Sniffer A3 Installation Guide - NetScout

EARLY FIELD TRIAL 

Sniffer ® Adaptive Application Analyzer 

Installation Guide 

733-0214 Rev. A 

NetScout ® Systems, Inc. 

Westford, MA 01886 

Telephone: 

978.614.4000 

Fax: 978.614.4004 

Web: http://www.netscout.com


Use of this product is subject to the NetScout Systems, Inc. End User License Agreement, which 

accompanies the product at the time of shipment or, if applicable, the legal agreement executed by 

and between NetScout Systems, Inc. and the purchaser of this product ("Agreement"). 

Notice of Restricted Rights: Use, duplication, release, modification, transfer, or disclosure (for 

purposes of this section, "Use") of the Software is restricted by the terms of the Agreement and 

further restricted in accordance with FAR 52.227-14 for civilian Government agency purposes and 

252.227-7015 of the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulations Supplement ("DFARS") for military 

Government agency purposes, or the similar acquisition regulations of other applicable Government 

organizations, as applicable and amended. The Use of Software and the Product is restricted by the 

terms of the Agreement, in accordance with DFARS Section 227.7202 and FAR Section 12.212. The 

information in this manual is subject to change without notice. 

NetScout, Network General, the Network General logo, nGenius, Sniffer, InfiniStream, and NetVigil 

are registered trademarks and Administrator, HyperLock, the NetScout logo, and Visualizer are 

trademarks, and MasterCare is a service mark of NetScout Systems, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the 

United States and/or other countries. All other brands and product names, and registered and 

unregistered trademarks are the sole property of their respective owners. NetScout Systems, Inc. 

reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to make changes at any time in its technical information, 

specifications, service, and support programs. 

All other brand names, company identifiers, trademarks, service trademarks, registered trademarks 

and registered service marks mentioned in this document, in the Software, or in any Software files 

are properties of their respective owners, and protected as such against unlawful use or distribution. 

This product may contain certain third party software and documentation ("Third Party Materials"). 

Such Third Party Materials are subject to all of the restrictions, limitations and other provisions of the 

Agreement and may be subject to additional terms and conditions, which are found in the "Read Me" 

file or "About" file in the Software. 

Sniffer® Adaptive Application Analyzer Installation Guide 

733-0214 Rev. A 

Copyright 2010 NetScout Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. 

ii


Contacting NetScout Systems 

Customer Support 

The best way to contact Customer Support is to submit a Support Request: 

https://my.netscout.com/pages/mcplanding.aspx 

Telephone: In the US, call 888-357-7667; outside the US, call 

+011 978-614-4000. Phone support hours are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time 

(EST). 

E-mail: support@netscout.com 

When you contact Customer Support, the following information can be helpful in diagnosing 

and solving problems: 

— Type of network platform 

— Software and firmware versions 

— Hardware model number 

— License number and your organization’s name 

— The text of any error messages 

— Supporting screen images, logs, and error files, as appropriate 

— A detailed description of the problem 

Sales 

Call 800-357-7666 for the sales office nearest your location. 

Training 

Course listings and information on nGenius Certification are available at: 

http://www.netscout.com/training 

An extensive library of online course listings, discussion groups, podcasts and best practices 

is available at nGenius Learning 360: 

http://www.netscout.com/training/learning360 

Documentation 

Send comments or questions about nGenius documentation to the following address: 

contact_doc@netscout.com 

User Forum 

To join a customer-driven user group connecting the worldwide community of NetScout 

users, visit the following website: 

http://www.netscoutuserforum.com/ 

iii

EARLY FIELD TRIAL


Contents 

Overview ....................................................................................... 1 

System Requirements .................................................................... 3 

Coexistence with Other NetScout Products .............................................................. 4 

Installing Sniffer Adaptive Application Analyzer............................ 5 

Licensing Sniffer Adaptive Application Analyzer ............................ 7 

Licensing Considerations ....................................................................................... 7 

Entering Licensing Information in the License Utility ................................................. 7 

Enabling VLAN Data Collection (Switch SPAN Ports Only) ............. 9 

Using the VLAN Edit Tool to Enable VLAN Data Collection .......................................... 9 

