LoveMyTool - Open Community for Network Management and Monitoring

On-the-Fly Network Analysis at 10G - Are You Crazy? (By Jay Botelho)

With traditional network analysis on a 1 Gigabit (1G) network, you had a lot of flexibility. If a problem occurred on your network, you simply connected your network analyzer, started a trace, and determined the problem. If the problem occurred in the past, you would attempt to replicate the problem and solve the issue, or perhaps just wait for it to happen again. But with 10G there’s way too much data to operate in this “point and shoot” mode.

Instead of operating in the reactive way you did with 1G, you need a different approach when handling your 10G networks. With 10G, you need to identify key analysis points, put equipment in place that can monitor 24/7 while both reporting real-time key performance indicators and saving all network data for forensic analysis, and record network data at your peak data rate with zero data loss – always! When a problem is detected, you’ll already have the data stored and you can simply rewind data (rather than waste valuable time replicating the problem), analyze that data, and identify the root cause of the issue.

Three Cool Things You Can Do with Compass Live (by Chris Bloom)

As network traffic continues to increase, it is even more important to have a tool that helps network engineers pinpoint where issues are occurring on their network, in both real time and post capture, for deeper network analysis. For this reason, WildPackets created Compass Live, a real-time interactive dashboard for analyzing wired and wireless networks. Compass Live has a series of interactive graphs that provide visualization into everything from overall utilization of the network to top protocols and nodes with both .pkt (from WildPackets) and .pcp (from Wireshark) trace files.

We launched a Beta version of our project during the summer, and received a lot of great user feedback. Below are a few of the key features that beta users found of particular interest.

Wireless Signal Strength

For wireless networks, Compass Live offers a unique signal strength graph. To do this, simply change the graph to “Signal” and you will see the average signal strength of your network over time. Like all the graphs provided in this dashboard, you have the ability to dissect signal strength, and view it from a protocol or particular node viewpoint, making it easy to troubleshoot signal strength problems for specific users or access points.

Beware of Vendors Promising 802.11n (by Tony Fortunato)

 

 

I can't believe the problems I have had trying to get my 802.11n card working in my new laptops.

I ordered 3 Gateway laptops for the lab late last year. One of the reasons I got them was to beef up my 802.11n wireless classes and material as well as general hardware refresh.

I have been using them for about 4 months without a problem. I finally got some time to work on some of the 802.11n WIFI stuff the other week when I noticed that the laptops only saw and connected to my 2.4 Ghz b/g network.  I could not connect, nor see the SSID of the 5.8 Ghz/80.211n network. After researching the problem online and referencing the Atheros chipset, I decided to call support since my drivers were current and I was out of ideas.

I was surprised how little the vendors' technical support line knew about WIFI and the amount of misinformation they were trying to sell me. The red flag for occured when they explained that the only difference between 5.8 and 2.4 Ghz, is price.  I wish you could see my eyes rolling back and that vien along my forehead enlarge.

Everyone I spoke to, initally blamed my access points and network. I explained that I tried to connect to 3 different 802.11n AP's from different vendors in my lab with no luck and do not even see the 5.8Ghz SSID's.  I also explained that my Dell is on the 802.11n network with no poblems so I doubt the AP's are to blame. 

VOIP and Traffic Generation Tip (by Tony Fortunato)

Here I chat about some of the differences between VOIP and Data networks as well as a good old traffic generation tip.

 

 

Enjoy

I Don't Need No Tools ... (by Tony Fortunato)

Just one of those comments I hear too often.

With this kind of logic, auto dealership mechanics shouldn't need tools either - since the cars are all new ;b

In this talk I try to explain via an example, of when you would need tools.

Enjoy

 

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CACE Pilot: Views and Capture Filters (by Joke Snelders)

Author Profile - My name is Joke (pronounced \yo-kə\ or Joan for those who do not speak Dutch). During the day, I work as a secretary for a non-profit organization providing assisted living for mentally handicapped people in the south of The Netherlands. In my spare time I like to use Wireshark. I find it interesting and necessary to monitor my home network to see what is going on. As a user I like to answer questions at the Wireshark Mailing List.

What is in it for me? Well, I learn a great deal whenever I try to solve real-world problems. I am also a member of the NGN (the Dutch Network User's Group). I write articles about how to use Wireshark and the command line tools. And if there is still some spare time left, I like to go biking in the woods near my hometown with my husband and fellow geek.

CACE Pilot: Views and Capture Filters

CACE Pilot, a network visualization and analysis tool from CACE Techologies, is fully integrated with Wireshark.
Here you can read more about the latest release: version 2.3.

In this article I will show how to organize Views and how to add capture filters to Views.

Views
CACE Pilot is shipped with approximately 200 Views.
The Views consist of a collection of interactive display components like bar charts, strip charts, conversation rings, grids and so on.
After loading a capture file you can apply one or more Views. You can also use traffic from a live source: a wired ethernet adapter or a wireless adapter.

You can copy the Views, which you always want to use, to a custom folder.
When you want to analyze a capture file, you just have to drag and drop the custom folder on the capture file and all the Views in the folder are applied at once.

