing a separate device. That would be great. 

Finally, the AirMapper Site Survey for wireless surveys still needs a lot of work. It's not as intuitive as it could be and it can only take readings one at a time. It doesn't do continuous surveying. It's okay at gathering WiFi site survey data, but it could be better. It's stop-and-go.

I have been using NetAlly EtherScope nXG for a little less than a year. I use the tool most in our company but there are three people that I trust the tool with. I handle the maintenance of the tool, in my role as network engineer.

I haven't used the technical support. I wanted to, one day, but it wasn't easy to find who to call. I normally like to call to open a ticket. It wasn't as intuitive as I would have liked. I went to their website and I searched for "support." I was hoping to get a phone number I could call. 

I know we bought support for this product and I don't know when it expires. A portal, or something like that, would be a nice way to know what your support status is. Also, a portal where you could open a ticket would be nice.

I used the Fluke in the past, but the interface was horrible. It was hard to navigate so I mostly used a computer to access network devices to figure stuff out. Obviously, I used cable finders and cable tracers, but I really didn't use anything like this.

The learning curve is a little steep in the beginning. I wish there were more videos showing how to use it. The videos that are out there are very entry-level, very broad and light. It would be nice to have additional video content, besides the documentation, although the documentation is good.

The cost of the tool versus its ability to save time or solve problems faster depends on the client. For most clients, it probably doesn't justify the cost if they're not too big or they don't have the need for it. A cost of $9,000 is hard to justify. But if you have heavy usage and find yourself trying to troubleshoot something over and over again, it's worth the cost. You have to have that level of use. It's not for the average, medium-sized company. You would need this for a larger enterprise. It's not easy to justify the cost for most smaller companies. If your company has more than 500 people then it would make sense.

For me, the ROI has been slow. It grows with time. It would grow a lot faster if we had many and many people who could use it. But when there's only one person using it, it's a very expensive tool. I'm not always the one who does the testing, so a lot of people end up doing testing without the tool. It's not a tool that I just give out and send everywhere, again because of the cost. If it were a less expensive tool and we had several of them, it would be easier because everybody would be using it. It would be a part of the toolbox that we would give out to everybody.

It's very expensive. I wish I could buy a few more and give them to all the people who could use it, or perhaps send it to a client, given that some of its features are easy to use. But sending something worth $8,000 or $9,000 is nerve-racking. It would be nice that if it were a lot less expensive.

It is quite a delicate tool. And for $9,000, I wish they included a nice pouch to protect it; something to carry it. The Ekahau Sidekick is an expensive tool but it comes with something to carry it on your shoulder. This one is easy to drop and it's $9,000. So you have to be super-careful as well.

NetAlly's marketing was good. I knew about them, knew what they were doing, so I didn't look further, past them. I always had it in my sights. When I bought it, it was them and nobody else, to be honest.

I've been using it quite often, several times a week; sometimes more, sometimes less, depending on what's happening.

I currently work as an Enterprise and Data Center Network Consultant. Because of that I’m in a wide variety of customer environments that change constantly. The flexibility of the nXG allows me to keep it with me, no matter where I am and know I have the resource to perform wired, copper or fiber, and wireless network testing. This flexibility allows me to have instill my customers with confidence after an install that their network services are available and functioning as expected.

As a consultant, one of my primary jobs when designing and deploying network infrastructure is determining a test plan that will be utilized to verify network services and resources are available once work is complete. The nXG provides a versatile testing platform for a variety of media and gives a user the ability to pre-define test conditions. Once defined I can attach the Etherscope to the network and run my tests to confirm a successful installation, or to identify problems within the infrastructure that need to be remedied. With this ability to run test plans efficiently I'm able to proactively improve the Quality of Experience an end-user will have before they even know a new solution is in place.

