Ever wonder what in the world is happening "under the hood" of your network? Why things suddenly slow down, print jobs fail? Network monitoring is the least understood aspect of network administration -- and one of the most important. In this book, a leading networking expert shows you exactly how to monitor and analyze your Windows-based network -- and how to use the information to maximize performance, reduce congestion, plan for growth -- even identify intrusions! Start by reviewing the TCP/IP, IPX/SPX, Ethernet, and Samba protocol basics you need in order to monitor and analyze networks effectively. Inspect network traffic from four different perspectives: client traffic, server traffic, application traffic, and service traffic. Next, learn how to use each version of Microsoft's Network Monitor (Netmon) -- and compare commercial network monitoring tools, discovering when to use each. Finally, review four of the most important networking troubleshooting scenarios, in-depth: connectivity problems, faulty applications, hardware problems, and compromised security -- walking through the process of identifying, analyzing, and solving the problem, step-by-step. The accompanying CD-ROM includes sample capture files showing real network traces, custom filters for Microsoft Network Monitor troubleshooting, batch files that trigger unattended Netmon sessions, and more. For all network andWindows system administrators seeking to improve the performance of their networks.