Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!wuarchive!mit-eddie!uw-beaver!milton!sumax!quick!dsinet!marka
From: marka@dsinet (Mark Anacker)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.lans
Subject: Re: Looking for comments on network analyzers
Summary: another one to look at...
Message-ID: <581@elroy>
Date: 12 Apr 91 23:59:12 GMT
References: <5336.27f1d691@cpva.saic.com> <4669@dftsrv.gsfc.nasa.gov> <6222@male.EBay.Sun.COM>
Organization: Digital Systems Intl., Inc.
Lines: 40

In article <6222@male.EBay.Sun.COM>, elf@oldearth.EBay.Sun.COM (Ed Fleschute) writes:
> In article <4669@dftsrv.gsfc.nasa.gov>, lanmaint@nssdcb.gsfc.nasa.gov
> (Dave Yoest) writes:
    .... 
> I'll second the evaluation that Dave has performed.  The LANALYZER is
> a great tool for doing physical layer analysis.  If you are experiencing
    ....
> The SNIFFER is excellent at higher level protocol analysis.  If I was looking
> to find a NFS protocol bug I definitly would prefer the SNIFFER.

There's a new entry on the market - the Protolyzer (don't you just love
the original names :-) from Pro-Tools in Beaverton, Oregon.  We just
had a 30-minute demo yesterday, and I WANT ONE.  It's a software
product that runs ideally in a 25Mhz 386 portable (under OS/2), and
uses a windowed icon-based programming system to build custom "soft"
analyzers.  Definitely a neat device - has all sort of external
interfacing (stats, alarms, etc) too.

> Two things I don't like about the HP 4972.  
> 
> 	1) It is VERY heavy.  If this isn't going to be mounted in a rack
> 	   or on a cart, get something else.

VERY VERY VERY heavy - try lugging one through an airport sometime...
 
> 	2) I found the HP difficult to program.  With the software they
> 	    had two years ago it was difficult to do a display sorted on the
> 	    hosts with the highest error counts.  This may have been updated
> 	    in the last couple of years.

It's a pain to write filters for anything higher than the MAC layer,
but I haven't found anything more reliable for physical-level
diagnosis.  It actually has a decent TDR function.


-- 
Mark Anacker				...{!dsinet,!toybox}!marka
Digital Systems International, Inc.	Redmond, WA   USA    (206) 881-7544
"We have a massive leadership vacuum in this country...
    and we need to change bags" - Sen. Belfry