Given the fact that my job is variable by nature — I'm always with different customers, I'm always in different environments — the ability to carry a single, small, handheld unit that can provide all of this testing, troubleshooting and analysis capability is a game changer. With previous iterations of the NetAlly products, many of these great features were present, but they weren't as flexible - one may not be able to test wireless, or, perform 10 Gigabit testing - and there were times I would end up at a customer site with the wrong tester in my bag and have to find another solution, or waste time retrieving one of my other testers. Now, it's all in a single unit. I never have to worry that the unit I'm carrying won't have the feature set I need that day. I'm able to demonstrate to my customers how much value can be added by simply pulling a tool out of my backpack, plugging it into the network, and analyzing the problem. As an engineers I can then verify the problem and fix it in one fell swoop. I'm able to eliminate a lot of the intermediary work that would have been present had I not had an all-in-one tester.

While I haven't kept logs of when I use the product, how often, and how much time it has saved me, I would estimate that in troubleshooting and testing situations I have increased my efficiency by roughly 50% with the addition of the Etherscope nXG to my tool set. 

I don't think I can really hone in on a specific feature that has made this product valuable to me. Its unique combination of testing, analysis and troubleshooting tools packaged into a single unit in a reliable, efficient and aesthetically pleasing platform has been fantastic. The ability to perform packet captures, traffic analysis, iPerf testing and more in the palm of my hand has contributed to a wildly successful product and contributed to my ability to drive customer satisfaction in a big way. 

The multi-technology functionality of the solution (ie. the fact that it does WiFi and wired Ethernet analysis up to 10GB speeds in one device) has really been a huge improvement in the NetAlly products. Previously, while some of the older generations I worked with had those capabilities, they could only do a little bit of wireless or a little bit of wired, but they couldn't really do the whole spectrum together. This product has allowed me to slip one conveniently sized utility into my bag wherever I'm going and know that, right there in my bag, I have the resources to do any of fiber, wired Ethernet, or wireless testing, without having to dig into a bag if I need to change technologies or for adapters or for a different test. It's all one, convenient, centralized unit.

I use the pre-programmed AutoTest feature as a starting point and, overall, it is a very successful utility. It provides a wealth of information to the user. AutoTest isn't just a, "Is your network good to go or is it not?", type utility. The software will analyze the network conditions and provide valuable output to the user to aid in identifying network issues. It will also provide you a detailed readout on how the various test were performed, what step a tes failed out and what caused the failure. For example, if it had to wait too long for a DHCP address to be assigned, or if it couldn't reach a destination, it will provide that output as well. AutoTest provides a large amount of information for quite a few test parameters in one convenient dashboard. It also has the ability to upload those results to NetAlly's Link-Live Cloud Service. That has been invaluable for sharing results among my team members and analyzing results after the fact.

I also make use of the solution's full line-rate 10 gigabit capability very frequently. I have customers who have 10 gigabit or higher infrastructure in their organizations and, whether we have to do speed testing on those units or we simply need to connect to a port that is a 10 gigabit line rate port and determine information about it, having this small unit is wonderful. While NetAlly's OneTouch could handle 10 gigabit, it was roughly the size of a large book. It was pretty difficult to carry around conveniently or break out in the event that I needed to utilize it.

As a handheld tool, the functionality is incredible. I'm always working with one technology or another, but it's all focused around networking. This single unit can provide me the troubleshooting and analysis capabilities of five or six tools that I would've had to carry before and it fits in my backpack. I can carry it with me all the time, charge it very easily via USB-C and immediately have it available and ready to use in a customer environment. 

In addition, the solution is easy to use for less skilled staff, but has deep diagnostics for experts. Many times when I'm onsite, I'll hand my tester to someone who may be a manager or on maintenance staff in that department. I'll send them to a closet to test the cable for me when I'm on the other end looking at a console or other readout, so that I can see the results and what's happening. They're very easily able to plug in the device, hit AutoTest on the screen and press start. It's as easy as that.

There are a variety of tools out there for things like packet capture and speed rate testing. But having them all in the single unit is invaluable. You're able to walk up to a device, plug it in, and, if you need to take a packet capture for troubleshooting, it's right there, built into the device. If you need to do a speed test, it's built in. Whereas before, you'd have to have dedicated applications, pull out a laptop, make sure you had the right thing installed and, if not, go install it, and then perform the testing.

