Packet sniffing can prove a very useful method in providing administrators detailed information on the communication among various servers in a hosted environment. The following tools are indispensable when it comes to packet sniffing:
- Microsoft Network Monitor available at http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=4865 . Wireshark is also a great alternative. However Microsoft Network Monitor is usually preferred in some production environments due to its considerably smaller footprint.
- Microsoft Message Analyzer available at https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=44226.
- Microsoft PortQry UI version, available at http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=24009
- Netstat CLI command. Check netstat /? for details.
- Telnet for pinging listening TCP/UDP ports.
