Tip of the Day: Message Analyzer 1.1: 'Spruce up your data with a splash of color'

Color filters can be extremely helpful when shifting through large amounts of data.  They help easily identifying specific traffic types and protocol errors, or give insight into overall traffic patterns.

Message Analyzer includes a number of color filters.  To enable them you need only select the appropriate checkbox.

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You can also add your own rules by selecting Color Rules >  New Color Rule

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  • In the edit box enter a descriptive name and (optional) description. 
  • Specify a filter expression to identify the interesting traffic. 
  • Use the formatting boxes to specify font and color settings.

The following example creates a rule that will display DNS query response errors with white font on a red background.

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Click save when finished.  Your rule will be stored under the My Items section and enabled by default.

FILTER TIP in this example we expect the return code of '0' on a successful query.  If for any reason we wanted to filter only on a specific return code we could simply substitute the appropriate operator and value.

And viola…..our filter applied.

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Note that in this example the DiagnosisType Column also provides a useful indicator that we have some sort of error.  We will look at other helpful columns in our next tip.

FINAL THOUGHT  - ‘Can’t see the forest for the trees?’

It's a good idea to create your filters judiciously based on the scenario and environment you are troubleshooting.  Too much color can causes sensory overload making it difficult to zero in on what's relevant.  Recall the adage 'can't see the forest for the trees'.

For more information check out the Message Analyzer Blog