Using this Site
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At the top of your screen is the main menu; in the middle is the main Site Map. Once you land on a starting page for anything on the entire website, the green “Category Map” provides guidance within the area. The fancy <– and –> arrows move to the next and previous page in the catagory. We arranged the sequence of pages in a category in a logical order–for us–and we hope you come to like it too. But if not, that’s what the Category Map is for.
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About Greenleaf ViewComm
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It’s about CLARITY, being able to SEE that which is a bunch of bits flying about.
The media called it “a killer app.” Users say they’d rather commit hari-kari than be without it. We brought it to you so that you could see what is going on in a data stream, whether it’s asynch or Ethernet. By the way, we made the GUI identical between the two models. We know that life isn’t long enough to learn that many interfaces, and this one is hot, deep, and waiting For you to put it to use.
OK, the Sales Manager made me say all that. What does he know? Well, For one thing, he knows how many people tell him their lives have been changed for the better because they use Greenleaf ViewComm. So what exactly IS ViewComm? And For you long-time Greenleaf users, what exactly is “ViewComm II”?
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Greenleaf ViewComm Protocol Analyzers and Data Monitors
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Greenleaf has been selling Greenleaf ViewComm products For about fifteen years. It started with the ViewComm (DOS) product ending with version 3.0. Next we had ViewComm For Windows. These were basically very good data monitors For asynchronous data.
For the past five or so years we’ve had Greenleaf ViewComm for REAL.
First of all, ViewComm is a full-fledged, top of the line scripted protocol analyzer with models For Async work and For Ethernet.
You really have to see ViewComm in action to believe the depth and breadth of its capability. By using a scripting language called DecoderScript, we give you a set of protocol decodes (and you can add more or build your own) that includes Async PPP, SLIP, a full-blown TCP/IP stack, and Modbus. The power of nested protocol decodes is remarkable and gives the user an incredible Array of views into the data stream in real-time or captured to a file or buffer. But ViewComm doesn’t stop there. To present signals and errors and myriad other events that can happen in a data stream…well, be patient, read on. |
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Who Needs It?
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- Software developers who need to see where and what’s broken about a data comm link.
- Software developers who are writing or debugging a proprietary protocol.
- Software developers who are debugging a fitful TCP/IP problem.
- Test engineers who need to see exactly whether a protocol is working as specified.
- Field engineers on the road with a knotty problem in a WAN or LAN.
- Technicians dispatched to the site of a malfunctioning node in a network.
- Communicating equipment designers who have a data link of questionable integrity.
- Professors and students exploring the mysteries of modern nested protocols.
- Any technical person whose data link is malfunctioning; the need is to SEE clearly what the matter is.
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ViewComm vs. ViewComm II
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- Until June, 2006, Greenleaf ViewComm Async came in a dozen “flavors”, such as Async, Async Plus, Async Pro, Viewer, Async Plus Pro, Viewer Pro, and so-forth.
- Async versions 2.5x and 3.3 topped out at 115.2 Kbps, so we added yet another modifier to all the model names: “HS” or High Speed, which cost more and provided speeds to 921.6 Kbps.
- Async HS Plus Pro, the full-featured model, included spy-on-a-port mode, ProtocolWorks (an add-on kit that let you develop your own protocol decode scripts) sold For almost $2,000.
- While these versions are still available (Contact us) — the ViewComm models and the add-on features like Plus (spy), ProtocolWorks, High Speed option, our new flagship Greenleaf ViewComm Async II has all of these features plus Modbus protocol decodes and sells For just USD $699.00.
- ViewComm Async II is customized for Windows 2000, XP, and Server 2003 only. If you must have a version that runs on earlier Microsoft operating systems, you’ll need to contact Sales in regard to version 3.3.
- You can upgrade from earlier versions For a few hundred dollars.
- You now get a full year’s Priority Maintenance (free upgrades) included in the price.
- Stay tuned: Greenleaf will be bringing you two exciting new protocol analyzer products—one For industrial protocol suites and one For USB. Coming soon to this website.
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ViewComm II For Ethernet
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- Spies on your Network Interface Card — 10/100 MHz Ethernet.
- Knows about IP addresses and all flavors of Ethernet
- Running on a PC attached to the LAN, can show you traffic on the LAN and WAN.
- The power of bit-level decoding gives you far more than a hint about a problem.
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Brief Summary of Common Specifications
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- Events are things that happen on the interface. Characters in or out, errors, beginning and end of a packet (frame), modem control and status transitions, breaks, and more. The ViewComm Events View shows you two panes (radix and character — i.e. Hex, Octal, ASCII, etc.) half or full duplex data with DTE and DCE clearly marked.
- Statistics View summarizes traffic (total, DTE, DCE), bandwidth utilization, errors, actual data rates, frame sizes in ranges and average, frame rate, and more. You can choose Session statistics, resettable stats, or stats about what’s currently in the buffer. For dessert, you can choose bar or pie charts of some segments of Statistics View.
- When any event occurs, ViewComm automatically tags it with a high resolution (down to 100 ns.) timestamp. You can choose how many decimal places and what resolution, and can even disable timestamps (generally a bad idea).
- Supports Windows 2000, XP, and Server 2003. Can also support Windows 95, 98, Me, or NT 4.
- Async models support RS-232, RS-422, or RS-485 (depending upon hardware–check out our bundle)
- Uses 1 or 2 ports depending upon test setup ( Monitor or Source modes)
- Async models performance to 921.6 Kbps (check on our bundles which provide proven PCI or PCMCIA cards)
- Special serial drivers are supplied (OS specific) that permits gathering ALL pertinent information from UART hardware each time any event occurs.
- RS-232 cable set included for Monitor, Source mode plus DB25/DB9 adapters (Cable set is optional with upgrades)
- Supports COM1…COM64
- Frame View, used to display and decode packets, has panes For Summary info For each frame, plus binary, Hex, character, and a tree-based decode pane.
- Protocol Navigator View presents multiple decoded packets in tree form; you can Filter in/out the parts you want to see, and open any number of frame trees to any level you like.
- Signals View shows captured modem status and control signals synchronized with Event, Frame, Protocol Navigator, and other views.
- Breakout Box View is like Signals View only is real-time, while capturing (or just watching) async data.
- Transmit View is a dialog that gives you the capability to send to either side of the line from a file or keyboard.
- Sophisticated Find (Search) capability lets you search the buffer or capture file For any sort of event.
- Filters capability starts with letting you set up your own preference of nested protocols to show or hide, and there are several ways to do this.
- You can use a standard protocol stack (e.g. Async PPP) or define your own.
- Incredibly flexible Export capability For Event and Frame Views. Also Print to Browser!
- There’s more, much more, but we said this was a brief summary.
- Interested in how it works? Click here.
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