What advice do you have for others considering NetAlly EtherScope nXG?

Overall, I would rate NetAlly EtherScope nXG as an eight out of ten. It's a robust solution with great features, though there's room for enhancement in certain areas like the Microverse dashboard.

You need to pay an annual maintenance fee for the maintenance provided by the vendor. I recommend that users go through the online training on YouTube that NetAlly provides to get the product's full potential. Overall, I rate NetAlly EtherScope nXG a nine out of ten for the additional features you can add because it is an Android device.

I rate NetAlly EtherScope nXG nine out of 10. It has all the tools in one product. I used to carry multiple devices, but now I only have two. I recommend EtherScope if you have several networking tools that are reaching the end of their usability and you have money to invest. It's worth its weight in gold.

The biggest lesson I have learned with the EtherScope 300 is that there are a lot of security holes within your network that you don't know about. A firewall won't be able to solve that for you and endpoint protection won't be able to solve it for you. You need a more active scanning device. You need a device with the ability to locate devices that shouldn't be there. This is the device for you, and your security posture will thank you. The most dangerous attack in the world is an in-person, in-device attack, which would devastate a company. This device helps mitigate that issue. The only advice I would have is "Go nuts with this device." I can't figure out how to break it, and I have clicked on every single little thing. Have a blast. Be careful with the scanning features, as some companies don't allow you to scan their network. Other than that, go wild with this device, learn everything about it, and you will not be disappointed. I would give it a solid 10 out of 10. The device has not failed me. The security posture for our company has increased tremendously, and problem-solving takes minutes to do. Even though the battery life is a little short, it's a small price to pay for the number of things and the kind of power it gives you.

I rate this solution a seven out of ten. My advice to others deciding on a solution will be to find out if it's the right solution they need. Instead of having different equipment doing the same job, we can purchase one piece of equipment that'll be efficient. The solution is good, but another feature that could be included in the next release is cable analyzer options and different capabilities. For example, will it run 10G or 5G? What is that cable capable of running? Additionally, Fluke uses one Cable IQ, and something similar would be excellent. We only need one tool because I usually take two for the Wi-Fi and another for the cabling.

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'm an end-user and beta tester. However, I am definitely an evangelist of their product and their company. Anytime I get an opportunity, I show and tell it, I've been asked to guest speak for colleges and I usually bring one of these with me in my hand and also explain why it's important to use. I would sooner say we are a VAR of sorts. We would resell this if a customer asked and if they had a budget, but my customers are typically small businesses. I would highly recommend it. If it isn't being used by someone, it should be. I’d urge others to not shy away from it due to the price tag if that's the biggest concern. I came from a University where we had to justify everything and I had to create a spreadsheet to prove that it was of value and that it made sense to purchase it. As such, it did not take me very long after about five or six comparisons to where I started listing the needs for each particular product for my networking needs. After about four or five products, there are four or five combinations that were greater than the price of one NetAlly. I could buy five products and carry five tools in my tool belt and I'm only getting five functions. Whereas, with NetAlly, I had 15. It’s one Swiss Army knife versus five or ten other knives. In our case, once we got it in our hands and I was able to then improve productivity. If productivity is a concern, there are some demo depots out there that you can get your hands on for a week or two, take advantage of it, and you should be able to prove to your administration just how much more productive you have become. You will have saved money and have helped the bottom line of your business or university. A combination of the Swiss Army hardware versus functionality and productivity, hands down, to me, is a no-brainer, however, I had to fight for it. Our company went from one unit as a trial to the following year scrambling to figure out how they could buy three more. They put one in every network engineer's hands permanently versus having to have one checked out that four guys fought over all the time. Truthfully, hindsight being what it is for me, I would fight tooth and nail to at least have one of these at the ready for as many people as I could. I really would try and get one for every full-time staff member. I'm not sure of the learning curve. I just hired a technician who has little to no networking experience. It will be interesting to see how this works out. For example, he doesn't know certain network protocols. He does have a lot of other skill sets, however, that all being said, for a basic technician, an out-of-the-box could pick up some things fairly quickly and likely be off the races with a little bit of direction in 30 minutes or less. I would say the ease of use, and the ease of adaptability are probably there. Probably, it wouldn't take too long for an average person to hit a ceiling limit though, to where they are beyond some of the basics, and they might struggle a little bit, especially if they know little about networking. They could ramp up quickly for some basics and get to become intermediate with it fairly quickly and then stall a little bit for a while until they either had some direction or some expert to give them a little bit of guidance. However, once you know a little bit more about it, do research, or watch some YouTube videos, maybe you could be off the races in short order. If you're a geek like me, who's just fascinated by technology and wants to learn a lot, you could spend an hour or two to be very well-versed in it and fall in love with the hardware and the software. It will then become a very key part of your daily routine or process and become priceless very quickly. It's nice to have one tool that can do ten or fifteen functions easily. Those ten or fifteen functions are reliable and they're not going to let me down or give me false data. I'd rate the solution ten out of ten. I use it, I believe in it, and I trust it. I've got to know some of the staff through the beta program. I realize my view could be a little bit tainted on that level, however, the reality is that these guys are sharp. They care and they listen whenever a beta customer like myself finds something.

