The CT520 is an excellent choice for testing Access Points and other WiFi networks. The CT520 uses a modified Wireless driver for WiFi NICs based on the Atheros chipset. It can support up to 31 Virtual Stations. Each of the Virtual Stations has it's own IP address, IP port space, MAC address and routing table. The Virtual Stations can be assigned to communicate to a particular Access Point, use a particular ESSID and Nickname, and have a WEP (64 or 128bit) key assigned. There is a single WiFi radio per CT520 but multiple CT520 systems can be clustered together for more realistic radio interference patterns and increased traffic generation capability. The radio can be configured in 802.11a, b or g mode. The radio's country code, channel, frequency, sensitivity, rate, RTS and Tx-Power can also be configured.

The Virtual Stations may be configured with all of the virtual interfaces on the same subnet, or different subnets, depending on the testing requirements. When used with something like VoIP, it allows all of the VoIP calls to use the standard IP ports (with one call per virtual interface).

The CT520 has no moving parts (other than the two removable external antenna on swivel mounts) and will fit into a small travel bag or briefcase for easy portability. It is also completely silent, so you can include it in your customer demos and presentations. No additional hardware or software is required, but it is suggested that you manage the system using the LANforge-GUI on a separate machine. The CT520 can also be managed over a DB-9 serial console in text mode.

Larger Images: front back

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Candela Technologies , 2026 Main Street, PO Box 3285, Ferndale, WA 98248, USA
www.candelatech.com | sales@candelatech.com | +1 360 380 1618

 

1. Connect Management ethernet port to Management network or management PC. If connecting directly to a PC, an ethernet cross-over cable should be used.
2. Connect eth2 wired Ethernet interface to wired Ethernet interface on the AP or network under test. This usually is considered the 'server' side of the network.
3. The Client side of the network will be the Virtual Stations configured on the CT520 WiFi NIC.
4. Connect power brick to standard US or European AC power source.
5. Install the LANforge-GUI on a separate management PC or Laptop. Windows and Linux GUIs are supported: Select the correct one from the CDROM or Candela Technologies Download page and install it.
6. The CT520 should now boot. If DHCP is enabled on the Management network, the CT520 will automatically acquire an IP address. If DHCP is not available, the IP address will be set to 192.168.1.101 by the LANforge scripts.
7. Start the LANforge-GUI on the management PC and click the 'Discover' button. It should find the CT520 appliance and add the IP address to the drop-down box in the Connect widget. Press 'Connect' and you will be connected to the CT920.
8. Select the Port Mgr tab in the GUI. Double-click on the device called 'ath0'. This is the Radio device, and should be configured for the correct WiFi a/b/g mode, channel, country-code, etc. Next, select one or more of the Virtual Station interfaces and click 'Modify'. Enter the correct IP address information, ESSID and WEP key (if Enabled). After applying these changes, the Virtual Station interface should associate with the AP and be ready to send traffic. You may create up to 31 Virtual Station interfaces per CT520 with the 'Create' button.
9. Once the interfaces are configured correctly, you can click on the Layer 3, VOIP/RTP and other LANforge-FIRE related GUI tabs and configure/modify/start/stop particular traffic patterns that utilize the virtual stations and wired ethernet interface. In most cases, you will want one of the FIRE endpoints to be on the wired interface and the other to be on the WiFi Virtual Station interface. It is also valid to generate traffic between two Virtual Station interfaces.
10. Any GUI modifications take place immediately after you click 'Submit'.



