Network Montior 3 Open Beta

September 11, 2006

To enroll in the beta go to connect.

Original source:

sniffer, Network Monitor, is coming back.

Network Monitor 2.1 is included as optional component in every Windows installation but has a severe limitation: it cannot put the network interface in promiscous mode, preventing capture of all packets passing on the cable (to have a full version of Network Monitor 2.1 you have to buy Microsoft System Management Server (SMS)).

Upcoming Network Monitor 3 will offer several new features and will finally be an uncapped, free, stand-alone application for Windows XP/2003/Vista/codename Longhorn (both 32 and 64bits):

Real time capture and display of frames

Simultaneous capture on multiple network adapters

Multiple simultaneous capture sessions

Network conversations and a tree view displaying frames by conversation

Enhanced capture/display filtering (with intelli-sense)

A new script-based protocol parser language, and script-based parsers

The last feature is particularly interesting, permitting network experts to create new protocol decoders or complex packet manipulations in an easy and quick way (in previous releases writing a protocol parser implied writing a DLL).

With NPL (NetMon Parser Language) Microsoft has a big chance to involve the network and security communities around Network Monitor and should arrange a Parsers Center or something like that.