Appendix A

Implementation Profile

Buffers

Three types of buffers are essential to the execution of Surveyor’s features:

 

Table A-1. Buffer Types Used By Surveyor

 

 

 

Buffer Type

 

Description

 

 

 

Real-Time (Monitor)

 

A real-time buffer provides the transient data storage area for on-the-

Buffer

 

fly frame analysis which, in conjunction with MAC statistics and error

 

 

counters, produces real-time LAN analysis and monitoring informa-

 

 

tion. Data captured from the network is copied to this area after filter-

 

 

ing. The data is immediately available for evaluation, and for

 

 

streaming copy to disk, after which it is discarded from the buffer.

 

 

 

Capture Buffer

 

A capture buffer provides a durable data store of LAN traffic filtered

 

 

and captured in real-time, which is kept for later analysis or saved to

 

 

disk. The capture buffer is a “wrap-around” buffer; once filled, it begins

 

 

filling again from the beginning and older data is lost unless saved to

 

 

disk.

 

 

 

Transmit Buffer

 

A transmit buffer is used as storage for packets to be transmitted

 

 

when performing network or LAN component testing. The transmit

 

 

buffer stores traffic which can be transmitted on the network.

 

 

 

How Resources Use Buffers

Surveyor supports THGm, Portable Surveyor 10/100 Ethernet Analyzer Card, and NDIS (10/100 Ethernet) LAN interfaces. Buffering is implemented with these interfaces as described in Table A-2.

A-1

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Finisar manual How Resources Use Buffers, Table A-1. Buffer Types Used By Surveyor, Buffer Type Description