A packet sniffer (also known as a network sniffer, network analyzer or protocol analyzer or, for particular types of networks, an Ethernet sniffer or wireless sniffer) is computer software or computer hardware that can intercept and log traffic passing over a digital network or part of a network. As data streams flow across the network, the sniffer captures each packet and eventually decodes and analyzes its content according to the appropriate RFC or other specifications.

Why Academic Users Need Packet Sniffer Software

For an academic network administrator who needs to make sure the network is running smoothly and reliably, he needs packet sniffer software for:

-Monitoring network performance around the clock,
-Supervising various kinds of network behaviors,
-Protecting network from suspicious intentions and attacks,
-Discovering network loopholes and network bottlenecks,
-Identifying and troubleshoot network problems in time,

For an academic teaching staff who needs to explain and demonstrate conceptual items to his students, he needs packet sniffer software for:

-Demonstrating how a service (such as DNS, DHCP) works for your network,
-Demonstrate the detail information within a packet of some sort of specific protocol,
-Demonstrate the network behaviors of an application,

For an academic researcher and developer, he needs packet sniffer software for:

-Network protocols research purpose
-Debug network relied applications

For an academic student, he needs packet sniffer software for his studying and researching purposes.

Suggested Packet Sniffer Software
Wireshark Packet Sniffer

Wireshark is a free network packet sniffer developed by an international team of networking experts. Its key features include:

-Deep inspection of hundreds of protocols, with more being added all the time
-Live capture and offline analysis
-Standard three-pane packet browser
-Multi-platform: Runs on Windows, Linux, OS X, Solaris, FreeBSD, NetBSD, and many others
-Captured network data can be browsed via a GUI, or via the TTY-mode TShark utility
-The most powerful display filters in the industry
-Rich VoIP analysis

Colasoft Packet Sniffer

If you are looking for a cost-effective and easy-to-use packet sniffer, then you should take a look at Capsa, a packet sniffer produced by Colasoft Co., Ltd. Its key features include:

-Monitor traffic and bandwidth details in graphs and numbers.
-Automatically diagnoses network and suggests solutions.
-Able to identify and analyze 300+ network protocols.
-Provides packet summary and decoding information.
-Monitors site visits, email contents, online chats, and more.
-Lists all hosts in network with details (traffic, IP, MAC, etc.).
-Visualizes the entire network in an ellipse, showing connections and traffic.
-Monitor all conversations and reconstruct packet stream.
-Free built-in tools to create and replay packets; scan and ping IPs.
-Quick generates reports of most concerned items.

You can download a trial version of Colasoft packet snfifer at www.colasoft.com