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The Network General Expert Sniffer® Network Analyzer(TM) is a vital network management tool that helps maintain, troubleshoot, fine-tune, and expand multitopology, multiprotocol networks. It observes segments, learns their unique characteristics, and automatically uncovers a wide variety of problems. Once problems are discovered, the Expert Sniffer Network Analyzer quickly pinpoints their origins to help resolve them.
Network General has taken years of network troubleshooting experience and programmed it into the Expert Sniffer Network Analyzer. In addition, the Expert Sniffer Network Analyzer actually "learns" network configurations as it captures packets for analysis.
Using this combination of programmed and learned network knowledge, the Expert Sniffer Network Analyzer studies captured packets and alerts managers to network problems.
The analyzer performs Expert Analysis on TCP/IP, Banyan VINES, Novell NetWare, DECnet, Sun NFS, X-Window, AppleTalk, OSI, NetBIOS, OS/2 LAN Manager, 3Com 3+Open, XNS, and IBM LAN Server protocol families.
Expert Analysis provides three types of diagnostic information: symptoms, diagnoses, and explanations.
A symptom is an event that a network manager might want to investigate. For example, a symptom could be a single file retransmission or a physical error.
A diagnosis is a condition that, in the judgment of the system, is a network fault which the network manager should investigate and take action to remedy. A diagnosis occurs when a symptom repeats itself frequently (such as excessive file retransmissions) or where there is a single instance of a major network problem (such as a duplicate network address).
An explanation is a network-specific definition of the condition. Based on each symptom and diagnosis, the Expert Sniffer Network Analyzer creates an explanation and suggests causes. In addition, network managers can add customized Explain text.
With one-key filtering, the Expert Sniffer Network Analyzer displays packets associated with problems, enabling more detailed analysis.
Network managers can proactively schedule the collection of Expert Analysis information. Based on specified time intervals, automated actions can be scheduled such as save in CSV format, save trace file, reset statistics, clear and load names, and load setup file.
Flexible windowing allows users 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 the same screen.
The Sniffer Network Analyzer troubleshoots distributed ORACLE7 databases with the optional Oracle SQL(TM) Net protocol decode capability in the Network General Sniffer Network Analyzer Database Module(TM).
Capture Filters
Display Filters
Triggers
Traffic Generation
Network Monitoring collects and displays statistics in numerical and graphical formats, provides alarms (audible and on-screen), allows users to define their own statistical reports, and collects historical network data.
Network Statistics
Error Statistics
Protocol (Ethertype and SAP) Statistics
Frame Size Statistics
Station Statistics
(for each active station up to 1,024 stations)
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
Routing Information (Token Ring)
Route Path Length
Route Path
Alarms
Alarms can be set network-wide as well as individually for each station. Alarm actions may be any combination of logged to printer, logged to disk, or audible.
Network Alarms
Station Alarms
Ethernet Token Ring
Expert Analysis X X
Protocol Interpretation X X
Network Monitoring X X
Network Capability IEEE 802.3 Token Ring
10BASE5,10BASE2,10BASE-T IEEE 802.5
Interface IEEE 802.3
DB-15 DIX or Token Ring
BNC for on-board transceiver IEEE 802.5 with DB-9 Female
UI, BNC and RJ-45
combined on a single board
Data Rate 10 Mbps 16/4 Mbps
Timestamp 15 µs resolution 500 µs
100 µs on display
Note: Please see the FDDI Sniffer Network Analyzer, Notebook Sniffer Analyzer, Sniffer Lite Network Analyzer, Network General Reporter, and Sniffer Internetwork Analyzer data sheets for more information.
©1995 Anixter Inc.