NetDecoder™ Industrial Network Analyzer Software Quick Start Guide Copyright © 2000‐2011 Frontline Test Equipment, Inc. All rights reserved. You may not reproduce, transmit, or store on magnetic media any part of this publication in any way without prior written authorization of Frontline Test Equipment, Inc. FTS, Frontline, Frontline Test System, and ComProbe are registered trademarks of Frontline Test Equipment, Inc. NetDecoder is a trademark of Frontline Test Equipment, Inc.
INSTRUCTIONS CONTAINED IN THIS QUICK START GUIDE This Quick Start Guide contains software and hardware installation instructions along with information for hardware setup for serial and Ethernet data capture. The NetDecoder software captures: • Serial data via the RS‐232 ComProbe II and the RS‐422/485 ComProbe. • Ethernet data through the analysis PC’s NIC card or Frontline’s Ethernet ComProbe network tap.
MINIMUM SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS • • • • • PC with Windows XP (Service Pack 2 or higher, 32‐bit only), or Windows 7 (32‐bit or 64‐bit) Intel Core 2 Duo 2.2 GHz Processor or Higher RAM Requirements: 1GB minimum, 2GB recommended 50 MB free Hard Disk Space One USB 2.
Table of Contents Instructions Contained In This Quick Start Guide ____________________________________________ ii Minimum System Requirements _________________________________________________________ iii Introduction _________________________________________________________________________ 1 Installation Instructions ________________________________________________________________ 2 Software Installation ________________________________________________________________ 2 Installing the Serial ComProbes ____
Node Statistics ________________________________________________________________________ 26 Dashboard View ___________________________________________________________________ 26 Monitoring Control Signals __________________________________________________________ 27 Breakout Box ___________________________________________________________________ 27 Signal Display ___________________________________________________________________ 27 Exiting NetDecoder________________________________________________________
INTRODUCTION Welcome to Frontline’s NetDecoder™ software protocol analyzer. The design of NetDecoder allows you to conduct data analysis of protocols using your personal computer. The user interface is easy to use without training, but we recommend you watch the videos available on the NetDecoder CD or on Frontline’s web site at www.fte.com. You should also read the online Help to take maximum advantage of all the features.
INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS Software Installation You must have an RS‐232 ComProbe, RS‐422/485 ComProbe or CC‐Link ComProbe to install the NetDecoder software. 1. Install one the ComProbes following the instructions below. 2. Keep the ComProbe plugged in to the PC and run the installer. 3. You will see the following options: Figure 1 ‐ NetDecoder installer options 4. Select ‘Live Product’ and follow the installation wizard to complete your NetDecoder software installation.
The Found New Hardware Wizard dialogue box appears which may ask you if you want to connect to Windows Update to search for software. Figure 2 ‐ Install Wizard Welcome 3. Choose No, not this time and click Next. Figure 3 ‐ Found New Hardware Wizard Dialog 4. Choose Install from a list or specific location and click Next. Now you have to locate the RS‐232 ComProbe II driver.
Figure 4 ‐ Browse 5. Click the Browse button. Figure 5 ‐ Directory Structure 6. Locate the directory where you installed NetDecoder (the default is C:\Program Files\Frontline Test System II\Frontline NetDecoder [version #]\Drivers\Serial ComProbes). If you have the drivers on the CD or if you have downloaded them to a different location on your PC, point the wizard to that location. 7. Select the appropriate directory and click OK.
Figure 6 ‐ Select File Location Dialog 8. Click the Next button to finish the installation. 9. If you get a dialog box like the one below, don’t worry—click Continue Anyway. Figure 7 ‐ Hardware Installation Your computer will now install the ComProbe driver from the directory you selected; you’ll get a dialog box saying that the installation is finished.
Figure 8 ‐ Installation Complete 10. Click the Finish button to close the wizard. Your computer will remember this USB application. The next time you insert the RS‐232 ComProbe II (or other ComProbe), your PC will automatically find the appropriate interface driver. Ethernet ComProbe Driver Installation When first connecting the Ethernet ComProbe to your PC, you will be directed to install the required Frontline interface driver. 1.
2. Choose No, not this time and click Next. Figure 10 ‐ Found New Hardware Wizard Dialog 3. Choose Install from a list or specific location and click Next. Now you have to locate the Ethernet ComProbe driver. Figure 11 ‐ Browse 4. Make sure the Include this location in the search checkbox is selected, then click the Browse button. 5. Locate the directory where you installed NetDecoder (the default is C:\Program Files\Frontline Test System II\Frontline NetDecoder [version #]\Drivers\Ethernet ComProbe) P
Figure 12 ‐ Directory Structure 6. Select the directory among Vista 32bit, Vista 64bit, WinXP 32bit, or WinXP64bit and click OK. 7. Click the Next button to finish the installation. Figure 13 ‐ Select File Location Dialog 8. If you get a dialog box like the one below, don’t worry—click Continue Anyway.
Figure 14 ‐ Hardware Installation Your computer will now install the Ethernet ComProbe driver from the directory you selected. Figure 15 ‐ Installation Continuing You’ll get a dialog box saying that the installation is finished.
Figure 16 ‐ Installation Complete 9. Click the Finish button to close the wizard. 10. Since the Ethernet ComProbe installs as a NIC card on your PC with a new MAC address, we recommend that you restart the PC for the ComProbe to work correctly. The installation of the NetDecoder software and the Ethernet ComProbe driver are now complete. Configure Ethernet Comprobe After you install WinPcap, you have to configure the IP address and Subnet Mask for the Ethernet ComProbe. 1.
