EtherPeek contains many windows of data for each captured trace. You can display more than 90 different windows, summaries, and statistics and view the data from numerous angles. You perform most changes with one mouse click. Another unique feature of EtherPeek that I wish other products had is the ability to quickly filter out traffic you don't want to see in the display. I found this feature constantly useful, especially when trying to quickly filter out remote-monitoring traffic to concentrate on the real traffic problems.
Making a Choice
Rarely has a field been so full of worthy competitors as that of network protocol analyzers. Even the low-end open-source alternative, Ethereal, is feature-rich. You'd have a hard time going wrong by choosing any of these products. In a large,
distributed environment, Network Instruments' Observer appears to have the edge. Network Associate's Netasyst Network Analyzer has the best expert analysis, accurate decodes, and downloadable malware filters. Fluke Networks' OptiView Protocol Expert and WildPackets' EtherPeek are also solid choices for small-to-midsized networks and provide plenty of analysis features. LanHound is a solid protocol analyzer for the money but has stiff competition. My advice is to choose a product that has the feature set you're looking for in the price range your budget dictates.
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Randall Ader July 06, 2004