I was debugging a TCP based client this week, and I noticed something that
Ethereal could really do with.
I had problems with timeouts.
The throughput graphs showed a nice diagonal at the beginning, a sharp knee
and more chaotic behavior beyond.
The Follow TCP Stream window showed commands and responses out of sequence.
The main packet window showed timing problems, and how close the responses
were to the programmed timeout value.
All of these three tools showed useful information, but there was no way to
compare them to each other. I could only judge the position of the graph's
knee approximately and then had to search through the packet list to find
the packets involved. Trying to track back from the Follow TCP Stream window
was harder, involving trudging through the hex data, something the Follow
TCP Stream feature is supposed to replace.
What I would have loved, is if the three windows were linked together, so
clicking a character in the Follow TCP Stream window would highlight the
packet in the packet list and throw up a cursor on the throughput graph. And
of course similarly for the other two, I would click on the graph and see
data highlighted in the other two windows, or in the packet list similarly.
Of course I should write it myself, but I don't have the time right now, and
I don't know the code in question. But I think it would be very useful for
many people, so is anyone interested in implementing it?
--
Richard Urwin, Software Design Engineer
Schenck Test Automation
Braemar Court, 1311b Melton Road, Syston, UK.
rurwin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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