Tuning Settings for Sniffer Adaptive Application Analyzer ........... 11 

Power Considerations for Sniffer Adaptive Application Analyzer ................................. 11 

Uninstalling the QoS Packet Scheduler Service ....................................................... 12 

Uninstalling the QoS Packet Scheduler Service after Installation ............................ 12 

Unbinding the QoS Packet Scheduler Service from Selected Cards ......................... 14 

Removing the MAC Bridge Miniport Driver on XP ..................................................... 14 

v

EARLY FIELD TRIAL


Overview 

Sniffer ® Adaptive Application Analyzer is designed to be installed on a portable 

computer, so that it can be conveniently plugged into a network and serve as 

both capture device and console. 

This guide provides instructions for installing Sniffer Adaptive Application 

Analyzer. It contains the following sections: 

• “System Requirements” on page 3 

• “Sniffer Adaptive Application Analyzer Installation Procedure” on page 5 

• “Enabling VLAN Data Collection (Switch Span Ports Only)” on Page 7 

• “Tuning Settings for Sniffer Adaptive Application Analyzer” on page 11 

Sniffer Adaptive Application Analyzer Installation Guide 1

EARLY FIELD TRIAL


System Requirements 

To ensure successful operation, NetScout Systems recommends installing 

Sniffer ® Adaptive Application Analyzer in an environment that meets the 

system requirements listed in Table 1. 

Table 1 Sniffer Adaptive Application Analyzer Minimum System Requirements 

Parameter Description 

Operating 

System 

Windows XP (32-bit) or Windows 7 (32-bit or 64-bit) 

RAM • 512 MB for Classic mode 

• 2 GB for Adaptive mode 

CPU Intel or AMD processor running at 1.6 GHz or higher. 

• Dual or more core running at 1.0 GHz or higher 

NOTE: Sniffer Adaptive Application Analyzer is supported on 

multi-processor, multi-core, and hyperthreaded platforms. 

Storage 200 MB or more of free hard-drive space 

Network 

Interface 

Cards 

Monitor 

Resolution 

Ethernet 10/100/1000 cards 

1024x768 resolution (recommended) 

Software Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0 or higher 



Coexistence with Other NetScout Products 

Sniffer Adaptive Application Analyzer cannot coexist with following NetScout 

products: 

• Sniffer ® Portable Professional 

• Sniffer ® Global 

• Network General Sniffer Portable 

• Network General Sniffer Distributed Agent 

4 System Requirements


Installing Sniffer Adaptive Application 

Analyzer 

Use the following procedure to install Sniffer ® Adaptive Application Analyzer. 

1 If necessary, uninstall any previous versions of Sniffer Adaptive Application 

Analyzer, Sniffer Global, Sniffer Portable Professional, and/or Sniffer 

Distributed Agent. 

2 If the machine on which you will be installing Sniffer Adaptive Application 

Analyzer has an existing “NetScout” folder (e.g., C:\Program 

Files\NetScout), delete this folder. 

3 Launch the Sniffer Adaptive Application Analyzer installer, either from the 

Application CD or a downloaded installation executable. 

4 The InstallShield Welcome screen appears. Click Next to begin the 

installation. 

5 The License Agreement screen appears. Check the I accept... option and 

click Next to continue the installation. 

6 The Customer Information screen appears. Enter your name and your 

company’s name and click Next. 

7 The Choose Destination Location screen appears. Specify where you would 

like the application installed and click Next. 

8 The Ready to Install the Program screen appears. Click Install to begin 

the installation. 

9 If prompted to install NetScout device software, click Install. 

10 The installer will install Sniffer Adaptive Application Analyzer. Before setup 

finishes, you may get the following message about adding rules to the 

Windows Firewall so Sniffer Adaptive Application Analyzer will run: 

11 If you get the above message, click Yes. Setup will add the necessary 

firewall rules automatically. 

12 The InstallShield Wizard Complete screen appears. Click Finish. 



You can now license your copy of the software according to the instructions in 

the next section. 

6 Installing Sniffer Adaptive Application Analyzer


Licensing Sniffer Adaptive Application 

Analyzer 

Before you can use Sniffer ® Adaptive Application Analyzer, you must license 

your copy. This section explains how to do so. 

