Overview

Rendezvous protocol monitor, rvtrace, is a tool for network administrators. It monitors network packets, categorizes them, and reports statistics at regular intervals.

Network administrators can use rvtrace to diagnose network difficulties in real time, answering questions such as these:

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Which computers are inundating the network?

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Which computers are sending or receiving an inordinate number of retransmission requests?

Snapshots

rvtrace operates by capturing network packets, extracting information from packet headers, and gathering statistics about those packets. At the end of each interval, it compiles a statistical snapshot, and resets its counters for the next interval.

rvtrace can output those statistics in table format.

Prerequisites

rvtrace is a tool for experienced network administrators.

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You must already understand IP protocols and addressing conventions.

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You must already understand Rendezvous software from an administrator’s perspective.

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To use rvtrace effectively, you must understand the topology of your network.