Elixar Launches Company, WLAN Monitoring System

Elixar, a startup based in Research Triangle Park, N.C., made its formal debut Wednesday with a wireless LAN monitoring and security system.

The company, which was formed in September 2002, unveiled its flagship product, AirTraf 2.0 Hosted, at the 802.11 Planet Conference and Expo in Boston. AirTraf uses wireless sensors to capture nodal, client and access point level wireless traffic and then conducts traffic, performance, and security analyses. Network managers can monitor their networks via a secure, centralized Web site.

The product detects rogue access points, rogue users, and various network abnormalities, and alerts network administrators to any signs of trouble. Since the hardware sensors can view all “air traffic” in their vicinity, the company said, IT staff personnel do not have conduct manual walk-around network surveys, which can be costly and time-consuming.

Peter Lee, CTO and chief software architect, said that AirTraf is the first step in “an integrated line of network monitoring and security products that will simplify the management of both wireless and wired networks.”

Elixar said it began beta testing of AirTraf 2.0 Hosted in early June, and expects to begin shipping the product in August.

AirTraf was created in 2001 as an open-source software program. Elixar said that non-commercial versions have been downloaded by over 10,000 users worldwide.