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Network Packet Analyzer CAPSA Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is Packet Analyzer CAPSA?  

2. What can I do using the Packet Analyzer CAPSA?  
3. What are the key advantages of the Network Packet Analyzer CAPSA vs. other Sniffing products?
4. What are the key features missing in the Packet Analyzer CAPSA comparing with leading Sniffing products priced at thousands of dollars?
5. What are the differences between the Packet Analyzer CAPSA Professional edition and the Enterprise edition?

6. I can not find a place to enter the license key. What can I do to turn a demo version to a full version?

7. Does Network Packet Analyzer CAPSA work via MS terminal services?

8. How does the Filter work in the Packet Analyzer CAPSA?

9. How do I setup a filter to let the Packet Analyzer CAPSA focus on one IP?

10. Why does the packets view list have no text?
11. Does Packet Analyzer CAPSA work with RAS/PPP adapters?
12. I'm on a LAN and when I run the program and try to choose an adapter, the list does not show any adapters on my network. Why?

13. Does Packet Analyzer CAPSA support a wireless adapter?

14. Why does Packet Analyzer CAPSA Pro only show only packets originating from my computer, but not from other computers in the LAN?

15. I am connecting to the Internet with a dial up connection. I carry out all the steps (new project etc...) but I don't understand why it asks me for a network adapter?
16. How do I use this product to analyze traffic on other switch ports if our network is tied together through a switch?

17. Logging of emails and web activity etc seems to stop after 3 or 4 hours. Is there a limit or does something need to be checked to avoid this?

18. Why are no data displayed under the Referrer in Web view?

19. We operate with Windows 2000 server and Exchange. The program doesn't show e-mails which are sent. The whole page stays Blank. What did I do wrong?

20. I am trying to monitor traffic speed and all entries show 0.00 KB/S. Please Explain.

21. When I try to install the evaluation version, I get the message: C:/WINNT/system32/W32N50.DLL. An error occurred while trying to replace the existing file; Delete File failed; code 5. The program is not running. What can I do?

22. I have one Intranet client. It was shown as one IP yesterday but is shown another today. Why?

23. I have 10 -12 computers that show up on the Intranet list. Some have plus signs besides them that can be expanded to see traffic and email but others do not. Could you tell me why?

24. The Email and Transaction pages are always blank. No data has been captured from the LAN but I can see a list of IPs that have connected to my PC. Why?

25. Why can't I capture emails?
26. I used a hub to connect multiple PCs as well as the PC with the Packet Analyzer CAPSA. But I still can not see traffic of other PCs. What is wrong?

Q: What are the key advantages of Network Packet Analyzer CAPSA vs. other Sniffing products?

A: The key advantages of Network Packet Analyzer CAPSA are:

1) Easy to use User Interface: you save days of training time and thousand of dollars of training cost.

2) Supports both Ethernet and WLAN with one product for both infrastructure. You save learning time and the cost to buy the additional software.

3) Can be installed on any PC. You save cost of buying additional special hardware. 

4) Capable of viewing complete transactions and messages (emails, user access loggings etc.) in their original formats, as well as bits/bytes.  You save a significant amount of time in network monitoring and troubleshooting.

5) The enterprise edition provides many reports and graphic charts for technical and business decisions.

6) All these great features at a small fraction of the cost of other sniffing tools

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Q: What are the key features missing in the Packet Analyzer CAPSA compared with leading Sniffing products priced at thousands of dollars?

A: Network Packet Analyzer CAPSA focuses on TCP/IP protocol suite and IP applications. Some leading Sniffing products priced at a few thousand dollars may support a broader range of protocols such as some legacy protocols like DecNet, NetWare etc. If you really need to decode those protocols, you may have to spend ten or twenty times more to get those tools. If you need a tool for your Ethernet/WLAN with IP, with easy to use functions and UI as well as a low cost of purchase and ownership, then the Packet Analyzer CAPSA is the right choice.  For an overview of network sniffers, click here.

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A: Packet Analyzer CAPSA Professional Edition:  designed for network professionals who need to do daily network traffic monitoring, protocol analysis, and network troubleshooting. 

Packet Analyzer CAPSA Enterprise Edition :  on top of all functions and features of the Professional edition, this edition provides more advanced functions such as comprehensive statistical report and graphic views, additional adaptor support, advanced packet filters, etc.  This is the solution for a business to do real time network monitoring, traffic and usage analysis, troubleshooting and much more... 

For details of the feature comparison of the two editions, click here.

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Q: I can not find a place to enter the license key. What can I do to turn a demo version to a full version?

A: It is because you are still using the demo version of the software. You can not enter a license key or serial number to turn the demo version into a full functional version. You must install a full version of the software and apply the license key and serial number. After you finishing the order process of the software, we will send you an email with a link to download the full version software, together with the license key and serial number.  You have to uninstall the demo version first before installing the full version, and then enter the license key and serial number to start Packet Analyzer CAPSA.

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Q.  How does the Filter work in the Packet Analyzer CAPSA?
A: The filter is a critical tool of the Packet Analyzer CAPSA. The creation and modification of the filter is very easy.  You can custom the Filter to help you delete, compare and parse captured data. Each filter in Packet Analyzer CAPSA is set up separately and saved in a project file, allowing you to use it for other projects. Once a Filter is created, it can be used instantly without restarting capture.

Packet Analyzer CAPSA has four Filter types: Packet Filter, Email Filter, Web Filter and Transaction Filter. These are associated with three analysis modules: Email Analysis Module, Web Analysis Module, and Transaction Analysis Module.

The process of data filtration is shown as follows: 

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Q: How do I setup a filter to let Network Packet Analyzer CAPSA focus on one IP?

