Sniffer® Portable Professional User's Guide - NetScout

Chapter 5
Monitoring Wireless Networks
68 Sniffer Portable Professional
Sniffer Portable Professional monitors independent basic service set
(IBSS) and infrastructure wireless networks.
IBSS networks are wireless networks without access to a
distribution system. Traffic stays within the IBSS network. IBSS
networks are also known as ad hoc or independent networks.
Infrastructure networks are wireless networks with access to a
distribution system. Infrastructure networks are typically one part
of an integrated wired and wireless network structure.
When you select a wireless adapter in the Adapter Settings dialog box
(accessed from File > Adapter Settings or automatically the first time
you select an adapter to monitor), you are by default specifying that you
are monitoring both IBSS and infrastructure networks.
Wireless-Specific Information in Monitor Views
Sniffer Portable Professional adds wireless-specific information to many
of its views, including the Dashboard, Host Table, Matrix, and Global
Statistics views. See the section for each Monitor view for more
information:
Dashboard Counters for Wireless Networks on page 75
Host Table on page 82
Viewing Access Points Only on page 88
Identifying Rogue Hosts on the Wireless Network on page 91
Matrix on page 93
Global Statistics on page 116
Monitor Displays for Different WLAN Types
When using Sniffer Portable Professional with a wireless adapter, you
may notice differences in monitor displays for different wireless LAN
(WLAN) types (a, b, g, and n).
Some wireless adapters support proprietary extensions of the
802.11a standard that allow 802.11a networks to operate at twice
the rates stated by the 802.11a specification (for example, instead
of the upper limit of 54 Mbps stated for the 802.11a specification,
the 2X extension theoretically allows for an upper limit of 108
Mbps).