I've really had some positive experience with this product. But eventually, and I know it's not something that can be built directly into this product, I would like to see NetAlly provide a device, even if it's larger or more expensive, that can test the higher rate speeds like, 40 or 100 gigabits per second.

The only improvement I can come up with is the battery life. If they could improve the battery life, that would be great.

I've used NetAlly products for several years. The Etherscope nXG in particular I've been using since its launch in October 2019. 

I've never had an issue with its stability.

I have not had to interact with their technical support, which I think shows a lot, since I use it pretty regularly.

I've always used NetAlly solutions: I've used their OneTouch device, as well as their OneTouch G2, OneTouch AT, and LinkSprinters. I'm pretty sure I've used every physical product that NetAlly provides.

I have definitely seen return on my investment with this solution.

To me, it's invaluable. Time-saving, when I'm working with such a wide variety of customers and going from site to site, is one of the most important things that can be improved in my position. Having this tester, the ability to utilize it for quick troubleshooting while I'm on-the-fly, keeping it with me all the times when I'm traveling between customer sites, has been something that I wouldn't place a price point on.

If you're on the fence reach out to your regional account representative within NetAlly and request a demo of the product before anything else. It is a solid enough product that seeing it in use, even within a NetAlly demo, makes it very clear to many customers and many technical decision-makers how valuable a product like this can be in an organization. Its value is very easily shown and very easily understood by a wide variety of people. Requesting that demo and looking at it before purchasing is always a great step, but it will definitely reinforce the decision to do so.

Also, read the documentation. If there's something that you don't understand, or the output of a test looks unclear, or it's something that you haven't seen before, look at the documentation before anything else. Within the manual they very clearly detail all the potential test results, what they mean, and what implications they have. The fact that the manual is available right on the device in a PDF reader is great.

In addition, make sure to look at the app store that's available on the device. It's curated by NetAlly and it has tools that are vetted and specific for troubleshooting and analyzing networks. That app store has a wealth of applications that can be used in addition to what NetAlly has already built.

I would rate the EtherScope nXG at nine out of 10, because there is always room for new features and improvement in any product. That being said, NetAlly has built an incredibly stable product that provides a large amount of value to anyone using it.

My primary concern was wireless networking troubleshooting capabilities.

EtherScope has made our networking staff more productive. We have remote locations and can use the tools to collaborate. I have other people looking at it at the same time that I am looking at it. With the uploading ability, I can have more eyes on the project at the same time, instead of just one set of eyes.

I may have to go into a situation that I don't know. By plugging the solution in, I can get a footprint of what that facility is doing or has, without having documentation. I can see how many potential clients that I have, how many are in line with what we have set up, and how many are not seeing what is on the various networks. Also, I can find misaligned or unprepared equipment that is on the network. As a project technician, when I use the solution, I am looking for something specific, such as the number of devices on the network and the number of devices connected through the wireless networks.

The most valuable features are: 

• Its network troubleshooting capabilities. 
• The applications available to you where you don't have to switch tools or devices. 
• Running Pings, testing network configurations, and connectivity.
• Heatmapping.
• Seeing the wireless interfaces that are running.

I like the multi-technology functionality of the solution. It has helped me cut down on troubleshooting time because I don't have to switch between tools. It has also advanced my knowledge in some areas that I wasn't as familiar with.

I use the pre-programmed AutoTest feature. However, I am still learning all its capabilities. When we purchased it, I had certain things in mind that I wanted to test. As I am learning the tool, it provides the feasibility of just being able to document and have other people take a look at the configuration. So, our time is cut in half from the field to our NOC.

One of the things that I like about it is that I can have people train other people on it. Even though I am not familiar with all of the tools, I have been able to train them so they can use it in the field when needed.

The training aspect needs improvement. They provide training, but if I am looking for something specific, then I have to sit through about an hour of training to learn about something that I may not have time to do. So, I probably have 40 hours of training for something that was five minutes of use.

