Highlights of the EtherScope analyzer's automated network discovery appear on the main screen, including the identification of the nearest switch, and the slot and port to which you are connected.

Easy to navigate, the EtherScope Series II Network Assistant's user interface is powered by a Linux operating system. Access to Linux provides web, telnet and other PC-type tools.

Nearest Switch
Determining where you are connecting into the network is often the first challenge when diagnosing user issues. EtherScope's Nearest Switch discovery speeds you on your way whether you are troubleshooting a problem, validating a move or updating documentation by identifying the slot and port to which you are connected. With the nearest switch identified, EtherScope makes it easy to launch a web browser or Telnet session to configure the switch or examine switch details and port statistics.

Switch port diagnostics
Look into your switched/VLAN networks for global problem identification at light speed. You'll see your WLANs via wired-side switch port analysis. Point to any remote SNMP/RMON device and track remote interface utilization.

Switch Scan
Continuously monitor the discovered Nearest Switch and an additional user-selected switch for high utilization and errors. See the average and peak utilization, traffic in and out, packets, octets, errors and speed by switch slot and port. Select an interface of interest and trend network traffic or drill down for interface details.

EtherScope conveniently organizes discovered devices by IP Subnets, NetBIOS Domains and IPX networks. Subnet details include address ranges and subnet masks, while domain details identify master browsers and domain controllers. An easy-to-use Find feature searches across all networks to quickly locate each occurrence of a device using full or partial names, IP addresses or MAC addresses.

If you are using a management VLAN, switches are typically not visible to the discovery process. But, with EtherScope, you can simply add your switches as user-defined devices, giving you a complete picture of your switched network. EtherScope automatically determines the nearest switch, interface and VLAN for each discovered device, making it easy to resolve issues and track configuration changes.

Discover up to 1,000 devices and extract switch and VLAN information showing you where users are connected. Save your staff time when they troubleshoot network connection issues and congestion.

Identify vital network stats
The tri-color LEDs constantly update showing link status, utilization levels, collisions, errors and transmit activity.

Network Health
View utilization on the segment to which you are connected for a quick look at network activity.

Monitor key devices
Key Device Ping verifies connectivity to a list of user-defined devices: routers, servers or switches.

Identify capacity trends and needs
Switch port statistics and trending show steady and bursty traffic, allowing you and your staff to pinpoint problems quickly.

Boost network uptime
View your network's traffic statistics, including protocol mix, top senders, top broadcasters, and error sources. Identify and locate bandwidth hogs and isolate them from the network if necessary. Analyze performance trends with baseline data reports.

Test 802.3af Power over Ethernet (PoE) links. The EtherScope Series II can emulate a 802.3af powered device to solicit and measure voltage on each pin.

Verify the characteristics of UTP and STP copper cabling: length, impedance, shorts opens and wire mismatches. Use office IDs to identify remote work are outlets.

Connect a DSP fiber optic meter (DSP-FOM) to the LAN port to measure optical power and fiber optic cable loss.

Construct a test suite consisting of one or more RFC 2544 or advanced tests. For each of these end-to-end performance tests, specify the LAN or WAN link(s) to test by defining the target device(s). Test the same link multiple times with varying configurations to observe performance differences. Test multiple links from a single destination using multiple remotes. Add pass/fail limits to each test, making it easy for everyone to interpret the results. Click the Start button once to run all the tests in the suite in a single, automated operation. View and save tabular and graphical results to document link performance.

Is co-channel interference causing a problem? Is signal strength to low to support all users? Wireless EtherScope continuously scans 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies providing visibility into wireless LAN coverage and performance. Choose the measurement you wish to view using drop down menus that include signal strength, signal to noise ratio, utilization, and several other useful measurements. Quickly determine if your access points are configured for the appropriate channels and that the RF transmit power is appropriate for your environment.

Who is using the network, and where are they? Are wireless clients congregating in one area of the building, dragging down wireless network performance? Wireless EtherScope quickly identifies all wireless network access points and discovers all associated clients. Visibility into wireless network utilization helps you make better decisions about access point placement and expansion to support actual usage patterns.

See who the top bandwidth users are at a glance. Use Wireless EtherScope to identify the busiest access points and the most demanding wireless clients.

Drill-in to view wireless LAN metrics such as FCS errors, crosstalk, and retries. Identify suspicious activity, then identify the source and solve the problem.

Wireless security is a top concern, and wireless security policies are difficult to enforce. Use Wireless EtherScope to perform periodic audits of the wireless environment. Wireless EtherScope automatically discovers rogue access points, unauthorized wireless bridges, mobile clients and ad-hoc networks, enabling quick response and resolution.

EtherScope utilizes an external, directional antenna to speed location of targeted 802.11 devices by 75% compared to a standard omni-directional antenna.

Rotate the antenna 360° and note the direction of strongest signal strength on the graphical display. Follow the strongest signal strength path to locate the target device. Direct the antenna upwards and downwards to locate APs in ceilings and on floors above and below – extremely helpful in a multi-floor environment.

Wireless EtherScope discovers whether infrastructure and client devices are employing the appropriate authentication mechanism. EAP (Extensible Authentication Protocol) authentication is tested and monitored using Wireless EtherScope's login test tool. Using Wireless EtherScope, force a wireless client to disassociate from an access point, and monitor the client and access point EAP exchange as the client re-authenticates on the network. Discover if, where, and when the EAP authentication process breaks down.

Has the RF environment changed since the access points were installed? Is wireless network coverage sufficient to support all users? Does the wireless network provide ubiquitous coverage sufficient to support seamless roaming? Use Wireless EtherScope to capture baseline RF coverage data immediately after the wireless infrastructure is installed, then compare historical data to periodic survey data over time. Use this information to make minor adjustments to wireless access point transmit power, relocate access points, or add new access points before RF environmental changes impact your user community.

On your LAN; find duplicate IPs, duplex mismatches, and DHCP failures. Monitor switch-port statistics, identify and track all your VLAN devices. Drill-in on the Problems Log to evaluate each error, warning and informational message. On your WLAN, detect TX percent, retries, rates and potential security vulnerabilities.

The Service Performance Tool verifies the existence and measures the responsiveness of key network services. Select from among six network services: DHCP, DNS, e-mail, file, WINS and web. Add pass/fail thresholds for each service. Pass/fail assessment makes it easy for everyone to interpret the test results. Save the test configuration as a script for future testing or to share with team members. Configure the test and then click the start button to launch an automated series of service performance tests. View the results in tabular and graphical formats. Save the results for documentation and as an element of a LAN validation report.