michaelo@tektronix.UUCP (Michael O'Hair) (01/20/86)
To: net.lan Subject: Desired LAN monitor features --------------------------------------- [ * ] Some questions concerning LAN monitors: What features should be included in a LAN monitor? Protocol independence? High speed data acquisition? Low price? Flexibility? It would help to rank the features from 0 (nice but not necessary), to 4 (absolutely must have). Send replies to me or post to the net. Michael O'Hair Tektronix, Inc. P.O. Box 500 Beaverton, OR 97077 M/S 50-709 1-503-627-6049 tektronix!michaelo
gassman@jedi.DEC (01/22/86)
! What features should be included in a LAN monitor?
! Michael O'Hair - Tektronix
There are several approaches to a LAN monitor. I'll describe
my thoughts based on an ETHERnet V2 or 802.3 LAN since that's
what I use daily.
The most simple approach would monitor the electrical signal
on the cable, via carrier sense, and present an averaged value
to the user. Calibrated in % signal present, or megabits (1-10).
It's by nature protocol independent, inexpensive, and a rough
measurement of what the LAN is doing. Portability is required
for documenting measurements in regions, while installing bridges.
Price of one of these could go from $89 to $495, depending on
packaging. I'd like to see one that would fit in my briefcase
and be able to attach to BNC or 9 pin plugs. I'd like the face
calibrated in megabits, from one to ten. The area between zero
and three megabits would be colored green, three to six megabits
would be colored yellow, and red above that. Much like a tachometer.
If you call it an "ETHERmeter", please give me royalities. :-)
There of course is a need for a moderate cost monitor that can pick
out the various protocols, and give traffic stats. Any monitor
must be able to run at a very high packet rate, so none are missed.
Very few ethernet boards can catch it all today, and process the
information. Collision statistics might be interesting as well,
as % collision of total packets can tell you a lot.
bill gassman
digital