computer science

Microsoft Network Monitor

Microsoft Network Monitor is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Microsoft Network Monitor rather than just read about it. In short: Microsoft Network Monitor (Netmon) is a deprecated packet analyzer. It enables capturing, viewing, and analyzing network data and deciphering network protocols.

Key takeaways

Microsoft Network Monitor belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Microsoft Network Monitor to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Microsoft Network Monitor from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Microsoft Network Monitor (Netmon) is a deprecated packet analyzer. It enables capturing, viewing, and analyzing network data and deciphering network protocols. It can be used to troubleshoot network problems and applications on the network. Microsoft Network Monitor 1.0 (codenamed Bloodhound) was originally designed and developed by Raymond Patch, a transport protocol and network adapter device driver engineer on the Microsoft LAN Manager development team. Network Monitor was replaced by Microsoft Message Analyzer (MMA was discontinued in 2019).

History The LAN Manager development team had one shared hardware-based analyzer at the time. Netmon was conceived when the hardware analyzer was taken during a test to reproduce a networking bug, and the first Windows prototype was coded over the Christmas holiday. The first 4 bytes of the Netmon capture file format were used to validate the file. The values were 'RTSS' for Ray, Tom, Steve, and Steve - the first four members of the team. The code was originally written for OS/2 and had no user interface; a symbol was placed in the device driver where the packet buffers were kept so received data could be dumped in hex from within the kernel debugger. Netmon caused a bit of a stir for Microsoft IT since networks and e-mail were not encrypted at the time. Only a few software engineers had access to hardware analyzers due to their cost, but with Netmon many engineers around the company had access to network traffic for free. At the request of Microsoft IT, two simple identification features were added - a non-cryptographic password and an identification protocol named the Bloodhound-Oriented Network Entity (BONE) (created and named by Raymond Patch as a play on the codename Bloodhound). Network Monitor 3 is a complete overhaul of the earlier Network Monitor 2.x version. Originally, versions of Network Monitor were only available through other Microsoft products, such as Systems Management Server (SMS). But now the fully featured product with public parsers is available as a free download. Microsoft Network Monitor was superseded by Microsoft Message Analyzer (discontinued in 2019).

Features Some key features of Network Monitor 3.4 include the following:

Process tracking Grouping by network conversation Support for over 300 public and Microsoft proprietary protocols Simultaneous capture sessions Wireless Monitor Mode with supported wireless NICs Real-time capture and display of frames Reassembly of fragmented data Sniffing of promiscuous mode traffic Can read libpcap capture files API to access capture and parsing engine

References

External links Microsoft Network Monitor: Download 3.4 (archive) (Download) Windows and SQL Server Network Monitor Parsers Blog Forum Support for 3 "Information about Network Monitor 3". KB Article. MS Support. June 21, 2014. 933741. Experts at CodePlex Open Source Parsers at CodePlex "How to Monitor Network Traffic on Windows Server 2008". ITT Systems. 26 April 2016. Microsoft Message Analyzer: Download 1.1 "Microsoft Message Analyzer Blog". Microsoft TechNet. Archived from the original on June 12, 2019. Long, Paul E (Sep 17, 2012). "Meet the successor to Microsoft Network Monitor!". Blog. Archived from the original on September 23, 2012. Forum Support for 1.1 Message Analyzer (Network Monitor's successor) on Microsoft Connect Windows Protocol Test Suites 1.0 on GitHub

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Microsoft Network Monitor

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Microsoft Network Monitor claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Microsoft Network Monitor before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Microsoft Network Monitor ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Microsoft Network Monitor

In research: Microsoft Network Monitor appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Microsoft Network Monitor in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Microsoft Network Monitor is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Microsoft software, Network analyzers, Windows network-related software, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Microsoft Network Monitor outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Microsoft Network Monitor in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Microsoft Network Monitor means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Microsoft Network Monitor out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Microsoft Network Monitor in simple terms?

Microsoft Network Monitor (Netmon) is a deprecated packet analyzer. It enables capturing, viewing, and analyzing network data and deciphering network protocols.

Why does Microsoft Network Monitor matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Microsoft Network Monitor?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Microsoft Network Monitor.