System information

38 The Capture Menu
other independent modes, Ethernet Vital Signs and Collision Expert are accessed,
enabling the user to view an Ethernet network’s vital signs and more specifically test
for collisions that may be caused by a malfunctioning NIC card somewhere on the
network.
Decode and Analysis – Decode View
1. To view the packets in the capture buffer, click on the VIEW icon from the Packet
Capture button bar or select
Capture > Packet Capture, click on the Decode
button, and then click on the Decode tab.
Once you are in the view screen, you can click on a particular packet (with your left
mouse button) in the top window to display the packet decoded information in the
middle window. There are three window panes:
• the packet header pane.
• the decode pane.
• the raw packet display pane.
The three panes are fully sizable by dragging the borders up or down. Packets that
Observer does not recognize are shown in raw mode in the decode and raw panes.
The packet header pane shows the following:
• Packets—the number of packets currently in the buffer.
• First—the first packet number in the buffer.
• Last—the last packet number in the buffer.
• Offset—the “offset” display is only shown if you have highlighted a section of
the decode screen. When a section of the decode screen is highlighted,
Navigation
tabs
Raw packet
display
Decode
Packet
header