The latest release of iBwave Wi-Fi aims to bring better carrier‑grade Wi‑Fi to the enterprise market. Designing Wi‑Fi networks for high density venues and dealing with capacity issues is currently a big challenge. iBwave claims that the new iBwave Wi‑Fi® “will improve capacity optimisation and design accuracy for high‑density venues and save hours of time on projects”. Its new features include support for multi‑radio APs, smart antenna contouring to view live prediction results and automatic cable alignment.
“The ability to design and visualise Wi‑Fi networks in 3D is a unique iBwave feature that I have come to rely on for access point placement and troubleshooting. The granularity iBwave provides is exceptional, especially with the new capability to design with multi‑radio APs that are unique to Riverbed Xirrus for supporting high density Wi‑Fi networks. Add to that the variety of reports you can generate makes iBwave invaluable for Wi‑Fi deployment” – Ty Parker, director solutions engineering for Riverbed Technology.
Intended for carriers looking deploy converged networks that use multiple technologies in a single in-building project, iBwave Design 9 can integrate the designs for the various networks into a single design and supports DAS, small cells, Wi-Fi, LoRa, Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) and public safety indoor networks. iBwave claims that the tool’s new UI enables “quicker and more accurate designs, enhanced automation and multi‑technology support such as LTE‑A and CBRS support”.
“iBwave Release 9 is a [big] step forward! From being a part of the Beta program, I can say that this release is ALL about the end user. The updated/improved GUI is easy to work with and well thought out. The ability to build a ‘Custom Ribbon’ is a great feature as well,” said Russ Edmondson, RF design engineer associate III, at Goodman Networks.
iBwave Unity is a collaboration platform allowing carriers and enterprises to manage geo‑distributed in‑building projects and provide an organisation‑wide unified view during the entire in‑building lifecycle including pre‑sales, deployment and maintenance. The company claims that iBwave Unity 9 makes collaboration easier and more intuitive with the help of new advanced data mining and reporting capabilities that can be shared via the cloud.
“As technologies converge and mobile data traffic continues to grow, the demand for more integrated converged networks is increasing as well. At iBwave we continuously strive to empower our customers to better plan, design and deploy these networks,” said Benoit Fleury VP of product line management, iBwave. “iBwave Release 9 is packed with user requested features like a new UI, multi radio APs, smart antenna contouring and automatic cable alignment. Combined with iBwave Unity’s new customisable reporting our customers will be able to improve their workflow dramatically,” he added.