It is even more handy to create several custom folders for different companies, locations, networks and so on.
Copy the Views, you need to those folders. Next you can also set capture or display filters to those Views. These filters are saved in the Views. And again; you can apply them all at once by dragging and dropping the whole folder on a capture device or a capture file.

Enlarge the screenshot to get an idea of the custom folders.
It is also great to create folders to monitor your wired and wireless home network.

Want to see how this works?
Continue reading to see how to manage the folders and how to add capture filters.

Click on image to enlarge

UK South Yourkshire Police - VoIP Issues and Solution (by Steve Brown)

Author Profile - Steve Brown of  Network Instruments provides in-depth network intelligence and continuous network availability through innovative analysis solutions. Enterprise network professionals depend on Network Instruments’ Observer product line for unparalleled network visibility to efficiently solve network problems and manage deployments. By combining a powerful management console with high-performance analysis appliances, Observer simplifies problem resolution and optimizes network and application performance. The company continues to lead the industry in ROI with its advanced Distributed Network Analysis (NI-DNA™) architecture, which successfully integrates comprehensive analysis functionality across heterogeneous networks through a single monitoring interface. Network Instruments is headquartered in Minneapolis with sales offices worldwide and distributors in over 50 countries.   

Stephen Brown is the Product Marketing Manager for network analysis vendor Network Instruments with nearly a decade of experience in network management and security. Areas of interest include data loss prevention, network compliance, and VoIP management. Stephen is a member of InfraGard and graduated with a degree in Marketing from the University of Iowa.

The South Yorkshire Police VoIP Issues and Solutions! 

The South Yorkshire Police were an early adopter of proven technologies including Voice over IP, video conferencing and http-based systems specific to police practices. These applications run over a complex network infrastructure linked to two data centers.

 As a result, the department, one of the best technically supported forces in England, has saved thousands of dollars in phone bills and site-to-site transport, and has enabled manpower resources to be focused almost entirely on the needs of the force and the public it serves.

Solution

Technology is not failsafe, especially as applications become more sophisticated and the need for jitter-free IP-based communications increases. To ensure the South Yorkshire Police network and its applications are available 24 hours-a-day, the IT team has deployed a highly effective, yet relatively low-cost, network and application monitoring platform.

This comprises of Network Instruments' Observer Suite, a long-term capture appliance GigaStor, and multiple probes.

Getting to Know About ICMP (by Tony Fortunato)

Author Profile - Tony Fortunato is a Senior Network Specialist with experience in design, implementation, and troubleshooting of LAN/WAN/Wireless networks, desktops and servers since 1989. His background in financial networks includes design and implementation of trading floor networks. Tony has taught at local high schools, Colleges/Universities, Networld/Interop and many onsite private classroom settings to thousands of analysts. Tony is an authorized and certified Fluke Networks and Wireshark Instructor. His Pine Mountain Group CNA Level I and II certification demonstrates his vendor neutral approach to network design, support and implementations. Tony has architected, installed and supported various types of Residential Wireless High Speed as well as hundreds of WIFI hotspots. Tony uses a variety of technologies from Powerline, Wireless and wired technologies to find the most cost-efficient and reliable solution for his customers. Tony combines custom programs, open source and commercial software to ensure a simple support infrastructure.

This is Tony chatting about ICMP in one of his presentations.  Here he shares a tip where ICMP can help you troubleshoot.

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Basic TCP/IP Analysis (by Hansang Bae)

Presenter Profile - Hansang Bae currently leads the Network/Application Performance Engineering Team with direct responsibility for Packet Capture Infrastructure at Citi. He brings a unique perspective with his broad knowledge of protocol analysis in a complex enterprise infrastructure.

As one of his colleagues puts it, “Hansang is one of the most outstanding individuals in the industry. His technical expertise is second to none. He is also an amazing leader, mentor, and a highly ethical, sincere person. Hansang possesses the unique ability to explain highly complex topics to a broad audience, which earned him the trust and respect from every person he encountered within Citigroup. The three years that I spent on Hansang’s team were the best learning experience I could have asked for. I would highly recommend him for any role within an organization.”

Editor's Note - This session was presented at the 2010 Sharkfest Wireshark Developer and User Conference at Stanford University. You can click here to download the PowerPoint presentation.

If you have problem watching this video or if you need a non-Flash version, please click here to go directly to the hosting site. Thanks.

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Network Access Security - It's Broken, Now What? (by Jeff Carrell)

Presenter Profile - Jeff Carrell is a network systems and security instructor on ProCurve Networking by HP products, delivering technical courses throughout North America. In addition, he provides network consulting services with an emphasis in security on wired, wireless and VoIP networks. His involvement in the computer industry for 29 years has culminated in the concentration of his endeavors in the internetworking portion of the industry for over 21 of those years.

Editor's Note - This session was presented at the 2010 Sharkfest Wireshark Developer and User Conference at Stanford University. You can click here to download the PowerPoint presentation.

If you have problem watching this video or if you need a non-Flash version, please click here to go directly to the hosting site. Thanks.

Continue viewing other Sharkfest videos »