Setup Guide Part 1

1 7signal solution 1
7signal Solutions, Inc., 526 S. Main Street, Akron, Ohio 44311, USA, 855-763-9526, [e-mail], www.7signal.com
7signal Sapphire Carat User Guide Release 5.0
1 7SIGNAL SOLUTION
7signal Sapphire provides you a new way to continuously and automatically measure the
health and quality of a wireless network from the user's perspective. Companies and their
business processes are becoming increasingly dependent on the performance and service
quality of their wireless networks. Thanks to the Sapphire solution, companies can integrate
the quality management of wireless networks with their existing IT and communications
technology services.
7signal Sapphire uses monitoring sensors called Eyes to monitor performance and quality in
WLAN networks. It also monitors the surrounding radio frequency environment. The
performance of the customer’s network is tested against the 7signal Sonar, a test server that
helps simulate client activity on the network. Interactive tests, Eyes and parameters for
automatic measurement are managed with a centralized management tool called the Sapphire
Carat. The measurement results are reported via a reporting application called the Sapphire
Analyzer.
The Eye continuously monitors the selected WLAN channels via passive listening, which does
not have an impact on network performance. It can also emulate a client device in the target
network and then use the network and the services provided through it. By analyzing the
measurement results, the solution can detect network performance and quality-of-service
(QoS) issues. The solution can also produce proactive statistics on the predicted user
experience of network performance, which enables the company to increase network capacity
before the users notice a loss of performance.
In user emulation tests, also known as active tests, the Eye connects to the Sonar over the
wireless network and uses it like an ordinary production service. The usage may include mass
file transfers, browser downloads, wireless VoIP calls, or connections to another production
server. Sapphire tests the end-user experience by examining the entire data chain from the
client to the production service. Active tests can monitor the network even when there are no
users in the network. This makes it possible to forecast performance problems and to take
corrective actions before the service level suffers. Active tests show the availability and quality
of services offered over the network and they help administrators see why some applications
with their various demands for network performance do not work as expected in the network
or some of its areas. When problems occur, active tests can also help locate a problem area in
the network topology, which often includes WLAN, LAN, and WAN elements.
The key differentiators of 7signal Sapphire are user emulation, superb coverage, continuous
monitoring, and visibility of network health. Other solutions are often based on monitoring the
access point settings. As a result, they do not give any indication of the service quality
experienced by the end user. In such limited solutions, the service quality parameters
measured are the same as in wired networks. Sapphire, by contrast, produces a
comprehensive picture of the radio connection quality, where delay, number of
retransmissions, and packet loss are taken into account, in addition to the commonly
measured parameters.
1.1 System overview
The 7signal Sapphire Quality Monitoring Solution consists of Sapphire Eye monitoring sensors,
Sonar test servers, the Sapphire Carat management software, and Sapphire Analyzer for
viewing and reporting on results.