A packet analyzer can also be known as a packet sniffer, protocal analyzer, or a network analyzer. A packet analyzer is a computer program that can log traffic passing over a digital network. A packet analyzer captures each packet in the data stream and decodes the packets data. In the decoded data it can show the value of the various fields in the packet. Packet analyzers are very versatile and can do many jobs such as; analyze network problems, detect network intrusion, and isolate exploited systems.
The packet analyzer decodes the packets in a raw digital form then translates it to human letters to make sense to the reader of the packet. Packet analyzers can also be hardware-based. It can be hardware-based either in probe form or in a disk array.
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