Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!bu.edu!Shiva.COM!news
From: mark@shiva.com (Mark D. Pesce)
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.appletalk
Subject: Re: debugging Localtalk is just too much fun
Message-ID: <1990Oct14.184132.17743@Shiva.COM>
Date: 14 Oct 90 18:41:32 GMT
References: <DNB.90Oct12105830@meshugge.media.mit.edu>
Sender: news@Shiva.COM
Reply-To: mark@shiva.com (Mark D. Pesce)
Organization: Shiva Corporation, Cambridge Ma, USA
Lines: 29

You've got a couple of options:

The CHEAP solution:

Apple makes a program called PEEK, which monitors a LocalTalk link
for traffic and will capture and display packet information.  This is
good for determining if there are RTS/CTS problems in the network,
but isn't really very good at protocol analyisis, at least, not unless
you're debugging your own implementation of a protocol.

The EXPENSIVE solution:

Network General, Inc. makes a product called the Sniffer, which is
an awesome tool for network analysis and debugging.  Unfortunately,
with a LocalTalk card and the appropriate software, it costs about
$25,000.  However, it has extensive features for packet filtering,
line monitoring, etc., combined with an easy-to-use interface
that makes it worth every penny, if a high-performance tool is what
you need.

We use both of these tools at Shiva, depending on what we're trying
to debug, but it's generally a lot more convienient to launch PEEK
on a Mac and take a look at what's going on on the net, than it is to
schelp the sniffer over, plug it in, set it up, etc.  But, sometimes,
only the sniffer will do.

Hope this helps.

o--