These tools are very solid units. If you have knowledge of WiFi or LAN networks, it is easy to learn how to use it. If you don't have knowledge of WiFi or networks, it is difficult to learn how to use it. NetAlly EtherScope is for very knowledgeable people, such as engineers of technical networks, because the tool is easy to use, but you need to have knowledge of technical networks. Therefore, not everyone can understand this solution. I would rate this tool as nine out of 10. It needs a spectrum analyzer.

The features that we get from this product would only be available in a new, custom-created tool. This is a nice standard, out-of-the-box, capable handheld tester. My advice for anybody who is considering this product is to do your homework. Make sure that you're getting a tool that gives you what you're looking for. The biggest lesson that I have learned from using this tool is that being on the Android platform, there is a small learning curve if you're not familiar with it. That said, it's got a lot of capabilities and a lot of apps that you can add to it. You just need to have the time to be able to figure out what apps are applicable to your job. I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.

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.

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.

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

Buy it. It is worth it. I have gotten more insight into what we are doing using the solution along with more information to make better decisions in regards to troubleshooting or wireless. We use it anytime that we have network trouble. Now, it's one of the first tools that we pull up if we are having network connectivity issues. The first thing the we do, "Let's get NetAlly and test the cable to the switch." If someone picks up the tool, then forgets to put it back. Usually, we hear about it, they are like, "Hey, where's the NetAlly, I know it is being used?" The multi-technology functionality of the solution does a lot. We haven't dove into everything, but I can use it to test cables. I really like the fact that it does everything that it does. The fact that it does WiFi and wired Ethernet analysis in one device has been great. We have the solution’s AirMapper Site Survey app in a testing environment. We have been playing with it just to get familiarized with it. We did a wireless survey for a specific area that we were looking to do some additional equipment in. The AirMapper Site Survey app is pretty straightforward. I didn't have to do too much digging. Its ability to gather WiFi site survey data is good and works as advertised. Initially, for the simple things, the learning curve is pretty easy and quick. It's not a very big curve. However, for complex items, you want to read up on the solution. They have documentation online that you can watch to the help you. The more complex things take more time unless you're familiar with them, and I wasn't that familiar with the solution and had to do a bit more digging, but the simple things were easy. We haven't had the need to make use of the solution’s full line-rate 10 Gig capability. I would rate this solution as a 10 out of 10.

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.

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.

The EtherScope is such a unique tool. Everyone is going to use different features for different purposes. I am more WiFi oriented. Regarding the unit's multi-technology functionality, I'm not using it too much on the wired side. I do have a lot of tools. Much of the time, when I'm doing wired troubleshooting, it's just simple continuity tasks more than anything. I use the EtherScope for WiFi more than anything, but it is nice to have the wired abilities when needed. I have used the AirMapper Site Survey app once, just last week. I did not use it fully. I just used it to do a quick assessment. I'm actually curious to find out more about it. It was very easy. I haven't used it with the software. I haven't been able to dump the data into the software and see it fully yet, so I can't say I have a real opinion of it yet.

This could save a lot of headaches on troubleshooting networks, connections, and cables. It's got a lot of options and it could definitely save a lot of time if used properly. I would rate it about an eight out of 10. It's not a 10 because there were a few bugs. It could be improved. Also, I don't know if it has this feature or not, but if I could write my own script to use on that machine, it would definitely be a 10. If it doesn't have that, I would stay with my eight. Most people who are engineers like to automate things, and they would want to write their own script to do their own testing.

We don't use it day-to-day because of the way our company is structured, and its use cases in our business. But we certainly use it once or twice a week, fairly regularly. It has definitely become one of our go-to tools in just about any scenario, whether we're walking or running out the door to a customer's site. I use the solution's pre-programmed AutoTest feature and I've got my own that I built, as well. I use both. But in my environment, the equipment that it plugs into has very little in the way of discovery functionality and options. In the majority of my environment, that functionality is blocked and limited at a network level. So that function doesn't allow me to do much. However, outside of my specific company when I do consulting work, or even at some of our customer sites, if I have to help troubleshoot their stuff — which doesn't happen very often but it does happen — in that scenario it has been extremely helpful because it will give me a deeper dive into the network. Otherwise, I would just be guessing because I don't know what their network looks like. Overall, as far as technical features go, it would be a nine or 10 out of 10, hands-down. It's an all-in-one device for most functionalities. I'd be hard pressed not to give it a 10. As far as ease of use is concerned, it's absolutely a nine or 10 as well. It's fairly straightforward, out-of-the-box. Even if you don't have a lot of network experience, it doesn't take long. You can tap around and figure out what it does and doesn't do. And there are some great online videos for it already;I've been through some of those webinars as well. There is easy access to those kinds of materials. The fact that it's handheld and fairly lightweight definitely makes it a nine or 10 as well. As far as development goes, it's still in its infancy, so that is only a five or six out of 10. It's extremely new and they're trying to come on as fast as they can. Maybe, by now, it's in "early adolescence," but I fully expect them to make more improvements going forward. The functionality, what I can do out-of-the-box today, is easily a seven to nine out of 10, depending on what you need. The fact that it can do packet capture, line rate gig or 10 gig without dropping a packet, to me that's a 10. There are not a lot of products out there that can do that. The fact that we could do 10 gig all day long, for three straight months, fresh off the assembly line — that just floors me. That's a big telltale sign of the R&D and the love that went into that device before it ever got into my hands. That's priceless.

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.

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.