Netman Version 1.2 : A Network Manager''s Workbench Application Set
Gary R. Ratterree, Udo W. Pooch, Willis F. Marti · 2001
The Network Manager''s Workbench project is composed of a set of applications for the management and analysis of computer networks. Part of the Network Manager''s Workbench project is concerned with the monitoring of computer networks to provide network managers with real time information about the performance of their network. The Netman tool set comprises part of the monitoring component of the Network Manager''s Workbench project. The Netman tool set is currently composed of three application programs that run in the X-Windows graphical environment on several UNIX platforms. The first program, Etherman, is used to monitor all traffic on a local Ethernet network. Etherman show s the network traffic in a graphical display where the network is represented as a circle with the hosts clustered around it. Network traffic is shown as colored lines connecting the hosts. The color of the lines represents the dominant protocol in use between the hosts. The lines increase in size as the amount of network traffic between the hosts increases. The second program, Interman, is used to monitor TCP/IP conversations from the local network to the rest of the Internet. Like Etherman, Interman displays the network in a graphical format. Each TCP/IP network is represented by a circle with lines connecting hosts that are communicating with each other. Interman also uses colored lines to represent different protocols on the network. The last application in the Netman tool set, Packetman, is used to capture and decode packets on an Ethernet network. Packetman uses a graphic user interface (GUI) to allow the user to easily capture, select and decode packets. Packetman includes a large number of filters to aid in gathering only desired network packets. Together, these three applications comprise a powerful real time network monitoring toolkit. This paper describes the three Netman applications in detail and discusses the modifications that were made to them at Texas A&M University. Their use in network monitoring and management as part of the Network Manager''s Workbench project is also discussed. The history of these applications and security concerns regarding their use is also covered in this report.