B-4
CiscouBR10012 Universal Broadband Router Troubleshooting Guide
OL-1237-01
AppendixB Recommended Tools and Test Equipment
Testing with Network Analyzers
Testing with Network Analyzers
Use network analyzers (also called protocol analyzers) to decode protocol la yers in a recorded frame and
present the layers as readable abbreviations or summaries, de tailing which layer is involved (physical,
data link, and so forth) and the function each byte or byte content serves.
Most network analyzers can perform many of the following functions:
•Filter traffic that meets certain criteria so that, for example, all traffic to and from a particular device
can be captured.
•Time-stamp captured data.
•Present protocol layers in an easily readable form.
•Generate frames and transmit them onto the network.
•Incorporate an “expert” system in which the analyzer uses a set of rules, combined with information
about the network configuration and operation, to diagnose and solve, or offer potential solutions
to, network problems.