From the demo, they show you a great deal of what the tool does. To actually learn how to do it, you probably have a learning curve that depends on what other tools you have used in the industry. That could go from 45 minutes to 4 hours just to learn how to use one of the applications.

For all its flexibility, make sure that you are prepared to spend the training time. While the training is available, it is just making sure that the person who will be working on it has the time available to train on it.

I am still learning the tool. The main reason that I purchased it was for the wireless troubleshooting capabilities and heatmapping. Those took me probably about six hours to properly learn everything that could be done with them, and I probably still don't know everything that can be done with them.

For my usage, I thought the training would be maybe an hour, but I ended up having to spend an additional four to eight hours just to make sure I could adequately translate the data. So, using the tool was not that difficult, but translating the data is where there is a breakdown in what you are demonstrated and what you can actually do.

I have been using it for a year.

I love the solution's stability. 

I handle the device's maintenance. I make sure that everything is downloaded when I see a pop up that I have something new available.

We have seen ROI. It reduced the number of tools and the amount of software that I had downloaded onto my computer to gather the same amount of data. The portability of the tool has allowed me to cut down my time.

It cuts down on time by reducing my troubleshooting tools. There is simplicity in not having to carry five or six different sets of tools to do the same thing that you can do with NetAlly. For example, when I go into a building, I can plug into the E-port and get probably about an hour and a half to two hours of time per day when I use it. Therefore, it has probably cut my time down from three and a half hours to an hour.

The pricing was a little bit high, but I understand that when you are getting multiple tools.

There are three people using EtherScope and 10 people who review the data. Right now, I am primarily using it three times a week, but there are other sites that I want to get taken care of. I have recommended that we purchase two more devices since we have three technicians in the field.

I would rate EtherScope as nine out of 10.

Our company is an IT integrator and we have a lot of work on different kinds of IP networks. We deploy networks, we troubleshoot them, and we optimize them. The EtherScope is very useful in our day-to-day activities when we are onsite too, for example, to check the network drop, which port is on the switch, and to see all the details about the switch.

We also use it to test cables for any kind of damage. It tests all eight wires in the internet cable. It has a small dongle that you can put on the other side of the cable and know the exact length and condition of the cable.

We also use it for testing high bandwidth links, such as 10 Gb fiber links between different buildings, or even different sites. We can use the EtherScope to run a speed test to see what the max capacity is that we can achieve on the fiber.

It helps us to be faster. It definitely improves our workflow because it helps to identify the details that we need from the network pretty quickly, and that saves time. It's definitely a good and valuable asset for our company.

Also, the EtherScope can replace multiple tools. With one tool we can get a lot of insights, from different angles, into the network. The level of detail, from such a simple-to-use tool, is hard to achieve with other such products. There is software on the market, but it's much more sophisticated for getting the same results and details. The benefit is that it's just one tool. The cost is not cheap but it totally pays for itself because it can do so much. For an IT integrator or IT consultancy, it is a must-have tool for troubleshooting customer networks.

In some cases, it has significantly reduced troubleshooting time; we can find the issue faster than before. The reduction in troubleshooting time depends on the issue, but if a user reports, for example, that he has intermittent connectivity on WiFi, this tool can reduce troubleshooting time by half.

It has made our networking staff more productive. We don't use the tool every day because we don't have that many customer issues. This tool is primarily for troubleshooting issues, and we have a lot of other activities besides troubleshooting. I would approximate that it has halved the time we normally require, giving our staff that much more time for other things.

The most valuable feature is the ability to identify the switch port ID, when you plug the EtherScope into the network drop, and many other details about the switch. This is very useful because when you are not in that IDF or network closet but far away from that switch, you can identify the port and then configure it for your needs remotely. It is very useful to know exactly which port and what exactly the switch is. EtherScope can tell if there are network connectivity and access to the Internet along with the info about the switch. That's the most frequently used and the most valuable feature for us.

Another very useful feature is the WiFi analysis. The EtherScope helps us to see if there is any interference in the wireless and it shows radio channels capacity and current utilization with the number of connected clients on those channels. It shows the channelization (width of the band)of both 2.4 and 5 GHz Wi-Fi bands. It is extremely useful for on-spot WiFi analysis and identifying problems in that area.