Figure 18 ‐ LAC Properties The LAC Properties dialog appears. Figure 19 ‐ Properties Dialog 3. Scroll down and select Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). 4. Select Properties. Figure 20 ‐ Select Properties The Properties dialog appears.
Figure 21 ‐ Properties Dialog 5. Select the Use the following IP address radio button. 6. Enter 192.168.0.1 for the IP address. 7. Enter 255.0.0.0 in the Subnet mask. 8. Select OK to close the Properties dialog. 9. Select OK again to close the LAC Properties dialog and complete the process. Windows 7 Installation The procedure for installing the ComProbe driver is different for Windows 7 than it is for XP. Follow the steps below. 1. Plug the ComProbe into a USB port.
When the dialog disappears, 2. Go to the Control Panel and open the Device Manager. Figure 22 ‐ Device Manager 3. Right click on RS‐232 ComProbe II under Other Devices and select Update Driver Software.
Figure 23 ‐ Update Driver Software The next step is to choose the driver location. 4. Select Browse my computer for driver software. Figure 24 ‐ Browse my computer for driver software 5. On the next dialog, select the Browse button.
Figure 25 ‐ Update Driver Software Now you have to drill down to find the folder that contains the driver. The driver is located at: C:\Program Files[X86]\Frontline Test System II\Frontline [Application Name and #]\Drivers\Serial ComProbes Figure 26 ‐ Browse for Folder 6. Select the Serial ComProbes folder. 7. Select OK The Browse for driver software on your computer dialog reappears.
Figure 27 ‐ Browse for driver software on your computer 8. Select Next. Once the driver starts to load, Figure 28 ‐ Software Loading – Windows 7 you may get a Windows Security warning.
Figure 29 ‐ Windows Security Warning 9. You can ignore this warning by selecting Install this driver software anyway. Your computer will now install the ComProbe driver from the directory you selected; you will get a dialog box saying that the installation is finished. Figure 30 ‐ Installation Complete 10. Click the Close button to close the wizard.
When you close this dialog you will see that the correct driver is displayed in the Device Manager under Frontline Test Equipment ComProbes.
Initial Startup and Hardware Installation The software installation creates a folder on your desktop. 1. Open the desktop folder and double‐click the shortcut labeled Frontline NetDecoder. 2. NetDecoder displays the Choose Protocol to Analyze dialog that contains a list of the available protocols. 3. Select the desired protocol 4. Select a capture method from the Data Capture Method selection pane below the list window (if necessary). 5.
Asynchronous Serial Hardware Setup RS‐232 ComProbe II Setup The NetDecoder analyzer captures asynchronous RS‐232 data using the RS‐232 ComProbe II. This ComProbe is Thumb Drive sized device that plugs in to the PC’s USB port. Frontline's ComProbes are passive devices. Some serial analyzers receive data from one side of the circuit under test and retransmit it to the other side. The RS‐232 ComProbe II does not work that way.
Figure 34 – RS‐232 ComProbe II with Y‐Cable and Extension P a g e | 21
USING NETDECODER ‐ THE TOUR The first window that opens up when you launch the software is the Control window. The Control window is the small rectangular window at the top, and the NetDecoder software is organized around this window. From the Control window, you control data capture and have access to the other windows used to view data. How to Capture Data The NetDecoder software can capture data to a single file or a series of files.
Looking At Data Bytes Event Display Click the Event Display icon on the Control window toolbar to open the Event Display. The Event Display window is the main view of byte‐level data. How Data Is Displayed Data is displayed in hex on the left and ASCII on the right. You can restrict the display to only show Hex or ASCII using the buttons at the top of the window. The Event Display can also display data in decimal, binary, EBCDIC, and other character and number formats.
Panes The Frame Display is divided into panes, where each pane shows a different view of the data. The Summary pane stretches across the top of the display. Each line in the Summary Pane represents one frame/message. The Decode pane contains a detailed decode of the frame selected in the Summary pane, and is located on the left side of the Frame Display window. The three smaller panes on the bottom right of the Frame Display show the logical data in hex, binary and ASCII.
Bookmarks Bookmarks let you mark frames of interest so they can be easily found later. Bookmarked frames appear with a magenta triangle icon next to them except in the Event Display where they appear as a dashed line around the start of frame marker. You can navigate between bookmarks using the Find feature or by pressing F2 to go to the next bookmark. To make a new bookmark, right‐click on the frame and choose Add Bookmark from the menu.
Node Statistics The NetDecoder software’s Ethernet Network View enables you to see statistics on specific nodes including communications traffic details and node information for active nodes on the monitored side of the switch.
Monitoring Control Signals (DeviceNet and Serial Analysis Only) The Breakout Box monitors control signals in real‐time. The Signal Display is an overview of all signal changes in the capture buffer. Breakout Box Click the Breakout Box icon on the Control window toolbar to open the Breakout Box window. The Breakout Box monitors the six main control signals on an RS‐232 circuit.
TECHNICAL SUPPORT Technical support is available in several ways. The online help system provides answers to many user related questions. Frontline’s website has documentation on common problems, as well as software upgrades and utilities to use with our products. Web: http://www.fte.com, click Support Email: tech_support@fte.com If you need to talk to a technical support representative, support is available between 9am and 5pm, U.S. Eastern time, Monday through Friday.
