Colasoft Blog

by David M Williams
July 26, 2010

If you run any type of network infrastructure there will come a time you need a low-level packet sniffer to work out just what is going on. Colasoft’s Capsa product challenges the myth these tools must be hard to use.

Have you ever had users ask why is the network so slow? Chances are high any IT professional will have looked into network related faults but found it difficult to get a handle on just what is going on because Ethernet is so, well, ethereal.

Here is where a network analyzer comes in handy. It will sniff the raw packets of data flying about as they happen and give you meaningful information to make intelligent determinations.

Previously I have talked about the tremendous open source product WireShark but WireShark isn’t for everyone. For one, the Windows port requires GTK+ and Glib to be installed which some Windows administrators aren’t keen to do. For another, although it is less arcane and cryptic than a command-line tool like tcpdump it’s still not user-friendly enough for many.

Here is where Colasoft’s Capsa product comes in. As you might guess, it is a deep low-level network protocol analyzer and its purpose is to give you the low-down on just what is happening on your network.

Where it stands out from the competition is its brilliant ease of use. Capsa adopts the same ribbon style interface as seen in Microsoft Office 2007 and it is a snap to navigate between tabs and check out the options and power available.

When it comes to network analysis so much is going on that it’s a must to separate out the chatter from the data that matters. Capsa makes it a cinch to hone in on what you want with easy to use filters and rules.

Capsa also has a concept of projects, meaning you can set global filters and rules to always apply but also make specific filters and rules for individual projects, letting you switch between these as needed.

Capsa displays intuitive options and is a genuine pleasure to use. I do not believe I’ve seen a more straightforward or elegant network analysis tool with the majority requiring expert knowledge to get any meaningful results.

Capsa is a commercial product so it does carry a price tag beginning at $US 549 for one license without maintenance but if your job requires you to troubleshoot network faults then the software will pay for itself.
As well as the commercial support Colasoft provide an extensive and helpful FAQ. A free trail of Capsa is avaliable here.

Author: Chris Partsenidis
July 3, 2010

Introduction

A Network Analyser is without doubt an Engineer’s best friend.
Using network analysing software, we are able to monitor our network and dig into the various protocols to see what’s happening in real time. This can help us understand much better the theoretical knowledge we’ve obtained throughout the years but, most importantly, help us identify, troubleshoot and fix network issues that we wouldn’t be able to do otherwise.
A quick search on the Internet will surely reveal many network analysers available making it very confusing to select one. Some network analysers provide basic functions, such as packet sniffing, making them ideal for simple tasks while others give you all the necessary tools and functions to ensure your job is done the best possible way.
Colasoft’s network analyser is a product that falls in the second category. We had the chance to test drive the Colasoft Network Analyser v7.2.1 which is the latest available version at the time of writing.
Having used previous versions of Colasoft’s network analyser, this latest version we tested left us impressed and does, in fact, promise a lot no matter what the environment demands.

Colasoft’s Capsa network analyser is available as a demo version directly from their website www.colasoft.com. We quickly downloaded the 21.8mb file and began the installation which was a breeze. Being small and compact meant the whole process didn’t take more than 30-40 seconds.
We fired up the software, entered our registration details, activated our software and up came the first screen which shows a completely different philosophy to what we have been used to:

The Software
Before you even start capturing packets and analysing your network, you’re greeted with a first screen that allows you to select the network adaptor to be used for the session, while allowing you to choose from a number of preset profiles regarding your network bandwidth (1000, 100, 10 or 2 Mbps).
Next, you can select the type of analysis you need to run for this session ranging from Full analysis, Traffic Monitoring, Security analysis to HTTP, Email, DNS and FTP analysis. The concept of pre-configuring your packet capturing session is revolutionary and very impressive. Once the analysis profile is selected, the appropriate plug-in modules are automatically loaded to provide all necessary information.
For our review, we selected the ‘100Mb Network’ profile and ‘Full Analysis’ profile, providing access to all plug-in modules, which include ARP/RARP, DNS, Email, FTP, HTTP and ICMPv4 – more than enough to get any job done!
Optionally, you can use the ‘Packet Filter Settings’ section to apply filters to the packets that will be captured:

The full review at http://www.firewall.cx/reviews-colasoft-v721.php

by Michael Dragone at June 1, 2010.

At some point in the career of almost any IT professional, there comes a time when a detailed examination of network traffic at the packet level is required to troubleshoot a problem. These problems often occur at the worst time, and having the ability to quickly perform a detailed traffic analysis is critical to resolving the problem swiftly and efficiently.

In the field of network analyzers, there’s a range of choices. On the one end, you can obtain free tools that support basic capture tasks but require you to perform much of the analysis. On the other end, you can purchase multifunctional tools that perform the analysis for you.

