Fluke AIRCHECK User manual

PN 3434814
December 2009 Rev. 1 3/10
©2009-2010 Fluke Corporation. All rights reserved. Printed in USA.
All product names are trademarks of their respective companies.
Wi-Fi®is a registered trademark of the WiFi Alliance.
AirCheck™
Wi-Fi Tester
Getting Started Guide

LIMITED WARRANTY AND
LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
Fluke Networks guarantees this product to be free
from defects in material and workmanship for one
year from the date of purchase. Parts, accessories,
product repairs and services are warranted for 90 days,
unless otherwise stated. Ni-Cad, Ni-MH and Li-Ion
batteries, cables or other peripherals are all considered
parts or accessories.
This warranty does not cover damage from accident,
neglect, misuse, alteration, contamination, or
abnormal conditions of operation or handling.
Resellers are not authorized to extend any other
warranty on Fluke Networks’ behalf.
To obtain service during the warranty period, contact
your nearest Fluke Networks authorized service center
to obtain return authorization information, then send
your defective product to that Service Center with a
description of the problem.
THIS WARRANTY IS YOUR ONLY REMEDY. NO OTHER
WARRANTIES, SUCH AS FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
PURPOSE, ARE EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED. FLUKE
NETWORKS IS NOT LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL,
INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL
DAMAGES OR LOSSES, ARISING FROM ANY CAUSE OR
THEORY.
Since some states or countries do not allow the
exclusion or limitation of an implied warranty or of
incidental or consequential damages, this limitation of
liability may not apply to you.
4/04
Fluke Networks
PO Box 777
Everett, WA 98206-0777
USA

i
Contents
Accessing the Users Manual................................... 1
Battery Charging and Life...................................... 1
Minimum Configuration for the
Best Performance .................................................... 2
Discover Networks and Access Points................... 2
What You Can Learn About Your
Wireless Network .................................................... 7
What is in the Wireless LAN? ............................ 7
Can Devices Connect to the
Wireless Network?.............................................. 8
What Causes Slow Network
Performance or Dropped Connections?.......... 9
Are There Security Risks in the Network? ....... 10
Where is an Access Point?.................................. 10
How Can I Document My Network
and My Test Session?.......................................... 11
Contact Fluke Networks ......................................... 11

ii
AirCheck Getting Started Guide

1
Accessing the Users Manual
This guide provides basic information to help you get
started using the tester. For additional information, see
the AirCheck Users Manual on the Product CD.
WWarningX
To prevent possible fire, electric shock,
personal injury, damage to equipment, or
inaccurate test results, read the safety
information in the AirCheck Users Manual
before using the tester.
Battery Charging and Life
Charge the battery for 4 hours before you use it for the
first time. To charge the battery, connect the ac adapter
to the battery connector.
The battery life is approximately 5.5 hours during
typical operation.
Shows the battery status. When the battery
charge is low, the icon blinks.
Shows that the ac adapter is connected.

2
AirCheck Getting Started Guide
Minimum Configuration for the Best
Performance
To change the language and country settings
1 Select Tools.
2 To change the language for the screens, select Set
Language. Highlight a language, then press !
Save.
3 To change the country, select Set Country, then
select the country where you will use the tester.
To get the most performance from your tester, use
AirCheck™Manager software to configure a profile and
upload it to the tester. A profile contains data that lets
the tester do these tasks:
• Connect to networks that require security
credentials
• Show the correct authorization status for each
access point. This lets you quickly see which access
points are authorized parts of the network.
• Ping key network devices.
Discover Networks and Access Points
To discover networks or access points, select Networks
or Access Points from the home screen. Figure 1 shows
the Networks list.
To see details about a network or access point, use "
#to highlight the network or access point, then press
$.

3
Discover Networks and Access Points
gdp03.eps
Figure 1. Networks List
A : The time when the tester first heard the
networks. To see networks that come into range as
you move through an area, sort the list in
descending sequence for the timestamp column.
Press %, then move through an area. Networks
that come into range are added to the top of the
list. Networks that become out of range become
gray if Gray inaudible access points is enabled.
B ACL: The authorization status of the access point.
The default status is Unauthorized device.
Change the status of each access point to show how
it is related to your network. To change the status,
select Access Points from the home screen, select an
access point, then press !ACL.
(...): All access points in the network do not have the
same authorization status.
C : The maximum signal strength of all the
access points for a network SSID.
ABCDE F G
JKL
I
M
H

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AirCheck Getting Started Guide
D : The security status of the network:
Red open lock: The network does not have
security enabled.
Yellow closed lock: One or more access points
use WEP or Cisco LEAP security protocol. These are
less secure than other protocols.
Green closed lock: All access points use security
protocols that are more secure than WEP, for
example, WPA or WPA2.
(...): All access points in the network do not use the
same type of security. For example, one uses WEP
and another uses WPA.
E : The number of access points the tester hears at
your location.
F SSID: Service Set Identifier. The name of the wireless
network.
: The network has ad hoc devices. These are
devices that communicate directly with other
devices, not through an access point. Ad hoc devices
can give hackers access to data transmitted on the
network. (Some IT policies for networks allow ad
hoc devices.)
[Hidden]: The network does not broadcast its SSID.

5
Discover Networks and Access Points
G 802.11: The 802.11 standards that the access points
in the network use:
802.11a: Uses the 5 GHz band.
802.11b: Uses the 2.4 GHz band.
802.11g: Uses the 2.4 GHz band.
802.11n: Can be used in the 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz
bands.
Red bars: The tester received a country code
that is different from the setting in Tools > Set
country. To identify the network or access point
that transmits the code, select Networks or Access
Points, then look for the red bars in the 802.11
column.
: One or more access points use a
bonded channel. Access points that use the 802.11n
standard can bond a channel with an extension
channel above ( ) or below it ( ) to make
one 40 MHz channel. This wider channel gives the
network higher throughput.
(...): All access points in the network do not use the
same 802.11 standard.
H Notes: Press &to scroll to the notes field. The tester
adds notes automatically. Networks that have notes
are purple.
(...): The network has multiple notes. To see all the
notes, highlight the network, then press $twice
to go to the Access Point Details screen.

