Conguration and Visualisation of a Wireless Network Monitoring Environment
Thio Meng Aun · 2009
The Measure, Analyse, Protect (MAP) system is an 802.11 monitoring system recently developed by Dartmouth College. Recent widespread deployment of the MAP system has exposed several limitations relating to the configuration of the MAP system based on the needs of researchers; as well as the displaying of statistical network information and system information; and the scalability of the system as the number of Air Monitors (AMs) increases. This dissertation discusses and describes the developed components that address these limitations. The developed components include two GUI components, used for the configuration of the system and the visualisation of data. A new AM is also developed. An AM is a device used to capture traffic on the 802.11 spectrum. The new AM aims to eliminate the need for maintaining a connection between the AMs and a central controller. It is believed that it will solve the scalability issue described previously. These components are developed for the micro Wireless Activity Sensing Platform (μWASP) which acts as a simplified version of the MAP system. The components are tested to demonstrate their co-operative behaviour in the μWASP system that acts as a proof-of-concept. It is believed that the developed components meet their defined roles and are able to solve the described limitations. The capturing capability of the new AM is also determined. The results can be used in deployment planning of the AMs in a WLAN network. Apart from addressing known MAP system limitations, this project also contributes in the development of the μWASP system. Development has also generated new ideas that will be implemented on the μWASP system. The μWASP system has the potential to evolve into a full scale monitoring system.