Protocol Analyzer

 

As a network administrator, you know it takes a huge effort to navigate the evolving IT landscape. Whether for a small or large enterprise, managing a network to make it accessible and its performance effective requires a suite of monitoring strategies and tools. Essentially, a protocol analyzer software.

Most IT admins require protocol analyzers to identify potential network risks and help troubleshoot them. Unlike traditional analytics, protocol analyzer systems can find the source of security incidents with forensics features and get them resolved quickly.

What is a protocol analyzer?

A protocol analyzer, also referred as packet sniffer is a tool that allows IT admins to capture and analyze network traffic data for detecting any performance issues or identifying harmful activity. Network protocol analyzer systems come in the form of hardware, software, or a combination of the two.

While hardware systems are used for capturing and analyzing the headers of packets as they pass through the network, software-based systems capture the data with software and display it in a readable format. The statistics can identify traffic spikes that happen during peak hours and help recognize security attacks disguised as business requests.

Types of Protocol Analyzers

Typically, there are two main types of protocol analyzers, each serving distinct roles based on the network environment and requirements. That includes,

  1. Hardware-based analyzers are standalone devices specifically designed for capturing and analyzing network traffic. Equipped with dedicated hardware components, they are well-suited for environments requiring high performance, reliability, or specialized protocol support. These tools are often used in high-speed networks, industrial systems, and telecommunications.
  2. Software-based analyzers are applications installed on standard computers to monitor and analyze network traffic. They rely on the computer's network interface card (NIC) to capture data packets. These tools are versatile, user-friendly, and ideal for general troubleshooting and performance monitoring across various network setups.

What are protocol analyzer tools used for?

Protocol analyzer software can come in handy for many organizations as they work to eliminate bandwidth bottlenecks. They can be used to monitor network performance and help debug errors by pinpointing the root cause of an issue. With network protocol analyzers, also called as packet sniffer you can:

  • Capture data packets as they traverse through the network and analyze them quickly, reducing debugging time.
  • Locate the packets of the network and help identify the causes of congestion in the network traffic.
  • Detect abnormal traffic characteristics in the network, and be alerted to any threats.
  • Learn how the network is being used, what information is passing, and then upgrade security features accordingly.
  • Know the capacity required for each department in your organization and plan for any capacity upgrades.

Challenges with not using a protocol analyzer tool

While organizations might invest in a suite of tools to gain complete visibility over their network, they still miss out on the benefits of a comprehensive solution. Without protocol analyzer, blind spots in their network remain, there's less knowledge about what traffic is passing through it, and the overall performance and accessibility of the network is hampered.

Given today's hybrid work environment, a significant and varied amount of data can pass through your network, and managing it is complex without a protocol analysis tool. If you're not spotting unusual levels of network traffic and packet characteristics, you might be allowing harmful traffic into your IT environment. Moreover, when your network is handling traffic above its threshold, it may slow and lead to an outage.

While security systems such as firewalls can help protect your network, they can be ineffective against highly evolved cyberattacks and leave your network at risk. With a protocol analyzer system, you can detect malicious traffic with packet-level capture and behavior analytics.

Protocol analysis made simple with NetFlow Analyzer!

NetFlow Analyzer is a network protocol analysis tool that monitors, captures, and analyzes your network traffic and presents the insights as graphical charts with granular details of up to one minute. You get information about traffic types by packets, volume, speed, and utilization.

Protocol Analyzer - ManageEngine NetFlow Analyzer

With our network protocol analyzer tool, you can find the bandwidth usage by Layer 4, Layer 7 and homegrown applications. You can also find the bandwidth consumed by protocols and generate protocol distribution reports to find the root cause of any performance issue.

Need a protocol analyzer that simplifies monitoring and troubleshooting?

Try NetFlow Analyzer today
Network protocol analyzer

More on Protocol Analyzer

What is the purpose of protocol analyzer?

 

Protocol analyzers have the ability to capture and analyze data packets and its contents to understand how the information is being transferred in the network.

What are the benefits of protocol analysis?

 

Protocol analyzers can be useful to your enterprise in many ways:

  • Identifying bandwidth issues.
  • Diagnosing hacking attempts.
  • Identifying bandwidth-hogging applications.
  • Troubleshooting network issues easily.

How does a protocol analyzer work?

 

Network protocols are a standard set of rules and formats that ensure data transfers between two or more devices over a network are easy, reliable, and secure. Some network protocols include the following:

  • Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)
  • Internet Protocol (IP)
  • User Datagram Protocol (UDP)
  • Post Office Protocol (POP)
  • Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)
  • File Transfer Protocol (FTP)

A network protocol analyser is a tool that captures and analyzes bandwidth and traffic data over a network. It can help you:

  • View the bandwidth statistics of every protocol in the network.
  • Prevent inactive applications from using valuable bandwidth.
  • Keep track of the network protocol distribution and solve network issues quickly by offering clear visibility on the problem at hand.

Experience a tool trusted by 1 million IT admins across the globe.

NetFlow analyzer, it speaks for itself. It gives us a good insight into what's happening on the network. The security team and network team use it quite extensively. It's a great product, easy to use.

Australian

Community Media

NetFlow Analyzer boasts a rich set of features that align well with its intended purpose. The ability to collect, monitor, and analyze NetFlow, sFlow, J-Flow, and other flow data from various devices. The tools provide in-depth traffic analysis, top talkers, application protocols, and overall network performance helping identify bandwidth hogs and potential bottlenecks.

Research And Development Associate

IT Services Industry

The tool best for real-time monitoring of network traffic to view bandwidth usage and network performance. Monitor traffic by protocol, allowing understanding of how different protocols are affecting the network. Source/Destination Analysis visibility into traffic patterns by source and destination IP addresses, aiding in identifying network congestion source.

Senior Quality Engineer

IT Services Industry