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About Network Monitor and troubleshooting ClearCase performance issues

Question & Answer


Question

How can you configure Microsoft® Network Monitor to capture network traffic in order to troubleshoot IBM® Rational® ClearCase® performance problems?

Cause

ClearCase is a NETWORK INTENSIVE tool based on a client/server architecture. This means that lots of information (i.e., packets) travel on your network to allow ClearCase to communicate between the different hosts in its environment (VOB, View, License, Registry, PDC, WINS, DNS and client machines).

Often times problems on the network will be discovered through the general use of ClearCase, thus it becomes important to be able to locate the cause of the problem on the network to fix ClearCase performance. One tool that can be used to help troubleshoot network problems is the Microsoft Network Monitor tool.

Network Monitor is a component of the Windows Server operating systems and Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) that lets you monitor network traffic as it crosses the wire. By using Network Monitor, you can monitor network traffic in real time or capture and store packets for later analysis. You can use the information that Network Monitor captures to troubleshoot ClearCase performance problems on LANs, WANs, and virtually any device that uses TCP/IP to communicate.

Note: If you are unable to use Microsoft Network Monitor in your environment, refer to the link for Using Wireshark under Related Information below.

Network Monitor has three primary uses:

  • Troubleshooting network connectivity.
This is the number-one reason to use Network Monitor. If you have two (or more) machines that have problems communicating with each other, you can use Network Monitor's Network Trace feature to help determine the problem's exact cause. You can also use Network Monitor to view each TCP/IP packet that travels between the two devices and the information contained within each packet.
  • Assessing network performance.
Network Monitor gives you a clear picture of current network utilization. If you suspect that you have a network performance bottleneck, you can use the information that Network Monitor provides—such as detailed network-utilization statistics and information about the network traffic source—to find the bottleneck. Although you typically won't use Network Monitor to initially identify a problem as network communications­related, it's a great second-level troubleshooting tool that can help you further pinpoint a problem and displays much more detail than Performance Monitor does.
  • Troubleshooting beaconing hardware devices.
Before switched networks existed, you could use Network Monitor to track down problems with hardware devices on a network. You can still use Network Monitor to track fragmented or damaged packets sent out by faulty equipment, but to do so you'll probably need the full version of Network Monitor, which supports remote agents and the capture of packets on a network segment even when the traffic isn't directed to the machine that's running Network Monitor. (For more information about the two versions of Network Monitor, see the sidebar "Network Monitor Versions.") If you have a managed switch, you can use a combination of the managed-switch statistics and Network Monitor to obtain as clear a picture of the problem as possible when diagnosing faulty network hardware.

Answer

This technote describes:

1. How to use the stand alone version of Network Monitor

2. How to install and use the Windows Server version of Network Monitor



The below write up is a good example to follow to set up Network Monitor to capture a network trace between 2 or more computers; however, it is by no means the only way to use Network Monitor to gather information.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Be sure to know which version of Network Monitor you are using (the stand alone version that comes with Microsoft Systems Management Server OR the version that comes with Server Edition). The reason is that the server version will only be able to capture data from its own machine and will not be able to capture data from other machines.

To tell which version of Network Monitor you have, open Network Monitor > select Tools > and click Resolve Addresses From Names....

If it is the Server version the following pop up window will appear:

TOOL UNAVAILABLE
This command is only available in the version of Network Monitor provided with Microsoft Systems Management Server.  
----------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------
Network Monitor version 4.00.351 - MSMS version


Table of Contents

STAND-ALONE VERSION

  1. Setup Dedicated Capture Mode
  2. Find Address
  3. Create Filters
  4. Increase Buffer
  5. Capturing data
  6. Saving data

SERVER VERSION

  1. Installing Server version
  2. Setup Dedicated Capture Mode
  3. Edit Filters
  4. Increase Buffer
  5. Capturing data
  6. Saving data

STAND-ALONE VERSION

I. Set up to capture in Dedicated Capture Mode (dedicated capture mode frees more resources for capturing data)

1. Go to the Capture menu, click Dedicated Capture Mode. (If a check mark appears next to this command, the command is activated.)

Note: When you use dedicated capture mode, capture statistics are not displayed or refreshed as frames are copied to the capture buffer, and the Network Monitor window is minimized.

II. Find addresses

Note: Computers involved should consist of Client machines, PDC, Registry Server, License Server, VOB & View Servers and any remote storage locations.