A: To focus on one IP, setup two filter items as follows:
In the 1st filter item, set two Address fields to "123.123.123.123" and "Any" and the action to "Accept"
In the 2nd filter item, set two Address fields to "Any" and "Any" and the action to "Drop"
NOTE: 123.123.123.123 is the IP address you want the Packet Analyzer CAPSA to focus on.

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Q: Does Network Packet Analyzer CAPSA work via MS terminal services?

A: Yes. (Packet Analyzer CAPSA 3.0 and later.)

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Q: Why does the packets view list have no text?

A: For performance reasons, Packet Analyzer CAPSA uses "Virtual ListView" to display captured packets (the top right section). This requires version 4.71 or later of the Windows Common Control library. This library is part of the Windows 98, Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0, and is available as a separate download from the Windows Common Control Library of the Microsoft web site . The library is not required for Windows 2000.

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Q: Does Network Packet Analyzer CAPSA work with RAS/PPP adapters?

A: No. At this time Packet Analyzer CAPSA does NOT work with RAS/PPP adapters.

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Q: I'm on a LAN and when I run the program and try to choose an adapter, the list does not show any adapters on my network.

A: Packet Analyzer CAPSA includes the capability to dynamically load the supporting NDIS protocol drivers. However, the Windows NT and Windows 2000 security model does not normally allow non-administrator users to load and unload device drivers.

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Q: Does the Network Packet Analyzer CAPSA support a wireless adapter?

A: Yes. However, you may not get the results that you are hoping for. When an 802.11 adapter is operating in infrastructure mode the WLAN communication between the client and the access point (AP) is similar to connecting the client to a switch (instead of a hub). You will NOT see communications between the access point and other hosts connected to the same AP. This is not a limitation of the Packet Analyzer CAPSA. Instead, it is a feature (limitation) of the current NDIS implementation of WiFi support. The adapter hardware may be very flexible and be able to switch between client and AP modes, and do other interesting things; however, NDIS does not currently include any standard mechanism to use the native WiFi features.

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Q: Why doesn't Packet Analyzer CAPSA Pro show only packets originated from my computer, but not from others computer in LAN?

A: Probably you are connected to the LAN based on switch technology. Packet Analyzer CAPSA Professional Edition shows packets from other computers only on hub-based networks. However, most switches allow ports to be configured as "monitor" or "span" ports that will copy some or all of the traffic going across the switch. In fact, these ports are designed for packet sniffers when the network administrator needs to solve a problem. Please refer to the documentation that comes with your switch for information on availability of this feature and configuration instructions. For detailed network configuration instructions, please check the help file in the software.

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Q:  What is Packet Analyzer CAPSA?

A: Packet Analyzer CAPSA is a powerful but easy to use network monitor and analyzer designed for packet decoding and network diagnosis. With it real-time monitoring and data analysis, you can capture and decode network traffic transmitted over local host and local network. In addition to the Packet Analysis Module, Packet Analyzer CAPSA also has three advanced analysis modules: Email Analysis Module, Web Analysis Module and Transaction Analysis Module which enable you to easily analyze and view detailed information of network activities. To understand more, please click here.

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Q.  What can I do using Packet Analyzer CAPSA?

A: Packet Analyzer CAPSA is designed for the following purposes:

• Network master - To monitor network traffic and bandwidth user activities and to identify unauthorized activities.
• Network administrators -- To diagnose network problems and troubleshoot issues.
• IT professionals -- To supervise contents inside your corporate network.
• Security managers -- To complement network security monitoring.
• Network Consultants -- To help you solve problems for customers.
• Network application developers -- To debug your network application and examine network protocols.
• Parents -- To find out what your children are doing on the Internet. 

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However, most modern switches support "port mirroring", which is a feature that allows you to configure the switch to redirect the traffic that occurs on some or all ports to a designated monitoring port on the switch. By using this feature, you will be able to monitor the entire LAN segment in switched network environment. Please refer to the documentation that comes with your switch for information on availability of this feature and configuration instructions.

If your switch does not support "port mirroring", you can install Packet Analyzer CAPSA on a workstation connected to the same hub as your Internet gateway or install Packet Analyzer CAPSA on your Internet gateway (if acceptable). In this way, you can monitor all network traffic between your Intranet and the Internet.  

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Q: Why can't I capture emails?

A: Possible reason 1:The email protocol in your email system is not supported by Packet Analyzer CAPSA. Packet Analyzer CAPSA captured the emails but they couldn't be recognized by the email analysis module. 
Solution: Packet Analyzer CAPSA supports standard POP/POP3, SMTP and IMAP/IMAP4. To be able to capture and view emails using Packet Analyzer CAPSA, your email system need to support those protocols. You also need to set the email analysis module in the Packet Analyzer CAPSA properly.

Possible reason 2:Your e-mail system uses an e-mail listening port number other than the default port no.25.
Solution: Packet Analyzer CAPSA supports 'custom ports'. You can set ports in the 'options - ports' dialog. Or you can change the e-mail listening port to the default port no. 25. 

Possible reason 3:Packet Analyzer CAPSA does not capture the network traffic at all.
Solution: In this case, we need more information to find the solution. For example, is the problem re-producible? Could TCP connections of the SMTP transaction captured by software when you sending the email? You need to send us a copy of the project as well as a raw packet file exported from it. Please make sure it doesn't contain any confidential information before you send it to us.

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Q: I used a hub to connect multiple PCs as well as the PC with the Packet Analyzer CAPSA. But I still can not see traffic of other PCs. What is wrong?

Possible reason: The hub you used is actually working as a switch instead of the traditional Hub with all traffic shared by all computers connected to the Hub.

Solution: You should try another Hub -  the simpler the better.

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