The multi-technology functionality of the solution, the fact that it does WiFi and wired Ethernet analysis in one device, is also very useful. This combination of different technologies in one device is very handy when you need to do some troubleshooting on site when there is a problem with the network and you don't know where to start. You can test both wired and wireless connections and identify the issue pretty quickly.

We use the pre-programmed AutoTest feature all the time for both wired and wireless. It has all kinds of possible tests in one test that is run automatically. It's very handy to see the results on different layers of the network.

As I mentioned, we use the full line-rate 10 Gb capability to test the fiber speed, the connection between the server and the distribution panel. We run the re-installed application, installed inside the EtherScope. We can run data between the EtherScope and the server and this shows the true throughput that can be achieved, and it can be fiber or Cat 6 cable. It has very rich functionality and its compact size adds a lot of value because it's very convenient to carry it and use it. 

The fact that it is battery operated is also very good.

The tool can be used by anyone with basic technical knowledge. That person can capture all the information. Another great capability of the EtherScope is that it allows you to upload the results to the cloud at the time the test was done, and then, someone with better expertise can access those results and provide analysis. But to use it, you don't need to be technically educated. It's easy to use.

The battery life is a little bit too short.

Also, there are some inconsistencies in how it uploads the test results to the cloud, but it might just need a minor improvement on the software side. When you don't have an internet connection on the EtherScope when you do the testing, it saves the results into memory. When it has an internet connection, it uploads those results, but it doesn't work all the time. Sometimes, you need to manually push it.

I have been using NetAlly EtherScope nXG for around one year.

I'm pretty impressed, it is pretty stable. I haven't seen any sudden shutdown or any kind of serious bugs. It works fine.

Their technical support is excellent. I've had some support requests and the response time was good and my issues were resolved.

We do have JDSU Cable Certifier. It's two big boxes and they're very expensive. We can test any type of cable with them, meaning copper or fibre, and it certifies that the connections on both ends of the cable are ready for data. It also measures the speed of the connection. 

But now, we use EtherScope most of the time to test the cable and the connection. The Cable Certifiers are used only when we run the cable, but not as much when we want to see if the cable is good and what its speed is.

There is another tool that we have from Ekahau called Sidekick. It's a device for wireless troubleshooting and wireless mapping. It's actually a very advanced tool and we use it a lot. But the EtherScope has part of its functionality and the EtherScope is much easier to use. Also, the time it takes to use it is much shorter. You just turn on the EtherScope and walk around, versus the Ekahau where you need to prepare the project. So the EtherScope saves time on wireless troubleshooting. If it is not a case of wireless mapping, we definitely use the EtherScope and not the Ekahau.

The solution is pretty easy to use and it has a good "how-to" manual with it. The learning curve is pretty short with this tool. It took me two or three hours to get to know it. This was the combined amount of time, because when you need, for example, to test the network drop, you don't need to go over all the features of the tool. So we learned it step by step, as we needed the functionality.

We have five people using this tool. It depends on what project needs it, but they are mainly system network engineers and technicians. The usage is based on the incoming support requests. It is used about three days a week, on average.

There is not that much maintenance for the device. I will update it from time to time if there is an update in the settings available for the server or operating system. But other than that, there is not that much maintenance on this tool.

We have definitely seen return on investment in terms of the time that we spend onsite and reduction in the amount we have to pay our workers as a result of that reduced time onsite.

There isn't any license. The pricing is not bad. It's moderate, but the tool is worth the price.

We looked at one other tool. I'm not sure if it was from Fluke Networks, but EtherScope is the only tool on the market with such rich functionality. We picked it pretty quickly.

It's a great tool for network troubleshooting. It's an awesome tool.

The biggest lesson I have learned from using this solution is that this is the tool to discover the issue. It's not that it helps to find something new but there are ways to discover the network details in a very efficient way and that's what EtherScope nXG offers.