Introduction Network packet monitoring is software that "understands" the structure of differ ent networking protocols.

It is able to display the encapsulation and the fields along with their meanings of different packets specified by different networkin g protocols. Network packet monitoring capture s "binary" data passing through the network, "deco de" this data into a human readable form. To make it even easier (for humans) an other step occurs known as "protocol analysis". There is a varying degree of the analysis that takes place, some are simple, just breaking down the "packet" inf ormation. Others are more complex giving "detailed" information about what it se es on the packet. Using the information captured by the an Network packet monitoring administrator can identify erroneous packets and use the data to pinpoint bottlenecks and hel p maintain efficient network data transmission.

JPCAP Jpcap is an open source library for capturing and sending network packets from J ava applications. It provides facilities to: 1. Capture raw packets live from the wire. 2. Save captured packets to an offline file, and read captured packets fro m an offline file. 3. Automatically identify packet types and generate corresponding Java Obje cts (for Ethernet, IPv4, IPv6, ARP/RARP, TCP, UDP, and ICMPv4 packets). 4. Filter the packets according to user-specified rules before dispatching them to the application. 5. Send raw packets to the network Jpcap is based on libpcap/winpcap, and is implemented in C and Java. Jpcap has been tested on Microsoft Windows (98/2000/XP/Vista), What kind of applications can be developed using Jpcap? Jpcap can be used to develop many kinds of network applications, including (but not limited to): Network and protocol analyzers Network monitors Traffic loggers Traffic generators Network intrusion detection systems (NIDS) Network scanners Security tools WinPcap WinPcap is the industry-standard tool for link-layer network access in Windows e nvironments capture and transmit network packets by passing the protocol stack, and has additional useful features, including kernel-level packet filtering, a n etwork statistics engine and support for remote packet capture. Project Objectives 1 Network Packet Monitoring runs 24/7 on a machine within your network, re cording network usage parameters. Recorded data is stored in a file for historic reports. 2 Gather s and report network statistics of each and every node in the network along with graphical representation. 3 Better GUI for ease of use. 4 Packet type is recognized. 5 Packet fields are recognized. 6 To develops an independent and secure system

Hardware Requirements: 256 MB RAM P-IV Motherboard/proce ssor 20 GB Hard disk Software Requirements: JDK 1.3 or Above

RefErences:Web:1) http:///PRTG%20Network%20Monitor%20-%20intuitive%20network%20monitoring% 20software.html 2) http:////Packet%20analyzer%20-%20Wikipedia,%20the%20free%20encyclopedia. html 3) http:////Collecting%20network%20traffic%20data%20using%20SNMP,%20Packet% 20Sniffing%20or%20NetFlow%20-%20description%20and%20animation.html Books:4) CCNA(CISCO Certified Network Associate)