Portable WPO review

This month sees two innovative network analysis products. The Sniffer Investigator is an affordable turnkey network-management tool for the budget-conscious SME, while the Sniffer Portable WPO (wireless PDA option) offers a range of easily transportable tools for analysing wireless networks.

The Investigator comes with the Sniffer Pro software installed on a slimline Asus M2A notebook. A Xircom 10/100BaseTX PC Card operates in promiscuous mode looking after network monitoring, packet capture and analysis. Once the laptop is connected to the network segment under scrutiny, you can access a wide range of tools from Sniffer's intuitive interface. A key function of this type of product is its ability to capture network data for further in-depth analysis, and the Investigator doesn't disappoint.

Sniffer collects packets in its capture buffer, and an Expert tool analyses and decodes them in real-time. Extraneous data can be removed by applying filters, event-based triggers can be used to automatically start a packet-capture session, and data from specific stations can be collected by selecting them from a host table listing.

A Dashboard provides three gauges revealing utilisation, packets per second and errors. Beneath this are line graphs for packet size distribution, errors and general network activity, with plenty of other monitoring options too. A host table displays all active stations plus the top ten talkers, the Matrix offers a variety of charts showing various conversations and traffic spreads between nodes, while protocol distribution and global statistics on frame size distribution can be viewed in graph or chart format.

ART (application response tool) could prove useful, as it tracks response times for services such as HTTP. Monitoring application layer connections between clients and servers, ART keeps an eye on the requests and responses on TCP/UDP ports. You can link ART to response thresholds so Sniffer can warn if a particular network service isn't delivering the goods.

Monitor alarms can run continuously and provide timely warnings of problems such as excessive network utilisation and broadcast storms. Expert alarms only function while data capture is active, but they can provide far more insight into detected problems. If a threshold is exceeded it logs this as a symptom, but if a group of events occurs or multiple thresholds are breached Sniffer classes this for immediate attention.

Expert alarms can be assigned one of five severity levels, and Sniffer can reach you by email, beeper or pager if it spots a problem on the network. Reporting is basic - you can export data from the monitoring tools into CSV, PRN and TXT formats, but only the Expert can export data into HTML. If you're more demanding, you'll need the optional Sniffer Reporter utility.

The Portable WPO solution claims to be the first wireless network analyser for a handheld device. Note that the company only provides the Sniffer Portable software, which costs £2,663, and expects you to source the HP PDA hardware. However, you can buy the complete package from the company's channel partners for £3,499, including a dual-port PC Card expansion pack and Symbol Spectrum wireless PC Card.

The Sniffer Portable software is accompanied by good documentation, but it's very simple to use. From the RT (real-time) menu, you can view a table showing general network activity or switch to a Dashboard view, similar to that offered by Investigator. The AP option displays all access points within range along with details on the ESSID, channel, encryption status, supported transfer rates and signal strength, while a table below reveals more detail about frame types. A host table provides general details on all access points and mobile units, and you can channel surf to locate more access points.