Licensing Considerations 

Keep the following considerations in mind when authorizing your copy of 

Sniffer Adaptive Application Analyzer: 

• If you uninstall and reinstall the software, you can reapply your original 

serial number and password in the License Utility to authorize the product. 

• If you lose your serial number or password, you will need to request a new 

one from the MasterCare Portal. Before doing so, however, check your old 

email to see if you still have the original serial number mailed to you from 

NetScout Systems (if you supplied an email address during product 

registration). 

Entering Licensing Information in the License 

Utility 

You can license your software with the License Utility. To do so, perform the 

following steps: 

Note: Each Sniffer Adaptive Application Analyzer unit requires a separate serial number. 

1 Start the License Utility on the Sniffer Adaptive Application Analyzer 

machine by going to Start > (All) Programs > NetScout > Sniffer 

Adaptive Application Analyzer > License Utility or double-clicking 

your Sniffer Adaptive Application Analyzer desktop icon. (Note that you 

must run this utility as an administrator.) The licensing window displays. 



2 Enter the information and click OK. The License Utility applies the license, 

informing you of its success or failure. 

3 If licensing was not successful, make sure you entered all information 

correctly. 

You can now run Sniffer Adaptive Application Analyzer by going to Start > 

Programs > NetScout > Sniffer Adaptive Application Analyzer > Sniffer 

(Adaptive Mode). 

Note: To use Sniffer Adaptive Application Analyzer on a Windows 7 system with User 

Account Control (UAC) enabled, you must launch it using the Run as administrator 

option. 

Note: Selecting Sniffer (Classic Mode) will launch classic Sniffer Portable Professional 

application. 

8 Licensing Sniffer Adaptive Application Analyzer


Enabling VLAN Data Collection (Switch SPAN 

Ports Only) 

If you set Sniffer ® Adaptive Application Analyzer to capture on a switch SPAN 

port, you will need to enable VLAN data collection on the Ethernet network 

adapter being monitored to prevent VLAN IDs from being stripped. With Intel 

and Broadcom chipset cards, you can enable VLAN data collection using the 

VLAN Edit Tool, sniffer_vlan_edit.exe, located in \NetScout\Sniffer Adaptive Application Analyzer\bin. (For other 

network cards, refer to the OEM manual for instructions on enabling VLAN data 

collection.) 

Note: When running the VLAN Edit Tool, make sure TCP/IP is enabled (checked) on the 

stack of adapters present on the machine. 

Using the VLAN Edit Tool to Enable VLAN Data 

Collection 

To enable VLAN data collection on a network adapter, perform the following 

steps: 

1. From the command line, navigate to \Program 

Files\NetScout\Sniffer Adaptive Application Analyzer\bin. 

2. Run the following command to determine if VLAN data collection is enabled 

on the machine’s adapters: 

sniffer_vlan_edit.exe –status 

Output similar to the following will display. (Note the index numbers 

associated with each adapter.) 



3. Use the following command to toggle the status of adapters as necessary: 

sniffer_vlan_edit.exe –toggle {adapter index number} 

For example, to enable the VMware Virtual Ethernet Adapter for VMnet8, 

you would enter the following: 

sniffer_vlan_edit.exe –toggle 3 

4. Re-check the status (as explained in Step 2) to make sure the adapter 

now shows “VLAN Enabled.” 

10 Enabling VLAN Data Collection (Switch SPAN Ports Only)


Tuning Settings for Sniffer Adaptive 

Application Analyzer 

There are several settings you can make to the Microsoft Windows operating 

system that will improve Sniffer ® Adaptive Application Analyzer Application 

performance. See the following sections: 

• Power Considerations for Sniffer Adaptive Application Analyzer on Page 11 

• Uninstalling the QoS Packet Scheduler Service on Page 12 

• Removing the MAC Bridge Miniport Driver on XP on Page 14 

Power Considerations for Sniffer Adaptive 

Application Analyzer 

Most laptop computers include power configuration options that let you specify 

whether the computer should be allowed to go into a standby or hibernate 

mode after a specified period of inactivity. For computers actively running 

Sniffer Adaptive Application Analyzer, these options should always be 

disabled to preserve stable system performance! 