  1. Go to the Tools menu, click Resolve Addresses From Name…
  2. Type in the name of the computer you want the address of and click Run Query
  3. After address is displayed - click Keep Names
  4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until all computer names have been added to the list
  5. Click Done

III. Create Filter

  1. Press F8 (or on the Capture menu, click Filter)
  2. Click Edit Line (to add selected computers instead of the default *ANY <-> *ANY)
  3. Defaults: INCLUDE should be checked and Direction goes Both ways is highlighted!
  4. Station 1: choose the computer with type IP address of the client (problem) computer
  5. Station 2: choose the computer with type IP address of the server/destination computer, (PDC, Registry Server, License Server, VOB & View Servers and any remote storage locations)
  6. Repeat steps 5 & 6 until all computers in question are added to filter
  7. Click OK

IV. Increase the buffer parameters

Note: Network Monitor has a finite buffer that you have to set before beginning your trace. The default is 1 MB, which is about 4 minutes (depending on traffic). To make matters worse, rather than having the buffer be circular, Network Monitor drops all data it receives after its buffer is full.

To increase the buffer size:

  1. Go to Capture > Buffer Settings
  2. Change the Buffer Size to an appropriately higher value. For example: Since 1.0 MB equals approximately 4 minutes of capture output, if it takes 6 minutes to reproduce the problem, then set the buffer to 2.0 MB.
  3. Click OK

V. Running the capture

  1. Press F10 (or on the Capture menu, click Start)
  2. During the capture, the following options are available in the Dedicated Capture Mode status box:
  3. To stop the capture, click Stop
  4. To stop the capture and view the frames, click Stop and View
  5. To pause the capture, click Pause
  6. To continue a paused capture, click Continue
  7. To resume capturing in Normal mode, click Dedicated Capture Mode on the Capture menu to clear the check mark that indicates the option is active

3. Recreate the problem on the client machine

Hint:
  • Run CREDS to capture PDC information
  • Run cleartool lsvob to capture registry server information
  • Run clearlicense to capture license server information
  • Ping the computers in question by name
  • Run cleartool commands., i.e. describe VOB, checkout, mkelem


4. Click Stop

VI. Save the captured frames to a capture file or text file

  1. On the File menu, click Save As
  2. Specify the directory and drive where you want to store the file
  3. Type the file name (name of the company)
  4. Be sure the .cap is the file extension

SERVER VERSION

Installing Server version of Network Monitor on Windows:

Note: If you are having issues with your Server machine that runs the PDC, License, Registry, View/VOB Server and you need a network trace, install the Server version of Network Monitor:

  1. Right click on Network Neighborhood go to Properties
  2. Click the SERVICES tab and click ADD (Network Services)
  3. Highlight NETWORK MONITOR TOOLS AGENT and click OK
  4. Put the NT Server CD in the CDROM or place the path to the NT/i386 directory on the network and click Continue
  5. After installation click OK
  6. Restart


Using Network Monitor on Server:

I. Set up to capture in Dedicated Capture Mode

1. Go to the Capture menu, click Dedicated Capture Mode.

II. Edit Filter (if necessary)

Note: By default the Server edition of Network Monitor can only capture data going to or coming from its own system!

  1. Press F8 (or on the Capture menu, click Filter)
  2. Click Edit Line (only if you want a one way arrow from the server. Default= Server machine <-> *ANY)
  3. Highlight the desired direction arrow
  4. Click OK
  5. Click OK

III. Increase the buffer parameters

Note: Network Monitor has a finite buffer that you have to set before beginning your trace. The default is 1 MB, which is about 4 minutes (depending on traffic). To make matters worse, rather than having the buffer be circular, Network Monitor drops all data it receives after its buffer is full.

To increase the buffer size:

  1. Go to Capture > Buffer Settings
  2. Change the Buffer Size to an appropriately higher value For example: Since 1.0 MB equals approximately 4 minutes of capture output, if it takes 6 minutes to reproduce the problem, then set the buffer to 2.0 MB.
  3. Click OK

IV. Running the capture

  1. Press F10 (or on the Capture menu, click Start)
  2. Recreate the problem on the client machine
  3. Click Stop

V. Save the captured frames to a capture file or text file

  1. On the File menu, click Save As
  2. Specify the directory and drive where you want to store the file
  3. Type the file name (name of the company)
  4. Be sure the .cap is the file extension

Review the related links for more information on Network Monitor.

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Document Information

Modified date:
16 June 2018

UID

swg21148891

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