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Candela Technologies , 2026 Main Street, PO Box 3285, Ferndale, WA 98248, USA
www.candelatech.com | sales@candelatech.com | +1 360 380 1618

 
LANforge-WiFIRE Related Shots
Radio and Virtual Station Configuration Screen






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Candela Technologies , 2026 Main Street, PO Box 3285, Ferndale, WA 98248, USA
www.candelatech.com | sales@candelatech.com | +1 360 380 1618

 
Layer 3 (Ethernet, UDP, TCP) Connections



Layer 3 Create/Modify Screen






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Candela Technologies , 2026 Main Street, PO Box 3285, Ferndale, WA 98248, USA
www.candelatech.com | sales@candelatech.com | +1 360 380 1618

  Software Features
• Supports real-world protocols:
  • Layer 2: Raw-Ethernet.
  • 802.1Q VLANs.
  • PPPoE: Integrated PPPoE support.
  • Layer 3: UDP/IP, IGMP Multicast UDP, TCP/IP.
  • Layer 4: FTP, HTTP, HTTPS.
  • Layer 4: VOIP Call Generator (SIP, RTP, RTCP).
  • 802.11a/b/g Wireless Station (up to 31 per machine).
  • Layer 4: TELNET, PING, DNS, SMTP, NMAP (via add-on script).
  • Layer 4: Audio and Video streaming.
• The CT520 is able to generate 45Mbps or more, depending on the protocols mix, wireless mode and environment, and speed of the network under test. Supports at least 10 VoIP (SIP, RTP) calls if appropriate licenses are purchased. More powerful systems are also available.
• Supports over 100 connections on a single machine.
• Supports real-world compliance with ARP protocol.
• Supports ToS (QoS) settings for TCP/IP and UDP/IP connections.
• Uses publicly available Linux and Windows networking stack for increased standards compliance.
• Utilizes libcurl for FTP, HTTP and HTTPS (SSL) protocols.
• Supports file system test endpoints (NFS, SMB, and iSCSI file systems, too!). NFS file system mounts can use the virtual interface feature for advanced testing of NFS file server applications.
• Supports custom and command-line programs, like telnet, SMTP, and ping.
• Comprehensive traffic reports include: Packet Transmit rate, Packet Receive rate, Packet Receive Drop %, Transmit Bytes, Receive Bytes, Latency, various ethernet driver level counters, and much more.
• Supports generation of reports that are ready to be imported into your favorite spread-sheet.
• Allows packet sniffing and network protocol decoding with the integrated Wireshark protocol sniffer.
• GUI runs as Java application on Linux, Solaris and Microsoft Operating Systems (among others).
• GUI can run remotely, even over low-bandwidth links to accommodate the needs of the users.
• Central management application can manage multiple units, tests, and testers simultaneously.
• Supports scriptable command line interface (telnet) which can be used to automate test scenarios. Perl libraries and example scripts are also provided!
• Comprehensive management information detailing all aspects of the LANforge system including processor statistics, test cases, and ethernet port statistics.
• Automatic discovery of LANforge data generators simplifies configuration of LANforge test equipment.
• LANforge traffic generation/management software is supported on Red Hat Linux and MS Windows.



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Candela Technologies , 2026 Main Street, PO Box 3285, Ferndale, WA 98248, USA
www.candelatech.com | sales@candelatech.com | +1 360 380 1618

 
Hardware Specification
• Economy Appliance with no moving parts.
• Operating System: Stripped-down Fedora 8 Linux with customized Linux kernel.
• 4 Realtek RTL8100C 10/100 ethernet ports.
• 1Ghz VIA processor (x86 compatible).
• DB-9 serial console (38400 8 N 1) for console management & initial configuration.
• 256MB RAM.
• 2GB Compact Flash disk to act as 'hard drive'.
• +5v 4AMP external power supply (brick).
• Weight: 3 lbs or 1.4 kg.
• Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.5 inches   Metric: 35 x 156 x 225 mm.
• Atheros chipset based 802.11a/b/g Wireless NIC with dual external antenna. Supports up to 31 virtual stations.
• Operating Temperature: 0 ~ 40°C.
• Operating Humidity: 10 ~ 90%.
• Certification: CE/FCC.



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Candela Technologies , 2026 Main Street, PO Box 3285, Ferndale, WA 98248, USA
www.candelatech.com | sales@candelatech.com | +1 360 380 1618
Last modified: Wed Nov 19 16:33:35 PST 2008