For example, XP laptop computers include a Power Options Properties control 

panel. The Power Options Properties control panel is accessed by starting the 

Display control panel (Start > Settings > Control Panel > Display 1 

), 

clicking on the Screen Saver tab, and then clicking the Power button. In this 

example, the following settings should be made for active Sniffer Adaptive 

Application Analyzer operations: 

• Power Schemes Tab 

• Turn off hard disks = Never 

• System standby = Never 

• Hibernate Tab 

• Enable hibernate support = Disabled 

NOTE: Some laptop vendors include their own proprietary software to perform power 

configuration tasks. In these cases, you may need to make similar changes in the 

configuration menu provided by the vendor. 

1 For Windows 7 or Windows Vista, go to Start > Control Panel > System and Security > Power Options. 



Uninstalling the QoS Packet Scheduler Service 

The QoS Packet Scheduler service supports the 802.1P traffic prioritization 

system, allowing for the implementation of best-effort Quality of Service by 

conforming 802.1P equipment. This service is automatically bound to each 

installed card driver in Windows XP. To improve analyzer performance, 

NetScout recommends that the QoS Packet Scheduler service be unbound 

from any cards used with Sniffer Adaptive Application Analyzer. 

NOTE: Uninstalling the QoS Packet Scheduler service removes it from all 

installed cards. Unbinding from individual cards allows you to preserve the 

service for use with any non-Sniffer cards. 

You can either uninstall the QoS Packet Scheduler Service entirely or, 

alternatively, unbind it from cards used with Sniffer Adaptive Application 

Analyzer. See the appropriate instructions that follow. 

Uninstalling the QoS Packet Scheduler Service 

after Installation 

Use the following procedure to uninstall the QoS Packet Scheduler Service. 

1. Open the Network Connections folder by selecting the Start > Settings > 

Network Connections option. 

2. Right-click any of the Connection entries in the folder and select the 

Properties command from the menu that appears. The Local Area 

Connection Properties dialog box appears, as in Figure 1. The following 

example is for wireless connections. 

12 Tuning Settings for Sniffer Adaptive Application Analyzer


Figure 1 Local Area Connection Properties 

3. De-select the QoS Packet Scheduler entry and click Uninstall. A 

confirmation box appears. 

4. Click OK to confirm that you want to uninstall the QoS Packet Scheduler 

service completely. The QoS Packet Scheduler service is uninstalled. 

5. Click OK on the Connection Properties dialog box. 

13


Unbinding the QoS Packet Scheduler Service from 

Selected Cards 

Use the following procedure to unbind the QoS Packet Scheduler Service from 

selected cards: 


Network Connections option. 

2. Right-click the Network Connection entry from which you want to unbind 

the QoS Packet Scheduler service and select the Properties command 

from the menu that appears. The Network Connection Properties dialog 

box appears. 

3. Deselect the checkbox next to the QoS Packet Scheduler entry and click 

OK. 

4. Repeat this procedure for each card you want to use with Sniffer Adaptive 

Application Analyzer. 

Removing the MAC Bridge Miniport Driver on XP 

To improve analyzer performance, NetScout recommends that the Network 

Bridge service provided with Windows XP not be used on a Sniffer Adaptive 

Application Analyzer PC. 

To remove a network bridge in Windows XP, perform the following steps: 


Network Connections option. The Network Connections folder appears. 

2. Under the Network Bridge section, right-click the Network Bridge entry 

and select the Delete command in the menu that appears. 

3. Click Yes to confirm that you want to delete the network bridge. 

14 Tuning Settings for Sniffer Adaptive Application Analyzer

EARLY FIELD TRIAL


NetScout Systems, Inc. 

310 Littleton Road 

Westford, MA 01886-4105 

Tel. 978 614-4000 

888-999-5946 

Fax 978-614-4004 

E-mail info@netscout.com 

Web www.netscout.com 

© 2010 NetScout Systems, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. NetScout, nGenius, and 

the NetScout logo are registered trademarks of NetScout Systems, Inc. URT MIB, 

"Because the Network is the Business", and CDM are trademarks of NetScout 

Systems, Inc. MasterCare and the MasterCare logo are service marks of NetScout 

Systems, Inc. NetScout Systems reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to make 

changes at any time in its technical information, specifications, and service and 

support programs.

Sniffer A3 Installation Guide - NetScout

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