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How lifelike can you make the inside of a nondescript metal chamber? If it’s part of a Spirent Octobox testbed using our latest Wi-Fi testing instruments, very lifelike indeed.
Spirent has long led the industry in wireless testing, and our Pal and STApal systems for emulating Wi-Fi access points and client devices, respectively, are a big reason why. Network providers and device manufacturers have relied on these tools for years to emulate the many diverse environments in which Wi-Fi devices can operate for over-the-air (OTA) testing and validation. Indeed, the ability to recreate challenging wireless scenarios—including interference, traffic congestion, mesh handovers, and more—is essential for Wi-Fi evolution, as it’s the only way to test emerging features in an automated, repeatable way.
Now, Spirent has introduced the latest update to our Octobox portfolio with the STApal-7. Like its predecessors, the newest STApal can function as both a Wi-Fi traffic endpoint and Wireshark sniffer probe for performance testing and analysis of Wi-Fi systems. But now, it can emulate endpoints using the latest-generation Wi-Fi 7 chipsets, with the latest Wi-Fi features.
Setting the Standard in Wi-Fi Testing
The new STApal-7 is designed for Octobox testbeds, Spirent’s comprehensive isolation environment for automated, repeatable RF testing. It provides a highly programmable traffic partner for testing Wi-Fi access points, enabling testers to emulate the behavior of Wi-Fi endpoints under diverse conditions—using the same commercial chipsets that will appear in upcoming Wi-Fi 7 devices. Using the testbed’s customizable isolated chambers, you can mimic the RF airspace conditions of residential homes, offices, and other environments. You can zero in on specific scenarios and Wi-Fi features, and adjust dozens of parameters in fine detail to more quickly diagnose issues.
Of course, Wi-Fi standards continually evolve, so testing equipment must evolve alongside them. In January, we released the Pal-7, which emulates Wi-Fi 7 access points for endpoint testing (also using commercial Wi-Fi 7 chipsets). With the STApal-7, we can now provide complete Wi-Fi 7 traffic partner coverage for testing both access points and client devices. And anyone developing new Wi-Fi products should be seeking to upgrade.
What’s New with STApal-7
The STApal-7 adds a variety of new capabilities for testing emerging Wi-Fi 7 features, some of which can get extremely complex. The secret is Spirent’s use of commercial Wi-Fi 7 chipsets in our Pal and STApal systems—the same chipsets that will appear in the new Wi-Fi 7 products that these instruments are emulating. As a result, the STApal-7 can support fine-grained testing of groundbreaking Wi-Fi 7 features including:
Ultra-wide 320 MHz channels, which double the maximum channel bandwidth of Wi-Fi 5 and 6
4096 quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM), which dramatically improves data rates compared to 1024-QAM, while reducing latency
16x16 multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO), which provides a major throughput boost in congested networks with many devices
Multi-link operation (MLO), which allows devices to simultaneously transmit and receive across multiple frequency bands and channels to improve capacity and reliability
Wi-Fi’s massive industry-transforming shift
Even more important than what’s changed, however, is what hasn’t. Building on Spirent’s wireless testing leadership, the STApal-7 delivers the same proven repeatability, customizability, and automation as ever—but now extends those benefits to Wi-Fi 7. You can:
Quickly and easily verify new Wi-Fi access point devices, including both emerging 6 GHz-capable 802.11be devices, as well as legacy 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax devices, in an ideal MIMO-OTA environment that supports MU-MIMO.
Emulate diverse endpoint devices such as laptops, smartphones, connected refrigerators, and many others, using full client features (roaming, 802.11v, 802.1x, 802.11r), with fine control and repeatability.
Perform realistic testing using multipoint-to-multipoint traffic, while automatically recovering from dropped links during long test sequences.
Accelerate root cause analysis of issues using the multi-probe Octobox Wireshark Synchrosniffer capabilities built into every STApal-7, allowing them to function as both traffic endpoints and sniffer probes.
Scale up to dozens of orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA) stations by combining multiple STApals in a testbed, and test OFDMA and MU-MIMO simultaneously.
Continue supporting all legacy STApal-6/Pal-6 features with full backwards compatibility, so you can upgrade your testbed for Wi-Fi 7 without disruption.
Testing using STApal-7
Looking Ahead
Spirent is committed to continually evolving our testbeds—not only to support new features, but to ensure that those developing tomorrow’s Wi-Fi products can accurately simulate the ever-changing conditions of real-world RF environments. The fact is, it’s not just Wi-Fi standards that are evolving; the way we use Wi-Fi is rapidly changing too. The sheer number of Wi-Fi use cases has grown dramatically in recent years, as both consumers and businesses now depend on it far more than in the past, including for mission-critical applications. At the same time, the number of Wi-Fi devices out there has exploded, bringing its own new challenges. Not that long ago, a typical home had just a handful of Wi-Fi devices. Today, the average residence has 17, and that number is growing.
Addressing the performance challenges that come with operating alongside more devices, in more congested RF airspace, was a major driver for several of the newest Wi-Fi 7 features. But these features also make testing and validation far more complex. They introduce a wide range of potential wireless scenarios that never existed before, all of which now need to be tested.
With the release of the Pal-7 in early 2024 and now the STApal-7, Spirent offers comprehensive Wi-Fi 7 testing support for both access points and client devices. That includes everything equipment manufacturers and other testers expect from Spirent: broad and expanding Wi-Fi feature set, ultra-realistic emulation, proven repeatability and automation, and excellent total cost of ownership (TCO). If you already use Octobox testbeds, upgrade now to start testing some of the most complex and challenging Wi-Fi 7 scenarios with lifelike accuracy. And if you’re not using Spirent wireless testing instruments, what are you waiting for?
For more details, download the STApal-7 and Pal-7 data sheets, and learn more about our latest Wi-Fi testing innovations here.
