News and New Products

Desktop platform supports voice over WiFi

By Dan Strassberg -- EDN, 9/21/2005

Azimuth Systems’ two-module W-Series desktop WiFi (wireless-fidelity)-test platform enables software designers to test station roaming, performance, function, and range. The system comes in a portable, three-slot chassis and includes a custom-built STM-501 module. According to an Azimuth spokesman, the STM-501 is the first module of its type to provide the multipurpose-testing capabilities that benchtop-WiFi test systems require. The W-Series software now provides enhanced support for voice over WiFi, including voice-quality measurements to ensure clear and repeatable voice transmissions and a full software-test suite for comprehensive WiFi-phone analysis. “By adding the voice-over-WiFi tests, Azimuth has become the first—and, currently, the only—company to offer fully automated testing of WiFi phones’ roaming parameters,” says Ray Cronin, the company’s chief executive officer.

In addition, the company has added programmable extensions to its testMAC (media-access control) layer that permit packet-by-packet traffic generation and analysis, allowing vendors to stress-test their client-to-access-point communication. “In the past, system faults could disable an access point and compromise an entire wireless network,” says Cronin. “With this addition, the testMAC can isolate problems, analyze their origins, and allow software engineers to correct any anomalies.”

The company now also offers a suite of scripts that implement the WiFi Alliance’s (www.wi-fi.org) interoperability tests for precertification testing. The battery of tests assures vendors that their products meet the Alliance’s standards. Prices for the desktop-engineering system range from $40,000 to $50,000. Software licenses for the voice-over-WiFi- and WiFi-certification enhancements cost $4500 to $9000.

Azimuth Systems, www.azimuthsystems.com.