Network Uptime

One of the new features of Sniffer Pro is the ability to save history information to disk for use by external applications. Since the history samples function in Sniffer Pro cannot display a large number of samples on the screen simultaneously, an external graphing function becomes very important.

This tutorial will instruct how to export history samples from Sniffer Pro and create impressive graphs and charts with Microsoft Excel! These steps are a must-have for any network analyst who has to create meaningful output from Sniffer Pro.

This tutorial uses Network Associates' Sniffer Pro version 3.0, although most versions of Sniffer Pro are similar to the screen shots and explanations in this tutorial. Microsoft Excel 97 is used as the graphing application.

Exporting History Samples to Comma Separated Value (CSV)Format

Sniffer Pro saves history samples as files with an HST extension. This extension is a proprietary format that cannot be directly imported into a third-party application. Before importing the Sniffer Pro history samples, they must be exported into a format that Excel can read.

To export history samples, a history graph must be the active window in Sniffer Pro. For more information on creating a history graph, see the NetworkUptime.com Tutorial "Using History Samples for Trend Analysis in Sniffer Pro."

The Export button provides a method to save all history information into an external file. This button prompts for a filename and an export format. If the history sampling is active, the history information will still be gathered while the export dialog box is active. The exported information will consist of all information gathered before and during this period.

The three export formats are Comma Separated Value (CSV), text with tab delimiters, and text with space delimiters. For most external programs, CSV format is the easiest and most common text format for the importing of information. For the purposes of exporting history samples to Excel, use the CSV type.

Opening the CSV File in Excel

To open a CSV file in Excel, start the Excel application.

Select the File pull-down menu and choose Open.

Change the Files of Type: option to All Files, and select the CSV file. Click to import the CSV file. Because the CSV file can be read and understood by Excel without any input, the file is opened immediately to a spreadsheet without any user intervention.

Formatting the Spreadsheet

The default cell widths will probably be too small to see all of the information properly, and some columns may display pound signs (#####) where the column is too small. To resize the columns, place the cursor between the column header letters until it turns into a double-headed arrow. Drag the column size larger until the pound signs are replaced with data. Alternatively, double-click between the column header letters to automatically size the column to the correct width.

In most cases, the initial sample can be discarded because it does not represent a full sample period. This initial row can be used for column titles.

Click on the top left cell (A1), and type "Time" and press Enter or click the green check.

On the remaining columns, input the data type. In the example, the column is broadcasts.

Depending on the sample time for the data, the time column may need to be revised. In the sample spreadsheet, samples were taken each second but the default time format does not display the seconds. To change this display format, select the entire column by clicking on the column header letter 'A'.

Choose the Format pull-down menu, and choose Cells. Alternatively, right mouse-click and choose Format Cells.

Choose the Time category, and choose a type of format. For this example, the type 1:30:55 PM is appropriate. Click to format the column.

Creating the Excel Graph

The data is now ready to graph. Select both columns by dragging across all column headers to be graphed.

Choose the Insert pull-down menu, and select Chart. The Chart Wizard will appear.

Choose a chart type. In most cases, a column, bar, or line chart is appropriate. For an hour of sample data, we'll choose the Line chart and the first chart sub-type. Press to continue.

A sample chart appears. We included our data ranges before inserting the chart, so there are no options to change on this dialog. Press .

There are now six tabs of options to choose from. Depending on your personal preferences, a chart title and legend information can be altered. Feel free to change options or try something different. The sample chart will change to show the results.

For this example, we’ll add a chart title and move the legend to the bottom of the chart. Press when ready.

The final dialog will prompt to add the chart as a new sheet, or as an object in the current sheet. The default is to add the chart to the current sheet, but the chart on a new sheet is much easier to read. Click .

The chart appears with the Sniffer Pro history samples! Clicking on the different areas of the chart and pressing the right mouse button can provide additional options. There are hundreds of options in the Excel charts, including axis scaling, tick mark types, data labels, and colors. Refer to the Microsoft Excel documentation for more information on charts and graphs!

Final notes

The graphing options in Excel are extremely robust. After working with Excel's graphing functions for a few hours will help make anyone become more comfortable with the interface and options. Sniffer Pro information never looked so good!