Network administrators deploying an 802.11b wireless network need site survey tools to help plan locations for access points. Once installed, the access points need to be checked periodically to ensure they are providing adequate coverage.

Some wireless network cards provide reasonable survey tools, but the freeware Network Stumbler is far superior to most. The program captures signal strength and signal-to-noise statistics, but perhaps more important, it helps network administrators identify and locate rogue access points—those that employees may have installed without central IT's permission—as well as determine whether or not WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) is being used, to help prevent potential security breaches.

Currently, the program works only with network cards that use Lucent's wireless chip set (Lucent is one of the two largest manufacturers of 802.11b chip sets), so check what you have prior to downloading.

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