Great network connectivity is a base expectation these days. People want to move about freely, working and communicating how they please. But for many organizations, it can be harder and harder to assure a great Wi-Fi experience as mobile demand grows. People commonly use multiple mobile devices, and IoT devices are on the rise as organizations deploy surveillance cameras, smart lighting and sensors to create digital workplaces.
People have little tolerance for poor connectivity, and impatience is measured in a fraction of a second. They might complain to the helpdesk that they got kicked off the wireless or their connection is slow – or they might take their complaint straight to social media. For IT, trying to troubleshoot wireless incidents, especially intermittent ones, can be time-consuming and tricky.
It’s Time for Network Analytics-as-a-Service
Aruba’s latest innovation is NetInsight. NetInsight takes a data-driven approach to help network managers operate better mission-critical wireless networks more efficiently than ever. NetInsight combines state-of-the-art machine learning with Aruba’s 16-year history of RF engineering innovation to automate insights into the wireless LAN, quickly find the root cause of problems, and make recommendations to improve the network.
With NetInsight, you can benchmark your campus Wi-Fi against similar networks. NetInsight collects rich metadata about your wireless LAN performance and uses the data anonymously in the cloud. Leveraging advanced analytics and machine learning, NetInsight looks at essential characteristics at the AP level and creates an environmental classification for each building or floor. At a university, for example, NetInsight can classify academic buildings, residential halls or outdoor spaces by their environmental characteristics.
NetInsight compares your wireless with similar networks, and provides a score based on how your network is performing. For the first time, you have hard evidence of whether your network is on par, or if your network is much better (or worse). NetInsight also provides configuration recommendations to improve performance, and IT can implement those changes for a best-in-class network.
NetInsight makes it possible to proactively identify wireless connectivity anomalies, rather than waiting for users to report them. Troubleshooting connectivity issues can be very difficult, especially when problems are fleeting. NetInsight monitors different factors that impact the user connection, such as Wi-Fi quality, authentication and DHCP services, and flags problems that fall outside the established baseline. Then it correlates that data to find patterns that can affect the user experience.
A powerful combination of machine learning and Aruba’s wireless expertise helps you deliver a better user experience with less effort. For example, NetInsight can show you if there’s a spike of anomalous airtime events at a certain time or location, and pinpoint that non-Wi-Fi interference was the cause. You aren’t reacting anymore – you’re proactively fixing issues before large numbers of users and devices are affected.
