Ixia , a major provider of network testing equipment, is now in the wireless LAN testing business.
It has purchased four-year-old Communication Machinery Corporation (CMC), and is using the acquired assets as the basis of the company’s new wireless LAN testing system, called IxWLAN.
CMC made the EmulationEngine line of testing products that could create virtual stations (vSTA), mimicking up to 64 users on 802.11a/b/g networks for testing purposes, each with its own configurable IP and MAC addresses. CMC previously listed Ixia as a partner on its Web page, saying its products worked seamlessly with the company’s IxChariot traffic generator, which is seen by many as an industy standard for network testing. In January, CMC signed a non-exclusive agreement to let Ixia sell and distribute the EmulationEngine product line.
Ixia calls IxWLAN (which can do 64 vSTAs, or 59 using 802.11i) the “first portable open-air and cabled RF test solution providing repeatable WLAN tests with full 802.11i support.” It will work in conjunction with Ixia’s other network tests, including IxChariot, IxVoice, and others.
Different versions of the IxWLAN will be available, including some certified to work as Windows CE emulators and some with WPA support.
Current CMC customers will continue to receive upgrades to their EmulationEngine equipment through Ixia as planned. CMC’s staff are now at Ixia, so tech support for older EmulationEngine products should also go through Ixia.