Question: Establish a Wireless Network Baseline
One of the first pieces of information you'll want to have handy when troubleshooting wireless issues is a baseline with which to compare current conditions at the time of the problem. Free software like NetStress can help you gather this kind of information while your network is working well.
You'll need two Windows 7 or 8.1 computers on the same LAN to complete this project. Both computers need to be connected wirelessly to the LAN. You'll also need an Ethernet patch cable to create a wired connection for one computer.
1. Go to nutsaboutnets.com and look for the free NetStress download. Download and install the NetStress program on two different computers that are connected to the same LAN. One computer will function as the transmitter computer, and the other will function as the receiver.
2. Open the NetStress program on both computers. In the Select Network Interface (local host) box, click on your wireless interface and click OK. If you get any Windows Security Alerts, click Allow access to allow access through your firewall.
3. On the Transmitter computer, click the blinking Remote Receiver IP button at the top of the window. In the Select Remote Receiver window, type the IP address of the Receiver computer into the white IP address field and click OK.
4. In the menu bar, click Start.
5. Allow the test to run for a couple of minutes, then click Stop in the menu bar.
6. Using Snipping Tool, which is included as part of Windows, take a screenshot of the results of your test on the Receiver computer. Be sure to get results for both the Timecourse (Total) tab and the Timecourse (TCP) tab. Remember to save your screenshots in a place where you can find them easily in a few minutes.
7. Connect one of the computers to the router/AP with an Ethernet cable and rerun the test for a couple of minutes again. Take a screenshot of these results as well, then answer the following questions:
a. What were your results when both computers were using wireless interfaces?
b. What were your results when one computer was using a wired interface?
c. How can you explain the differences?