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syoganat
0 pts.
 Network Monitoring tool
Networking, Network management software, Network monitoring, Network testing, Performance management, Remote management, Protocol analysis, Bandwidth, Availability
Hi

I am new to network monitoring. I am looking for pure software based network monitoring/analyzer/traffic generator application that will support 10, 100 and 1G ethernet interface. The application need to run on a laptop sothat when a tech goes out he will be able look at the network from the far end he is at.

I searched on the web there are a lot of products, I would very much appreciate your recommendations.

Thanks in advance
Shankar
ASKED: Sep 12, 2006  2:51 PM GMT
UPDATED: October 28, 2010  12:17:09 AM GMT
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keyjack
0 pts.
Answer Wiki:
Ethereal (http://www.ethereal.com/) is my favorite open source packet analyzer. I started with Etherpeek (Omnipeek now - www.omnipeek.com) and if you've got money it's a great tool.
Last Wiki Answer Submitted:  Sep 13, 2006  8:30 AM (GMT)  by  keyjack   0 pts.
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Our organization has been using Etherpeek - www.wildpackets.com now Omnipeek for a long time -solid product you may want to check them out.

maddogsa
 0 pts.
 

Ethereal is a great tool as mentioned. I’ve not tried etherpeek.

Another option for Microsoft OS laptop would be netmon. You can get it to work on XP and windows 2003 servers and it’s free.

One thing you’ll want to learn in a hurry is how to use filtering as networks are very chatty when using these tools- it’s easy to get inundated.

Just put filters on for the protocols or IPs that you’re concerned about and you’ll ge a nice picture.

PDMeat
 0 pts.
 

What Operating system are you using? What kind of data are you looking for.
Ethereal and Etherpeek are good products. You can also use things like windump, netmon ( I believe it was mentioned already) or if you want to structure your captures, be able to go through them and search for specific types, size, where it’s going (for customer sales) then I would suggest snort or winsnort. With Snort you can drop your scan into a db file and parse it for specific data (I.E. messenger packets, etc..) If your using wireless then maybe airsnort, or network stumbler.
If your looking for password captures then L0pht or Cain and Able.
Yes there are a lot out there, find your need and narrow it down and you should find a few good tools to use. If your looking for good recommendations, start at www.sans.org click on their resources link, grab a big cup of Joe, and read til your eyes fall out :)
Have fun,
Eric

magichut
 0 pts.
 

For the monitoring part when you don’t actually have to see the packet body, I would try ntop. It has been very useful for us.
rt

astronomer
 0 pts.