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Detect network faults in a switch

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by fmiab 1 view

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What do i have to do in order to connect a laptop directly to a switch and sniff it in order to detect network faults? (only). Do i have to connect it to each port of the switch? What is the sniffing software i need? Do i have to use the console of the switch or type special commands? Is there any special cabling issue i should be aware of in order to connect my laptop to the switch? Can you please describe the whole procedure?

4 replies

by razz2

This question is deeper than it may appear. First a switch is
different than a hub in that all frames are not broadcast on all
ports. (It can be done but it is not by design.) Switches do have
broadcast domains though. But, even those are depend on
VLAN's etc. You can capture any packets that hit your NIC. In
other words and broadcast traffic, traffic for you, or traffice you
get based on spoofing a MAC address. Just use Ethernet cables.
Try these links:

Ethereal is a good software:

www.ethereal.com

Here are some FAQ's on sniffing:

http://www.linuxsecurity.com/resource_files/network_security/
sniffing-faq.html

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