What is a Packet Analyzer?
Like an air traffic controller monitoring and directing the flow of aircraft around a busy airport, a packet analyzer monitors and directs the flow of data through portals in the Internet. A packet analyzer may also be called a sniffer, a network analyzer, a protocol analyzer or a wireless sniffer, among other things. It is designed to grab packets of data soaring through the network and decode and analyze the data. The packet analyzer will then display the results of this analysis to a network administrator for further action. Or, the packet analyzer may be programmed to automatically actuate repairs to network traffic interruptions. When the air traffic controller encounters a hold up, either intentional or otherwise, in the smooth flow of air traffic, he or she will assess the problem and decide whether a command, a warning or simply a rerouting of the traffic will fix the problem. A packet analyzer does essentially the same thing for Internet packet flow. Packets, also known as cel
• A program that filters every packet arriving at a host • Based on configuration, portions of the each packet may be displayed or saved • Useful for debugging implementations or just figuring out what’s on your network • Analyzers can be used for both good and evil • • Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS’s) are based on packet analyzers • Hackers can use analyzers to discover passwords • Billing systems may use packet analyzers • The BEST way of learning how networks really work!!
