Review: Fluke Networks OptiView III Integrated Network Analyzer

Upgraded in October with version 5.3 software, Fluke Networks' OptiView Series III Integrated Network Analyzer (INA) now has capabilities to troubleshoot IPv6 deployments and any security problems arising from those rollouts. The INA unit can also detect rogue 802.11n devices and smooth firms’ deployments of 802.11n wireless LANs (WLANs).

Fluke Networks has also added an option to collect data from wireless infrastructures for further analysis, although in this release the feature is limited to Cisco kit only.

Fluke Networks' OptiView software runs under Windows XP Professional, and the INA we used had a 1.1GHz Pentium M processor, which was showing its age. Once we had connected the device to our test network, it soon catalogued what network infrastructure it could see, and with a few taps on the INA's touchscreen, we could isolate and check connectivity from desktops, printers, routers and switches, and most other network-connected devices.

IPv6 is now a tab on the main OptiView menu, and one click is all it takes for network administrators to see instantly which devices are using IPv6. Drilling down into the discovered wired network infrastructure we could pick out systems running IPv4 network stacks, IPv6 network stacks or both. We picked up six systems running IPv6, all of them Apple desktops.

Freshly installed and patched up-to-date Windows Vista operating systems have both IPv4 and IPv6 stacks enabled by default, so anybody connecting to firms’ domains will be automatically putting out IPv6 traffic over the network. The security risk to firms would be if IPv6 was tunnelling through the network inside IPv4 packets, using protocols 6to4 or Teredo. We couldn't pick up any Teredo tunnels or any IPv6-enabled applications, which might ring alarm bells for network administrators since these are ways in for hackers, allowing them to bypass IPv4 network address translation (NAT) systems.

New with this version is the ability to pick up Cisco enterprise WLANs, including wireless controllers, lightweight and standalone access points, and wireless clients. Fluke has also enhanced its VoIP discovery feature to include Nortel, Avaya and Mitel. The discovery uses Link Layer Discovery Protocol-Media Endpoint Discover (LLPD-MED), a protocol that Fluke said would garner support from other larger VoIP infrastructure vendors.

The option to track and troubleshoot 802.11n devices is a welcome addition. The wireless analysis option on the INA is neat and easy to use. Systems flagged red had no encryption running, while those coded yellow were running Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP). Systems coded green were running Wi-Fi protected access (WPA) or WPA version 2 (WPA-2).

We picked up 34 access points (APs) from our office location, and of those that had some form of wireless security enabled, the vast majority were running with WEP, with WPA and WPA-2 further down the pecking order.

There were some APs with no security enabled, but these were usually guest access or BT Openzone hotspots. We did pick up some 802.11n clients, and we found it easy to drill down to check connectivity and monitor channels and traffic. Because of 802.11n's wireless characteristics, network administrators can expect to do a lot of channel monitoring, checking signal-to-noise ratios and other parameters having a direct bearing on interference. Packet capture and decode was also simple, and the INA has a 480MB capture buffer for such traffic, although not one of the APs we picked up, mainly 802.11g, had a utilisation level of over two per cent.

Fluke also provides a directional antenna specifically for finding rogue APs. Network administrators should be able to find even the most carefully hidden APs after a few hours trying out the system. Fluke also provides an optional external Li-ion battery that clips onto the back of the INA, giving an extra four hours troubleshooting time. Remote device login with secure shell (SSH) support has also been added.

In conclusion, the upgrade makes sense if firms have Cisco WLAN infrastructure, have IP telephony running over their networks from Avaya, Mitel or Nortel, or are rolling out IPv6. Whether firms will think an extra £6,613 + VAT is worthwhile is another matter. Fluke Networks is regularly chastised for the high cost of its kit; adding three options with an average cost of more than £2,000 per option is unlikely to silence these critics.