Installation guide

Chapter 10
120 Sniffer Technologies
Data Rate Counters These counters vary depending on the
monitored network:
• For 802.11b/g networks, there are separate
counters for the number of frames sent at 1,
2, 5.5, 11, 6, 9, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, 54, 72,
108 Mbps.
• For 802.11a networks, there are separate
counters for the number of frames sent at 6,
9, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, 54, 72, and 108 Mbps.
• For legacy 802.11b cards, the speeds
remain at 1, 2, 5.5, 11 Mbps.
NOTE: 802.11g is backward-compatible with
802.11b, therefore the speed counters seen in
802.11b are also shown in 802.11g.
802.11b and 802.11g share the same frequency
band (2.4 GHz) and same number of channels
(1-14). 802.11b goes from speeds 1 Mbps to 11
Mbps and 802.11g goes from speeds 1 Mbps to
54 Mbps. 802.11a and 802.11g share similar
speeds (6, 9, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, 54, 72, and 108
Mbps – 72 and 108 Mbps are proprietary
implementations).
Data The number of data packets seen on this
channel. Data packets are used to transmit data
between stations.
Cntl The number of Control Packets seen on this
channel. Control packets are used to regulate
the transmission of data packets after initial
authentication has taken place.
Mgmt The number of Management Packets seen on
this channel. Management packets are used to
set up the initial communications between
stations and access points on the wireless
network.
Beacon The number of beacon packets seen on this
channel. Access points send beacon packets at
a regular interval to synchronize timing between
stations on the same network.
Signal The signal strength measured for this channel,
expressed as a percentage.
BSSID The Basic Service Set ID used for
communications on this channel.
Table 10-7. Counters in the Channel Surfing Tab (2 of 2)
Counter Description