System Administration > System Administration Utilities > CygNet Message Sniffer Lite Utility

CygNet Message Sniffer Lite Utility

The CygNet Message Sniffer Lite (SnifferLite.exe) utility is a diagnostic tool that captures and evaluates all CygNet message traffic occurring on a CygNet client or host. Sniffer Lite is designed to help the CygNet administrator understand what messaging is occurring between CygNet clients and services in order to diagnose problems and improve performance.

The diagnostic sequence of the CygNet Message Sniffer Lite utility is:

  1. Starts the capture of CygNet messaging traffic.
  2. Reproduces the suspected messaging problems.
  3. Stops the capture of messages.
  4. Allows the user to evaluate the captured messages to support or dispute assumptions.

CygNet uses RUDP for packet transmission. For more information, see CygNet Data Packets and RUDP.

Note: You should only capture messages continuously with SnifferLite for a brief period of time (a few minutes) since it stores all of the captured messages in memory and could cause errors if messages are captured for a longer period of time.

The CygNet Message Sniffer Lite utility is stored in the CygNet\Utilities (SnifferLite.exe) directory on the host server. To start the utility, use Windows Explorer to browse to the directory and double-click the program icon.

Sniffer Lite Utility

For more information, see the following subsections:

CygNet Message Sniffer Lite Utility Properties

The following table lists and describes CygNet Message Sniffer Lite Utility properties.

Property Description
Show Client Ports  
Resolve Addresses Sets attributes on the packet capturing object within the utility and sends out packets to gather further information.
Passive Resolve Sets attributes on the packet capturing object within the utility.
Interfaces Lists the available network interfaces.
Packet Stats Displays the packet statistics of the captured messages.
Start Capture/Stop Capture Starts the capture of CygNet messages, opens the Packet Stats dialog box, and changes the button to Stop Capture, which when clicked ends the capture process.
Summary Opens the CygNet Message Summary dialog box.
CygNet Messages Opens the CygNet Message Viewer, which displays the list of captured CygNet messages.

To Capture Messages Using Sniffer Lite

  1. Go to the CygNet\Utilities directory on the host server and open the CygNet Message Sniffer Lite (SnifferLite.exe) utility.
  2. Select the desired parameters and interfaces. If you have multiple network adapters on your machine, ensure each one is checked in the Interfaces list box so that all messages are captured.
  3. Click Start Capture. The Packet Stats dialog box opens and the changing values confirm that messages are successfully being captured.

    4. Note: If User Account Control (UAC) is enabled, capturing CygNet messages requires administrator-level permission. See CygNet and User Account Control for more information.

  4. If desired, click Hide to hide the Packet Stats dialog box.
  5. If analyzing a CygNet client (for example, CygNet Studio), open the client that is demonstrating the slow performance time and wait for it to load fully.
  6. Click Stop Capture to end the capture process.
  7. To view the list of CygNet messages captured, click CygNet Messages. The CygNet Message Viewer dialog box displays the captured messages. Sorting on the column headers facilitates viewing according to categories.
    1. To isolate specific messages or message types, right-click a message and choose an option from the drop-down menu. Another CygNet Message Viewer dialog box opens to display only the selected options.
    2. Click the 1st Pkt No. column header to view the messages in the order sent.
    3. The Delta (ms) column displays the amount of time it took to request and receive data for each message.
  1. To view a summary of all messages, click Summary. The CygNet Message Summary dialog box opens.

Packet Stats

View the CygNet Message Summary

Click for more information

The CygNet Message Summary dialog box provides a high-level view of the CygNet messages captured using the CygNet Message Sniffer Lite utility. By moving the groups up or down in the Group Order field and then clicking Refresh, a user can view the messages according to client, server, or message. The first three columns of the display change accordingly. A user can expand specific items in the list for more information. If Show Top Level Rollup is checked, clicking Re-Group will roll up the expanded items. The Export button exports the data in the summary to a CSV file. For more information, see Common Messages Captured Using Sniffer Lite.