I took at look at the recently released Capsa 7.1 from Colasoft to see how it performed. I was especially interested to see how it fared against free tools such as Microsoft’s Network Monitor and Wireshark (formerly Ethereal). I ran the software on a Windows XP Professional SP3 computer.

Capsa downloaded quickly, and the installation process was brief. During installation, I was given the opportunity to install additional Colasoft tools such as a packet generator. I declined because I was focusing on the network analyzer, but it was nice to see those tools included as an installation option and not as an additional download. I was also happy that the installation process gave me full control over the creation of the desktop and Quick Launch icons instead of littering my test computer with icons everywhere. Finally, I was expecting to have to reboot my computer after the installation, as I assumed that the installation routine would make changes to the network stack. I was happy to see that this wasn’t the case and no reboot was required.

When you start Capsa, an interface presents you with intuitive options that let you select the network you want to analyze and the type of analysis you want to perform, such as Full Analysis, Traffic Monitor, Security Analysis, and Email Analysis. I wanted to analyze traffic, so I selected Traffic Monitor and clicked the large play button. The analysis began immediately.

As Figure 1 shows, Capsa uses the Fluent interface introduced in Microsoft Office 2007. As such, it’s extremely easy to navigate and almost, dare I say, fun to poke around the various tabs as the product captures network traffic.

The information that the product can capture can be daunting, but it was easy to filter the capture to look for only HTTP traffic. The filter interface provides an excellent graphical representation of what your newly created filter will do.

I was able to drill-down into my newly captured HTTP traffic to the packet level and examine all the details. Because it was encrypted HTTP Secure (HTTPS) traffic, I couldn’t look into the data payload, but all the header details were available. I was also able to examine entire TCP conversations, from the initial handshake all the way down to the FIN flag. The graphical representations that this product can produce are simply wonderful.

Overall, Capsa is a joy to use. My only complaint is the high price tag, which might make it difficult to obtain if you don’t spend a majority of your time examining network traffic, as free (and excellent) alternatives exist. Despite this, I highly recommend this product and would be glad to add it to my toolbox.

Wow! another review is done by one of the greatest media in technology, physorg.com.

As computers become more ingrained in the daily operations of most companies, it seems that running into problems occurs more frequently and with greater consequences. When it comes to computer networks, the key issues are security, speed, and reliability. A newly improved network analyzer called Capsa 6.9 R2, developed by Colasoft Inc., can help companies monitor, detect, and troubleshoot network problems. This review highlights some of the main features of Colasoft Capsa, which together make the product an overall powerful tool for maintaining network security.

To read a full review, please click here. And don’t forget to comment and vote!

We are pleased to announce one of the major media in computer and software technology, TechRepublic.com, recently published a review of Capsa network analyzer

Having good insight to your network is critical. There are so many potential issues that can be going on that any additional tool can be welcome. This can include attacks, transmissions and applications without encryption, or incorrect configurations bogging down the network.

Recently, I had a chance to evaluate the Colasoft network analyzer or Capsa. Capsa offers a lot of features in a small package, though the network analyzer field is very crowded. One thing that can differentiate a network tool is ease of use.

To read a full review, click here. Do not forget to leave a message and vote for the review!

We are glad to see one of the biggest software directory, fiberdownload.com, recently tested Capsa 6.9 R2 and wrote us a very impressive review.

Capsa is a great and affordable all in one network analyzer tool that will help you carry out your daily activities without being afraid of Internet threats.
But the first question that you ask yourself when you see this application for the first time is What CAPSA means ?

After testing it, I would say that CAPSA, apart of being a great network monitoring tool, means :
Confidence
Afordability
Performance
Safety
Advanced

It’s quite impressive that we never explained the software name like this. To view the the full review, please click here

eminisecurity.com, which is major in security solutions, has recently released a review about Capsa, compared with Wireshark. Capsa is well considered with the company, and they have made a excellent review in Capsa’s features:

You’ve already been introduced to Wireshark and learned how to use it. We now consider another tool, Colasoft Capsa Enterprise Edition, which can be used for network sniffing as well. Colasoft Capsa offers many of the same features as Wireshark and introduces new features in analysis. Similar to Wireshark, Colasoft Capsa captures and decodes packets, and supplies a hex view of each packet.

Click here to read the full story about Colasoft Capsa VS Wireshark, and this “Using Colasoft Capsa” is a perfect brief introduction to help you learn more about Capsa.

We are happy to see that keyloggers.org, which has a special appetite in reviewing and testing monitoring software, recently tested and reviewed Capsa Enterprise Edition, also gave it a very favorable comment.

Keylogger.org Logo

Colasoft Capsa also has a lot of other advantages, but we think you already understood the two generic ones – first, the information analyzed by Colasoft Capsa is easy to access and view and, second, the program itself is very user-friendly and easy to understand. These qualities make Colasoft Capsa a perfect choice both for experts and novices in network administration.

To view to full review, you can click here.