ATM Sniffer® Analyzer

Maintain, troubleshoot, fine-tune, and expand your production ATM network with the Network General ATM Sniffer® Analyzer. It provides monitoring and diagnostic capabilities to help you observe your cell-based network, uncover a wide range of problems, and quickly pinpoint their origins. This total network visibility helps you avoid network downtime and maintain end-user productivity.

See what kind of information is traveling over your ATM network. The ATM Sniffer Network Analyzer decodes both the ATM protocols associated with each data cell, and more than 200 LAN protocols potentially encapsulated within those cells. This Sniffer Analyzer is the only tool available today with this complete a collection of protocol decodes.

The ATM Sniffer Analyzer offers filters so you can monitor Virtual Path Identifiers (VPIs) and Virtual Circuit Identifiers (VCIs). With these filters you can see the path or individual circuits over which information is traveling and thus target your troubleshooting efforts more effectively.

The ATM Sniffer Analyzer is built to be fully flexible with your network configuration and infrastructure. You can operate the ATM Sniffer Analyzer in several analysis, monitor, or emulation modes by taking advantage of the Dual Transmit and Receive capability of the ATM Sniffer interface. And, the ATM Sniffer Analyzer is compatible with DS-3, E-3, OC-3c, and STS-3c interfaces. A single network interface card accompanied by multiple backbone and WAN interface pods brings you this full functionality.

HOW THIS HELPS YOU

Speeds Problem Resolution

• Decodes more than 200 LAN, internetwork, and ATM protocols including IP over ATM, TCP/IP, Novell NetWare, DECnet, Sun NFS, X-Window, IBM SNA, IBM LAN Server, DLSw, AppleTalk, Banyan VINES, OSI, NetBIOS, and OS/2 LAN Manager
• Interprets all seven OSI layers and three ATM sublayers in full English text
• Learns network VPI/VCI configurations continuously and automatically
• Offers complete analysis of ATM cells, AAL 5, LAN Emulation, ILMI, OAM, signaling protocols, RFC 1577, and RFC 1483
• Determines VPI/VCI configurations and ATM addresses for PVC or SVC links

Improves Your Productivity

• Enables you to test ATM circuits with the traffic generation option
• Features easy-to-use menuing and command systems that are consistent with other Sniffer Network Analyzers
• Provides ATM conversation statistics by VPI/VCI pairs
• Shows breakdown of network protocol activity by VPI/VCI automatically in Monitor Mode

Minimizes Network Operation Overhead

• Works in ATM backbones or WAN connections
• Minimizes investment in analysis tools through multiple-topology support and a consistent user interface
• Supports several analysis and emulation modes
• Delivers ATM network errors, frame size, and station statistics for specified stations
• Enables creation and generation of management reports. Statistical information can be collected for use in spreadsheet and database programs

PROTOCOL INTERPRETATION

Protocol Interpretation turns an unintelligible stream of bits and bytes into clearly labeled commands and readable text. It fully supports more than 200 protocols, and displays the contents of each frame or cell at all seven OSI layers as well as Signaling, OAM, and ATM sublayer information. You can quickly focus on trouble areas with the sophisticated filtering system. Flexible windowing allows you to display network traffic in a variety of formats. Three formats -- Summary, Detail, and Hex -- are available simultaneously. Multiple viewports allow for up to six windows on a screen.

Interpretation Features

Capture Filters

• ATM stations
• VPI/VCI channels
• Error frames/cells
• AAL type

Display Filters

• VPI/VCI channels
• ATM, MAC, and IP station address
• Protocol (seven layer)
• Pattern match

Triggers
Triggers can save data into memory or to disk on the following events:

• VPI/VCI match
• Error cells/frames
• External event (COM1)
• Logic match

DISCOVER MODE

Discover mode can detect VPI/VCI pairs and ATM addresses that arise whether they are generated by Private Virtual Circuits or Switched Virtual Circuits. Discover performs the following services:

• Determines available links
• Enables a capture on an individual or a set of VPI/VCI circuits
• Determines ATM or LAN Emulation addresses by VPI/VCI
• Captures by different VPI/VCI circuit criteria such as latest circuit seen, most used circuits, numerically ordered circuits, and circuit quality of service
• Configures and defines names, addresses, and circuits for a known link

NETWORK MONITORING

Network Monitoring collects and displays statistics in numerical and graphical formats, provides alarms, allows network managers to define their own statistical reports, and collects historical network data.

Statistics

• ATM layer statistics
• Total and Current cells sent and received by VPI/VCI
• Current and average VCI or link utilization in %
• Total and current frames monitored on AAL 5, OAM, and Signaling
• Total and current average AAL 5 frame size
• Total and current bytes

AAL Statistics

• VPI or VCI utilization % by protocol
• Number of frames by protocol
• Number of bytes by protocol

Traffic Generation (optional module)
Generate the following from a file:

• Cell streams
• Frame streams

VPI/VCI Statistics
(for each VPI/VCI up to 16,384 total)

• Cells received and transmitted
• Average and current VC utilization %
• Start time (first frame/cell seen)
• End time (last frame/cell seen)
• Elapsed time

Traffic History
Traffic history is tracked for the entire network at adjustable intervals from 5 seconds to 24 hours, and can be automatically logged to disk.

• Parameters
• Timestamp
• Number of cells
• Number of bytes

Network Utilization Alarms
Listens for network and individual station alarms. Alarm actions may be any combination of logged to printer, logged to disk, or audible.

Physical Layer Alarms
These alarms depend on the Physical interface.

• LOS, LOP, LOD
• OOF, LOF
• AIS - Line and Path
• FERF - Line and Path
• Network Alarms
• Network idle time threshold
• Network utilization % threshold

Station Alarms

• Network utilization
• Idle time
• No response

SPECIFICATIONS

Network Compatibility	UNI 3.0, 3.1

Interface	OC-3c fiber, multimode 
		STS-3c, copper 
		DS-3, BNC coax 
		E-3, BNC coax

Data Rate	155.520 Mbps - MM fiber
		155.520 Mbps - UTP Cat. 5 			
		44.736 Mbps - coaxial cable
		34.368 Mbps - coaxial cable

Timestamp	30 µs approx.

Standards Compliance	Q.2931 
		RFC 1577
		RFC 1483

Bus Interface	PCI

Platform Support	Pentium/100 MHz

DRAM 		32 MB