computer science

OmniPeek

OmniPeek 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 OmniPeek rather than just read about it. In short: Omnipeek is a packet analyzer software tool from Savvius, a LiveAction company, for network troubleshooting and protocol analysis. It supports an application programming interface (API) for plugins.

Key takeaways

OmniPeek 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 OmniPeek to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of OmniPeek from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Omnipeek is a packet analyzer software tool from Savvius, a LiveAction company, for network troubleshooting and protocol analysis. It supports an application programming interface (API) for plugins.

History Savvius (formerly WildPackets) was founded in 1990 as The AG Group by Mahboud Zabetian and Tim McCreery. In 2000, the company changed its name to WildPackets to address the market it had developed for its products. The first product by the company was written for the Macintosh and was called EtherPeek. It was later ported to Microsoft Windows, which was released in 1997. Earlier, LocalPeek and TokenPeek were developed for LocalTalk and Token Ring networks, respectively. In 2001, AiroPeek was released, which added support for wireless IEEE 802.11 (marketed with the Wi-Fi brand) networks. In 2003, the OmniEngine Distributed Capture Engine was released as software and as a hardware network recorder appliance. In the early morning of July 15, 2002, WildPackets' building in Walnut Creek, California burnt to the ground, including everything in it. No injuries were reported, and the company resumed operations at a new location. Mid-April 2015, the company changed its name from WildPackets to Savvius and broadened its focus to include network security. In June 2018, Savvius was acquired by LiveAction, a company that provides network performance management, visualization and analytics software.

Acquisitions Savvius acquired Net3 Group in November 2000. Their product, NetSense, an expert system for network troubleshooting, was converted initially converted into a plug-in and then later fully integrated into the product EtherPeekNX. Savvius acquired Optimized Engineering Corporation in 2001. As a result, training courses, certifications, and instructors for network analysis were incorporated into the company’s services.

Extensibility Omnipeek has APIs on the front-end for automation, on the back-end for analysis, as well as other mechanisms to extend and enhance the program. There are 40 plug-ins available for the Omnipeek Platform. These plug-ins range from logging extensions to full-blown applications that are hosted by OmniPeek. Remote Adapters: provide a means to capture packets and stats. There are remote adapters to capture from RMON, NetFlow, SFlow, Cisco AP's, Aruba AP's, and Linux boxes. Adapters are available to aggregate packets from multiple network segments and wireless channels at the same time. Protospecs and decoder files, which are interpreted text files, can be modified by users to support additional protocols and enhance existing protocol analysis. This process does not require releasing new versions of the application. The plugin Wizards for the Omnipeek Console and the OmniEngine are Microsoft Visual Studio Project Templates that generate working plug-ins. When the wizard is run, a dialog appears providing options for types of functionality that sample code will be generated for. When the wizard is complete, the user is left with a working plugin with entry points for adding application logic. The MyPeek Community Portal is an online resource for Omnipeek users and developers. It hosts plug-ins, scripts, adapters, tools, and documentation. Users can also share and access support resources for extending Omnipeek functionality. PlaceMap: is a freely available standalone Google Maps Packet sniffer application for Windows that captures network traffic and maps nodes to the Google Map.

Example plugins Google Map Plugin - map nodes to a Google Map SQLFilter Plugin - save and query packets from a database PeekPlayer Plugin - send packet an adapter or a capture window PowerBar Plugin - write scripts that process packets Decoder Plugin - decode packets WatchMe Plugin - display web sites in real-time from URLs Browser Plugin - construct and display web pages from packets IM Plugin - display instant message screen names and chat WebStats Plugin - collect and report web statistics Remote TCPDump Adapter Plugin - stream packets from any machine with SSH and tcpdump Cisco Remote Adapter Plugin - stream packets from Cisco access points Aruba Remote Adapter Plugin - stream packets from Aruba Networks air monitors

References

External links Official website

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with OmniPeek

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what OmniPeek 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 OmniPeek 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 OmniPeek 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 OmniPeek

In research: OmniPeek 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 OmniPeek 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: OmniPeek is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Network analyzers, Packets (information technology), so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for OmniPeek 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 OmniPeek in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what OmniPeek 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 OmniPeek out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is OmniPeek in simple terms?

Omnipeek is a packet analyzer software tool from Savvius, a LiveAction company, for network troubleshooting and protocol analysis. It supports an application programming interface (API) for plugins.

Why does OmniPeek 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 OmniPeek?

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 OmniPeek.