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Contents 
Introduction
AirDefense v AirMagnet
AirDefense v AirMagnet 2
AirDefense v AirMagnet 3
Comparison table
Bluesocket WG-1100
SonicWall Pro 5060
Specifications
Editor's choice
About RMIT |
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This company wants to specifically target management of its wireless infrastructure independently of its wider LAN management system. They are seeking a product that offers granular control and security of the wireless network.
The company has a main site that with 30 APs many located in the open plan office area, quite a few in a small warehouse (for stock control) and several in the executive office area where there are individual offices.
There is also a regional office with five APs. Most of the APs are Cisco 1200s but there is a mix of other vendor products as well.
The company has around 200 employees and staff are expected to be able to connect wirelessly in the office but not outside the perimeter of the buildings. As a consequence the solution will need to include a rogue location feature.
Concerns: As always, security is paramount, cost, and ease of use are also important.
Editor's Choice
This has got to be one of the most difficult decisions we have had to make for an Editor's Choice. With just two comparable products that are so similar in functionality and features it's like picking your favourite of two twins after just meeting them. It all comes down to how each of the programs deliver on their promises. How easy is it to trace and squash a rogue AP, to configure policies and sensors -- is the alerting accurate and presented in a comprehensible format that is easy to drill down? Do the canned reports meet your requirements?
AirMagnet has the edge in initial setup with its extensive range of policy templates that you simply apply or modify for your own requirements, both products offer "zero config" roll outs of sensors. AirMagnet has the best range of reports and produces them in clean formats that can be slipped into operational reports with minimum tinkering.
Both AirMagnet and AirDefence detected the range of threats we exposed the WLAN to, although the tests were not exhaustive. AirMagnet is more verbose in terms of alert reporting while Air-Defense was accurate and concise.
Once the user gets their head around either products user interface they will find navigation straight forward and intuitive.
We had problems with both products rogue location tracking, AirMagnet's was a little too inaccurate for our liking and we could not get AirDefense's to work correctly at all. We have however, read numerous reviews that had no problem with either vendors' product.
There is one significant distinguishing feature and that is pricing, AirDefense is considerably more expensive than AirMagnet at $39,000 compared to just AU$14,357 including a Dell SC430 server. If AirDefense's pricing had been more comparable the selection of Editor's Choice would have been more difficult. As it stands -- AirMagnet wins.
