Network Monitor 3.1 Beta Has Released!

The NM3.1 Beta is available on https://connect.Microsoft.com and simmering with new features for you to test. I'll bet you can't wait to sniff wireless management traffic; for sure an exciting new feature. Not sure how to create a filter? Now this is much easier with our new right click, add to filter feature.

What's New in Network Monitor 3.1?

  • Wireless (802.11) capturing and monitor mode on Vista – With supported hardware, (Native WIFI), you can now trace wireless management packets. You can scan all channels or a subset of the ones your wireless NIC supports. You can also focus in on one specific channel. We now show the wireless metadata for normal wireless frames. This is really cool for t-shooting wireless problems. See signal strength and transfer speed as you walk around your house!
  • RAS tracing support on Vista – Now you can trace your RAS connections so you can see the traffic inside your VPN tunnel. Previously this was only available with XP.
  • Right click add to filter – Now there's an easier way to discover how to create filters. Right click in the frame details data element or a column field in the frame summary and select add to filter. What could be easier!
  • Microsoft Update enabled – Now you will be prompted when new updates exist. NM3.1 will occasionally check for a new version and notify you when one is available.
  • New look filter toolbar – We've changed the UI related to apply and remove filters. You can now apply a filter without having to UN-apply it first.
  • New reassembly engine – Our reassembly engine has been improved to handle a larger variety of protocol reassembly schemes.
  • New public parsers – These include ip1394, ipcp, ipv6cp, madcap, pppoE, soap, ssdp, winsrpl, as well as improvements in the previously shipped parsers.
  • Numerous Bug Fixes – We've taken your reported problems on the connect site and fixed many of the confirmed bugs.

How do I get NM3.1 Beta?

The beta will be available on https://connect.microsoft.com. You will need to sign in with your passport account, and if you haven't already, participate in the Network Monitor 3 project. Once you do this, you'll have access to the latest download. This will also give you access to our bug filing process and access to our news groups for getting support.

Our Release Cycle Strategy

It seemed only a few months back we released NM3.0. Oh wait; it was a few months back. One of the fundamental principles on our team is to release frequently. This allows us to provide quick updates for bug fixes as well as adding new features. If a feature doesn't make it in this build, you don't have to wait very long for the next beta. Now the one drawback is that we may not be able to cram in as many features for each release, but in the long run this will help us keep agile and provide the features that are most important today.

Enjoy!