View the CygNet Message Viewer

Click for more information

The CygNet Message Viewer dialog box displays the list of captured CygNet messages. The title displays the number of messages contained in the RUDP packets. Sorting on the column headers facilitates viewing according to categories. For example, clicking the 1st Pkt No. column header sorts the messages in the order sent. Clicking the Server column header sorts the list by the CygNet service name to which the message was sent. Selecting Refresh returns the list to its original order.

Right-clicking on a message displays a drop-down menu with four options available for the user to isolate messages.

Selecting one of these options opens another CygNet Message Viewer dialog box that displays the selected option from the drop-down menu. The Export button exports the data from the CygNet Message Viewer to a CSV file.

Common Messages Captured Using Sniffer Lite

The following table lists common types of messages that are captured when using the CygNet Message Sniffer Lite utility. This list is not inclusive, as messages may vary and the actual messages may contain various parameters specific to different clients and users.

Captured Message Description
ADD_EVENT Adds an entry into an ELS.
CAS_GET Updates client alarms.
GENSERV Registers information to or gathers information from services.
GET_DATABASE_INFO Requests basic information about a database (for example, sequence number).
GET_INCREMENTAL Requests incremental information about a database. Can also gather a list of keys and updates.
GET_TABLE_ROW Gathers table row information from a database.
GET_TABLE_ROW_BY_INDEX Uses an index to gather table row information.
GET_VHS_INCREMENTAL_CHANGES Gathers list of incremental changes to a VHS.
LIST_HISTORY_VALUES_EX Reads history values from a point in chronological order based on a given timestamp. Can be related to a trend in a CygNet Studio screen.
READ_DATA Reads data from a service. Can appear due to missing index.
RT_GET Compiles entire lists of real-time service components (for example, points and facilities).
RT_GET_TAGLIST Returns a list of real-time tags from a service.
SD_ADDR_GET Used by an ARS asking for address/location of another service.
RT_SET_CVS_POINT Sets a real-time value.

Menu and Toolbar Options

The following tables list and define command options accessed using the CygNet Message Sniffer Lite utility menu and toolbar. See the following sections below for more information:

File Menu Options

The following table lists and describes File menu options.

Option Description Toolbar Icon Shortcut
Open Select a previously captured message file. Browse to look for an .snf file. Select service Ctrl+O
Save Select to save the captured packet data as an .snf file. The dafault file name is packetdata.snf, but you can rename if necessary. Save Ctrl+S
Import PCAP     Ctrl+I
Export PCAP      
Clear Select to clear packets from the capture buffer and clear statistics. Clear packets Ctrl+X
Start Capture Starts the message capture process. See To Capture Messages above.    
Stop Capture Stops the message capture process. See To Capture Messages above.    
Recent File A numbered list of recent files.    
Exit Select to quit the CygNet Message Sniffer Lite utility.    

View Menu Options

The following table lists and describes View menu options.

Option Description
Toolbar Hide or Show the toolbar.
Display Options Hide or Show the check boxes under the toolbar.
Packet Stats Select to show the Packet Stats dialog box, if it had been hidden.

Tools Menu Options

The following table lists and describes Tools menu options.

Option Description

Capture Options

Select to configure the packet capture options:

  • Promiscuous Mode
  • Capture Method
  • Buffer Size

PCAP Mass Convert

 

Help Menu Options

The following table lists and describes Help menu options.

Option Description

About CygNet Sniffer Lite

Displays an About CygNet Packet Sniffer Lite Utility dialog box to view application information.

Available information includes the following:

  • The application name, version, and release date
  • Copyright information
  • The CygNet Software website address, including a hyperlink to the website
  • The log file location, including a hyperlink to the log file
  • The location of the application's file executable

In addition to information about the application, the About box includes the following buttons:

  • Client Settings — opens the Client Settings dialog box to view and modify client log settings for the application on an ad hoc basis. See Client Log Settings in the Logging section for more information.
  • Diagnostics — access the following options for additional analysis from the drop-down menu:
  • Loaded Modules — use this option to view and search file information for modules loaded in your system. Double-click any result row to view properties for that module. See Loaded Modules for more information.
  • Gather Logs — accesses the Windows file directory where the open log files are located. Double-click to select and view an application log file.
  • User Local Crash Dumps — Local crash dumps are not enabled. See Generating Crash Dumps for more information.
  • Close — click to close the About box.
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