What is a Protocol Analyzer?
Protocol analyzers capture conversations between two or more systems or devices. A protocol analyzer not only captures the traffic, it also decodes (interprets) the traffic. Decoding allows you to view the conversation in English, as opposed to binary language. A sophisticated protocol analyzer will also provide statistics and trend information on the captured traffic. Protocol analyzers provide information about the traffic flow on your LAN, from which you can view device-specific information. Unlike SNMP-based management consoles, protocol analyzers are device independent.
