There are several ways to evaluate the speed of a wireless LAN (WLAN) to troubleshoot Wi-Fi problems, check if a bandwidth-intensive client is working properly, fine-tune its performance, or wonder about Wi-Fi speed.
A simple internet speed app or website can be useful, but sometimes you need to measure the actual Wi-Fi throughput. This generally requires a test platform with a server and a client.
Preparing for the test
Before running the test, think about what you want to achieve with the work you do. It is helpful to answer questions such as:
- Have you verified that Wi-Fi signals, noise and interference are acceptable throughout the service area?
- Are you testing the entire wireless area, or are you interested in some areas?
- What is the throughput required for Wi-Fi clients and applications?
- Need to run tests using specific clients and specific Access Points?
- Is it reasonable to test between a wireless client and a wired server or between two wireless clients?
- Need to test a single device or multiple devices simultaneously?
It also considers the Wi-Fi standard in use (802.11ac, 802.11ax, etc.), the number of transmitters and receivers of the AP (4x4, 8x8), and other specifications and settings of the AP and client that affect performance. If the network infrastructure such as a switch is connected by wire between the AP and the test server, the server specifications such as Ethernet speed are evaluated. For reference, it becomes even more problematic if you need to evaluate wireless speeds close to or above the gigabit level.
Free WiFi test tool for laptop, smartphone, or tablet
There are many test apps available for Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS devices. If you're looking for an enterprise test platform for long-term use, you can consider a tool like Ixia's IxChariot. However, when performing a one-time test, consider a few free options.
Expert Speed Test WiFi Analyzer offers apps for Android and Amazon Fire. The basic version is free, and you can add features or remove ads. This app provides many Wi-Fi analysis tools and internet and network speed testers. It also supports both server mode and client mode, so you can test client-to-client or test against a third-party iPerf3 server.
IPerf2, an open-source project provided free of charge, provides a server/client app for Windows and macOS and a client test app for Android to perform tests between clients. These apps provide documentation through the mobile app's manual page and the mobile app's help screen but are command-line based apps.
TamoSoft's Throughput Test Client provides test server/client software for Windows and macOS and a simple client test app for Android or iOS. However, the mobile app doesn't have server functionality, so you need to test the server software on a Windows or macOS system.
Wi-Fi speed measurement while investigating the network
If you need to check your Wi-Fi range and interference, you can typically measure throughput using software such as AirMagnet Survey, Ekahau, or TamoGraph. Because this software can map throughput results to a floor plan of the coverage area, you can see graphically the overall performance of the network as well as a few selected locations.
In general, passive surveys using these tools are sufficient to check coverage and interference, but measuring throughput requires active surveys in which wireless clients are actively connected to the network during the survey.
Most measurement tools can perform full throughput tests while investigating the servers set up on the wire side. In addition, two sets of data collections can be investigated at the same time, as it is usually possible to run passive investigations with one wireless adapter and active investigations with the other.
Monitoring speed via sensor
If you want to constantly observe Wi-Fi performance, consider deploying sensors to monitor Wi-Fi from a client's perspective. In addition to detecting AP up/down status, the sensor can monitor and alert based on a specified SLA. Some Wi-Fi timing tests can be as detailed as measuring the Wi-Fi connection and authentication process.
The exact throughput testing capabilities vary from sensor to sensor and may not be suitable for one-off testing, but they do more than speed testing. Some allow monitoring of many network and cloud services such as DHCP, DNS, AAA, custom applications and servers. All of this is visible only from the user's point of view in the field, without backing up to the server or the cloud.
The three sensors to consider are:
7SIGNAL Platform installs Mobile Eye software and Sapphire Eye sensor appliances on existing Windows, macOS or Android devices to monitor connectivity to corporate networks or public or private networks for remote workers. can do.
NetBeez's Wi-Fi Monitoring provides sensor appliances for wired and wireless monitoring and software agents for Windows, Linux and macOS.
Aruba's User Experience Insight (UXI), formerly Cape Networks' platform, includes two different wireless sensor appliances.
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