Intel today launched a new program designed to help make it easier to get insights about wireless network performance and operations.
The Intel Connectivity Analytics efforts provides a software development kit (SDK) that can deliver deep insights about wireless traffic delivered by Intel-based Wi-Fi 6 chipsets. The goal of the effort is to provide network-level telemetry right from the source, to help overall wireless experience for users. Among the capabilities the program aims to provide are network performance optimization, security threat detection and issue resolution.
The Intel Connectivity Analytics program is a partner-led effort, with two of the initial participating vendors being Wyebot and Ambeent.
"This makes every PC a sensor and allows real-time data to come out of that," Eric McLaughlin, general manager of the wireless solution group at Intel said during a briefing with press and analysts.
McLaughlin said that the analytics looks at the Wi-Fi client and can provide insight into what applications are running, how much time is spent on those applications and what network traffic looks like. He explained that Intel has taken steps to help protect privacy, with end-users needing to opt-into the effort.
The Rivet'ing origins of Intel Connectivity AnalyticsThe core software that enables Intel Connectivity Analytics was originally developed by startup Rivet Networks.
McLaughlin explained that in 2016 Intel developed a partnership with Rivet Networks, which was a startup that was spun out of Qualcomm. Rivet's original product was focussed on helping to improve the network experience for gaming. In May 2020, Intel acquired Rivet Networks and has been working ever since on expanding the capabilities of the technology, leading up to today's announcement of the Intel Connectivity Analytics offering.
"This capability provides access to information coming off the client which previously hasn't been available to companies," McLaughlin said.
He noted that organizations have had to put hardware sensors in enterprise networks and industrial applications to gather the kinds of data that Intel can now gather from every Intel powered Wi-Fi client that is already in an environment.
How partners are using Intel Connectivity AnalyticsRoger Sands, CEO and co-founder of Wyebot is enthusiastic about the potential that the new Intel Connectivity Analytics effort can bring to his company and its clients.
Wyebot uses artificial intelligence (AI) to help organizations optimize Wi-Fi networks by obtaining information from sensors that then feed into the company's cloud analysis engine. The addition of data directly from Intel hardware will be a big boost for Wyebot.
"We absolutely expect end users to have a better experience because we'll take these networking system insights that we're getting from Intel and feed that into our engine," Sands said. "It's like having micro sensors everywhere to use us all around the world."
Mustafa Ergen, founder and president of Ambeent, which provides Wi-Fi network monitoring to help improve end-use customer experience, is also optimistic about the capabilities that the Intel Connectivity Analytics program will provide.
"This will help us understand the wireless medium better," Ergen said about the new Intel effort.
Ergen said that prior to the availability of the Intel Connectivity Analytics program, Ambeet had to collect Wi-Fi network data at the application layer through a series of active and passive tests. Now with the Intel effort, Ambeent will be able to get chipset-level insights at lower level in the network.
"Before in the application layer, we were poking it with our eyes closed," Ergen said. "Now our eyes will be open with Intel Connectivity Analytics."