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AirCheck Getting Started Guide
I : Sort 1, descending and ascending
sequences
: Sort 2, descending and ascending
sequences
To sort the list in ascending or descending sequence,
use "and '(&to highlight a column heading, then
press $or )Sort 1. For example, to quickly find
the access point that has the strongest signal,
highlight at the top of the column, then
press $or )Sort 1. This puts the access point
with the strongest signal at the top of the list.
To sort in a secondary sequence, highlight a
different column heading, then press !Sort 2.
J Press )Connect to connect to the highlighted
network.
The connect button shows as “Connect*” if the
tester cannot connect to the highlighted network.
To see the reason, press )Connect*.
Note
To connect to a secure network, the tester must
have a profile that includes security credentials.
You cannot make or edit security credentials
on the tester. You can make or edit them only
with AirCheck Manager.
K : The channel the tester currently monitors.
The color of the bars shows the status of the
country code for the regulatory domain.

7
What You Can Learn About Your Wireless Network
L : The number of access points the tester hears
at your location. This number does not include
virtual access points if Group virtual access points is
selected.
M To see descriptions of the icons on the Networks
screen, press !Legend.
To see details about the access points in a network, use
"#to highlight a network, then press $.
What You Can Learn About Your
Wireless Network
What is in the Wireless LAN?
! What wireless LANs are available?
Select Networks to see a list of wireless LANs and
the access points that connect to each network. To
see all access points that are available at your
location, select Access Points.
! What access points are available? Are the signal
strengths sufficient?
Select Access Points to see a list of access points
available at your location and the signal strength of
the access points. To see bar graphs of the signal
strength and noise for an access point, highlight the
access point, then press $.
! Is the access point configured correctly?
Select Access Points, highlight an access point, then
press $.

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AirCheck Getting Started Guide
! Are there new access points in the area? Are
access points inaudible?
Save the test session, then use AirCheck Manager to
compare the access point list to another list saved in
AirCheck Manager.
Can Devices Connect to the Wireless Network?
Use the tester to verify connectivity.
! Can a device connect as a client to the network
(SSID)?
Select Networks, highlight a network, then press
)Connect.
Note
To connect to a secure network, the tester must
have a profile that includes security credentials.
You cannot make or edit security credentials
on the tester. You can make or edit them only
with AirCheck Manager.
! Can a device connect to an access point (BSSID)?
Select Access Points, highlight an access point, then
press )Connect.
! If a device cannot connect to a network or access
point, where does the connection procedure fail?
Look at the connection log. Press !Log from the
Connect to Network or Connect to Access Point
screen.

9
What You Can Learn About Your Wireless Network
! Can a device ping a network device?
Do a ping test. Connect to a network or access
point, then press )Start tests.
! Does the network interface card in a client operate
correctly?
Select Tools, then select List Probing Clients to see if
the client transmits probe request frames and to see
basic settings such as the channel and SSIDs the
client uses in probes.
What Causes Slow Network Performance or Dropped
Connections?
! Is the signal strength sufficient?
Select Access Points. The Access Points screen shows
the signal strength for each access point. Select an
access point to see more details about the signal
strength and congestion.
! Is the network too busy?
Select Channels to see an overview of channel
usage and the number of access points that use
each channel. To see a graph, highlight a channel,
then press $.
! Is there non-802.11 interference on a channel?
Select Channels. Non-802.11 interference is gray.
This noise can interfere with WLAN connections or
performance. Non-802.11 noise can come from
microwave ovens, wireless telephones, Bluetooth®
devices, motion detectors, wireless cameras and
other wireless devices.

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AirCheck Getting Started Guide
Are There Security Risks in the Network?
! Do networks have the expected level of security?
Select Networks. Networks that have unsecured
access points show a red lock ( ).
! Are there any ad hoc networks in the area?
Select Networks. Networks that have ad hoc
stations show the ad hoc icon ( ) in the SSID
column. Ad hoc stations can be risks to network
security or can violate network policies.
! Are there rogue access points in the area? Where
are they?
Access points have the status “ Unauthorized
device” until you change the status. If you give all
access points in the network a status, then new
access points that can be rogues show the status
. If you know that an access point is a rogue, you
can give it the status Flagged Device.
To give an authorization status, select Access Points,
highlight an access point, then press !ACL.
To locate an access point select it, then press !
Locate on the Access Point Details screen.
Where is an Access Point?
Select Access Points, select one access point, then press
!Locate on the Access Point Details screen. Use the
optional Fluke Networks external directional antenna
to help you find access points faster.

11
Contact Fluke Networks
How Can I Document My Network and My Test Session?
Save the session (press *), then use AirCheck Manager
software to download the data to a PC and make a
report.
Contact Fluke Networks
www.flukenetworks.com
[email protected]
[phone]
• Australia: 61 (2) 8850-3333 or 61 (3) 9329 0244
• Beijing: 86 (10) 6512-3435
• Brazil: 11 3759 7600
• Canada: 1-800-363-5853
• Europe: [phone]
• Hong Kong: 852 2721-3228
• Japan: 03-6714-3117
• Korea: 82 2 539-6311
• Singapore: [phone]
• Taiwan: (886) 2-227-83199
• USA: 1-800-283-5853
Visit our website for a complete list of phone numbers.

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AirCheck Getting Started Guide