A packet analyzer, also known as a sniffer or network analyzer, monitors and directs data flow on the internet by capturing and analyzing data packets. It can be hardware or software and can troubleshoot network issues, block inappropriate content, and gather statistical information. The data in packets is governed by the Internet Protocol and RFC regulations.
Like an air traffic controller who monitors and directs the flow of aircraft around a busy airport, a packet analyzer monitors and directs the flow of data through portals on the Internet. A packet analyzer can also be called a sniffer, network analyzer, protocol analyzer, or wireless sniffer, among other things. It is designed to capture data packets going up through the network and decode and analyze the data. The packet analyzer will then display the results of this analysis to a network administrator for further action. Or, the packet analyzer can be programmed to automatically trigger repairs to network traffic outages.
When the air traffic controller encounters an interruption, intentional or not, in the smooth flow of air traffic, he will evaluate the problem and decide whether a command, warning or simply a traffic diversion will solve the problem. A packet analyzer does essentially the same thing for the Internet packet stream.
Packets, also known as cells, among other terms, are data segments or bits of a particular transmission, whether it’s an email message or a streaming video. These bits are broken down to a certain size, called bytes, and then sent, over Ethernet or WiFi, along the best path to reach the intended recipient. Paths can be different for each packet of a particular message, depending on the fastest and most supportive path. Just as an air traffic controller regulates traffic in an air corridor, a packet analyzer regulates the flow of data in different network bandwidths.
Each packet usually contains three parts: 1) a header, which are instructions referring to the data inside the packet; 2) the actual payload or data in the packet; 3) the trailer or code that tells the receiving device that it is nearing the end of the packet.
Packet analyzers can be hardware, such as a network card, or software, such as coded instructions fed into the network via network devices. The interception, decoding and analysis of the data by the packet analyzer results in the troubleshooting of various paths and receptors, computers or nodes on the network to fix anomalies, block inappropriate content and/or gather statistical information about the suitability and practicality of particular network support systems.
As a rule, the data contained in the packets, as well as the routing of packet transmission, are governed by the Internet Protocol (IP) which is, in turn, governed by Request for Comment (RFC) regulations. This regulatory agency, made up of members of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) is one of several criteria that a packet analyzer is designed to adhere to in its analysis and reporting processes
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