Q: What is a Network Protocol Analyzer and do I have to be an expert to use a protocol analyzer?A: Protocol analyzers capture and decode the traffic between two or more systems or devices. Decoding allows you to view the conversation in English, as opposed to "binary" language. Packet Capture and Protocol Decode help to isolate problems. Viewing specific packet details shows exactly what is happening during a conversation. Protocol analyzers also provide information about the traffic flow on your network. Most protocol analyzer software also includes network monitoring - e.g. statistics and trend information on network traffic. Unlike SNMP management consoles, protocol analyzers are device independent. No, you don't have to be an expert to use a protocol analyzer. Protocol analyzers can be used by any System or Network Admin to view network packets. Technical information is displayed in easy to use, easy to read GUI interfaces that can be used by the expert and novice alike. Q: Can I run LANHound on a Win 98 machine? Can I run it on XP?A: Yes, you can install a 98 client to monitor your network vs watching from the server room, however certain features like error checking work best if LANHound is installed on the server. We do not support Win95 though. LANHound definitely runs on XP. Q: Can protocol analyzers see all network segments?A: No, protocol analyzers only view and collect traffic from the local segment where the analyzer is located. To capture and analyze traffic from another segment a distributed or multi-segment analyzer is required. LANHound has remote agents that can do this for you. Q: Where do I Install LANHound for optimal readings of Internet Access?A: The best place is to install it on the Internet routing server or the router's LAN segment. LANHound can be installed on a client station as well, so you can monitor the net from your own station instead of the server room. Q: Can LANHound open multiple packet Capture and Protocol Decode windows simultaneously? And how much packet data can I store on my disk?A: YES. This allows you to analyze easily the kind of complex problems that need packet to packet comparisons. Regarding storage, it can add up to hundreds of megabytes of data., depending on your available system memory and disk space. If you use the Capture Filter to drop packets you do not need, LANHound allows you to capture packets for extended periods of time. Q: Can I set thresholds and triggers that automatically start packet capture?A: Yes. You can set predefined events such as date/time, utilization rate, or any other alarm event like network error rates, or if more than "1000 broadcast" packets have been seen in a "15 minute period". Q: Can LanHound capture oversized Ethernet packets?A: Yes, if these are supported by your NIC, e.g 802.1q, or Cisco's ISL VLAN packets that may be larger than the maximum 1514-byte Ethernet size. Q: Can I create Historical Charts with LANHound?A: Yes, these chart can show the accumulated activities since the beginning of data collecion. You can display them using any of the predefined formats such as pie, bar or area charts. Q: Can protocol analyzers work over a WAN?A: No, the bandwidth needed for that would bog practically any WAN link down. You can install a remote LANHound agent to do that though. Q: Does LanHound support VOIP protocols?A: This is planned for Version 1.5. LANHound will support VoIP protocols and will decode H323, H225, H245, RTP and RTCP.
More Information
|
FAQs
