We performed a comparison between AirMagnet Survey and NetAlly EtherScope nXG based on real PeerSpot user reviews.
Find out in this report how the two Network Troubleshooting solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI."The addition of the AirMapper software on the nXG and our AirCheck G2s has helped a lot because we're mostly not drilling down into the data. Local managers only need to see the coverage on their end and whether there are performance bottlenecks. These things are easy enough for us to ascertain with iPerf."
"The most valuable feature is the predictive survey. The antennas' RF patterns are reflected correctly on the drawing when preparing predictive heat maps."
"It allows us to prepare more real designs. Later, we validate them with actual surveys."
"The benefit is with the ease of use of the software, I am able to show the customer, "Here is what your wireless coverage looks like." It is set up in a fashion that non-technical people can understand it."
"The most valuable features are the survey, spectrum analysis, and reporting."
"The heat maps are quite good, and some features are easy to use."
"We use the solution for Wi-Fi and networks."
"Clear and easy to use maps."
"One of the biggest pros of AirMapper is that you just hit upload to the cloud and you can use anything with a web browser to look at it and manipulate it, view it, and even share it. The fact that you can review it now on any computer that has web access is phenomenal, versus using the client. That's been fantastic."
"The things that I find most valuable are the Wi-Fi app and the Discovery app. Those two things help a lot when I'm doing the initial discovery of a space. I also use the AutoTest feature quite a lot, especially if I'm troubleshooting."
"It has reduced our internal troubleshooting time. In the cases where we could not internally solve the troubleshooting, we would have had to contact an external vendor to test cable, rerun it, etc. NetAlly EtherScope has let us eliminate that in most cases so we can resolve an issue on our own without having to call a third-party out to identify the problem. It has reduced our troubleshooting time for network cabling issues by a good 75 percent."
"The most valuable part is absolutely being able to assess existing WiFi networks quickly. You get very powerful details of networks, details that you couldn't see unless you had multiple pieces of software and hardware. This does it all in one thing."
"EtherScope has made our networking staff more productive. We have remote locations and can use the tools to collaborate. I have other people looking at it at the same time that I am looking at it. With the uploading ability, I can have more eyes on the project at the same time, instead of just one set of eyes."
"My impression of the ease of use is that it definitely is easy to use both the handheld device and the app walking around."
"The wireless aspect of it has been super valuable. The AirMagnet Survey feature is very useful for site surveys. For a long time, it used to be done on laptops, and now, we can do this simply on a handheld with one technician. The data automatically gets uploaded to the cloud so that our more experienced technicians can review the data and pull it into AirMagnet. This feature has saved tons of time. It's not easy to approximate the time saved, but for each survey, I'm taking a junior technician and getting him to do a role that a senior technician used to do. So, there is a cost-saving of at least 50%."
"The solution’s AirMapper Site Survey app is extremely easy to use. We give it to the technicians and send them out to go do that function. We hand it to the technician who goes onsite, then they take a photo of the overall area of a floor plan and are able to go do that site survey without almost any instruction from any engineer. So, it is very usable for beginner-type techs."
"The throughput should be more advanced in the future. They need to add more versions of WiFi than just one."
"The user interface needs a lot of improvement. The auto-placement of access points is not accurate."
"Printouts are JPEG printouts. The AirMagnet software is proprietary. I can't send my customers a file, because it is AirMagnet file, even for building projects. I can only send JPEGs or screenshots of heat maps."
"I would say some of our newer techs that are going out to job sites can be a little bit intimidated by the interface."
"When you conduct an active survey and then want to use it for design work, it's actually not very useful."
"It'd be nice if it was cheaper, however, you get value for your money."
"Less time consumed doing the real surveys."
"But it's definitely a more expensive solution than other ones."
"The battery life could be better. There have been a couple of times that I used it and put it down, then I went to pick it up and the battery was dead. So, I need to take the power cord with me in order to continue using it."
"The only improvement I can come up with is the battery life. If they could improve the battery life, that would be great."
"For my usage, I thought the training would be maybe an hour, but I ended up having to spend an additional four to eight hours just to make sure I could adequately translate the data. So, using the tool was not that difficult, but translating the data is where there is a breakdown in what you are demonstrated and what you can actually do."
"NetAlly doesn't have a spectrum analyzer. I have to use other tools to view the spectrum, and this is a problem."
"When it works, I love the AirMapper Site Survey app. Currently, my device has a hardware bug that the manufacturer and I are working on actively, to get it fixed or replaced. The 5 gigahertz radio on my device is flaky at best... It doesn't seem to have anything to do with the product itself, as much as it is some kind of unique hardware problem."
"The only issue that I have ever had is the battery life. It does drain a little bit quickly... While it's true that by the time I'm finished with my assessment it's usually dead, I have usually finished what I need to do and everything has been pushed to Link-Live. But occasionally, I might need a backup battery if I need to do something for multiple hours."
"There are some inconsistencies in how it uploads the test results to the cloud, but it might just need a minor improvement on the software side. When you don't have an internet connection on the EtherScope when you do the testing, it saves the results into memory. When it has an internet connection, it uploads those results, but it doesn't work all the time. Sometimes, you need to manually push it."
"There is room for improvement in the battery life and price."
AirMagnet Survey is ranked 8th in Network Troubleshooting with 38 reviews while NetAlly EtherScope nXG is ranked 1st in Network Troubleshooting with 22 reviews. AirMagnet Survey is rated 8.2, while NetAlly EtherScope nXG is rated 9.0. The top reviewer of AirMagnet Survey writes "It fixes so many problems quickly that we don't regret spending more on high-end tools than most companies". On the other hand, the top reviewer of NetAlly EtherScope nXG writes "Handheld form factor, intuitive interface that is easy to use, helps us quickly troubleshoot network problems". AirMagnet Survey is most compared with Ekahau Site Survey, Aruba Wireless, AirCheck G3 and iBwave Wi-Fi, whereas NetAlly EtherScope nXG is most compared with LinkRunner, AirCheck G3 and LinkSprinter. See our AirMagnet Survey vs. NetAlly EtherScope nXG report.
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