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DesktopPerspective®Manual v2 |
Manual Index
1. Installing DesktopPerspective
First, make sure that you meet the minimum requirements for your platform, including the proper Java VM. Then download the install program for DesktopPerspective and run the program to begin the installation.
2. Running DesktopPerspective
Go to Start / Programs / DesktopPerspective and click on DesktopPerspective. If you are running under NT/Win2000, it is possible to configure DesktopPerspective to run as a Service.
Windows NT/2000 Service: To run DesktopPerspective Server as a Windows NT/2000 service, just follow these steps:
- Run DesktopPerspective Server to configure and verify that it runs properly; Exit DesktopPerspective.
- In a DOS prompt window, change to the DesktopPerspective install directory and press Enter. For example,
Type CD \Program Files\DesktopPerspective and press Enter.
- Type "DesktopPerspective -install" and press Enter.
- Run the Services Manager (Control Panel) and start the "DesktopPerspective" service.
Similarly, to uninstall the service, follow steps 2 and 3 above, substituting "DesktopPerspective -uninstall" for "DesktopPerspective -install".
3. Running DesktopPerspective for the First Time
When you run DesktopPerspective for the first time, you will be asked to enter a valid license key and select your preferred DesktopPerspective language. Your license key can be a purchased license key or a trial key. Follow the instructions for the type of key you have.
Fig 3.1 License Key DialogWhen a valid key has been entered, the DesktopPerspective GUI should be displayed as shown in Fig 3.2.
Fig 3.2 DesktopPerspective GUI
DesktopPerspective can be run in two modes: advanced and simple. The Simple mode offers an overview of a traceroute displayed on a world map and basic route analysis information. The Advanced mode offers an entire routing table giving detailed information on each hop, detailed analysis, and the world map display. To run in Advanced mode, simply click on the check box (Fig 3.2) at the top of the GUI window. The map can be resized by dragging the horizontal separator bar in between the table and map. Instructions for configuring additional DesktopPerspective GUI preferences can be found in Section 12. DesktopPerspective Options.
4. Starting and Configuring the DesktopPerspective Server
To access DesktopPerspective from a browser, the DesktopPerspective Server needs to be started. Note that the DesktopPerspective server acts as its own Web server and does not require IIS, Apache, or any third party Web server application to function. With the DesktopPerspective application running, go to Tools --> DesktopPerspective Server and the screen below will appear:
Fig 4.1 DesktopPerspective Server WindowClick on the Preferences... button to open the DesktopPerspective Server Preferences dialog as shown in Fig. 4.2. The three tabs, General, Security, and Mapping/GUI are discussed below.
Fig 4.2 DesktopPerspective Server Preferences Window
The DesktopPerspective Server preference options are:
IP - Allows you to configure DesktopPerspective Server to run under any/all IP address on the machine, or only on the specified IP Address, which is very useful if you want DesktopPerspective Server to coexist with IIS on the same machine (see tech note below).
Coexisting with IIS: Want IIS to use port 80 on one IP Address and VisualRoute Server to use port 80 on a different IP Address, but on the same physical machine? This works, but IIS has the nasty tendency to grab up all IP Addresses on a machine, even if IIS is not configured to use all IP Addresses. This prevents any other application from using port 80 on a free IP address. Microsoft Tech Note Q238131 has details on how to fix IIS. However, also make sure that you have no services set to use IP Address "All Unassigned", otherwise IIS will still grab all IP Addresses. Instead, make sure that you specify the IP Addresses that you want IIS to use for each type of service (HTTP, FTP, etc).Port - The port number that the server will use. The default is the standard WWW port 80. To change the port, enter in a new number and press Enter. You will need to change the port number if you install DesktopPerspective Server on a server that already has a web server service (port 80 used).
Max Users - The maximum numbers of users that can perform a DesktopPerspective trace concurrently. To change this setting, enter in a new number and press Enter.
Access Control List - By default, the server grants full access to anyone who can connect to the machine/port. The access control list allows you to fine-tune access based upon a list of 'access verb and CIDR address'. This 'Access Control List' is processed in-order (top to bottom) and the first entry to match the client's IP address is the access entry that is used. If no entry in this list matches, then access is denied. The access verbs are:deny - denies all access
trace - allow trace only back to originating IP address
full - allows full access to all features
super - full access, even past max usersTo add an entry to the Access Control List simply select the 'access verb' from the drop down menu and enter the CIDR address. Then click the 'Add' button and it will be added to the list. You may also choose to 'Delete' and entry or move it up or down the processing order list.
The security tab looks like Fig 4.3:
Fig 4.3: DesktopPerspective Server Security Preferences DialogApplet Options - These options control the number of traces users may perform and allows you to set additional security settings for the DesktopPerspective Server applet. Information about each setting is displayed in the Quick Help box when the item is selected.
Restrict Applet Hosting by Domain - Allows you to control the domains that can host the DesktopPerspective applet from your DesktopPerspective Server. Used to prevent unauthorized use of your DesktopPerspective server by other sites that attempt to access the DesktopPerspective applet and service via the Java codebase attribute. Please note that you must list all URL domains that are authorized to access your DesktopPerspective Server. For example, for http://visualroute.visualware.com, both visualroute.visualware.com and 161.58.180.113 would be added to the list.
The Mapping/GUI tab looks like Fig 4.4:
Fig 4.4: DesktopPerspective Server Mapping/GUI Preferences DialogThe Mapping/GUI options allows you to adjust the look and feel of the applet within the web interface. You can set options such as zoom levels on the map and simplified controls. Information about each setting is displayed in the Quick Help box when the item is selected.
Starting the DesktopPerpective Server
Once you have configured the DesktopPerspective preferences, you may close the window and return to the initial server window (Fig 4.1).
Click the Start button to begin the server. You should now be able to use a standard browser to access the DesktopPerspective GUI by browsing to the IP address specified in the DesktopPerspective Server setup. You can easily test if the DesktopPerspective Server is running properly and accessible via a browser by clicking on the Test... button in the server window (Fig 4.1). Click on OK to exit the DesktopPerspective Server dialog.
Customizing the Server Web Page: When a client connects to the server, they get a web page that is automatically generated by DesktopPerspective. To create your own custom web page, create an HTML document that contains this HTML code:
<applet code="redirect/DesktopPerspectiveApplet.class" codebase="redirect/" width=600 height=1024>
Java support required!
</applet>Then place this new HTML document into the DesktopPerspective "www" directory under the name "index.html". This new index.html will then be used when the client connects to the server.
Placing the DesktopPerspective applet on your corporate web server: If you want to integrate the DesktopPerspective Server applet into your corporate web server, you must use HTML code that looks like:
<applet codebase="http://www.yourvrserver.com" code="redirect/DesktopPerspectiveApplet.class" codebase="redirect/" width=600 height=1024>
Java support required!
</applet>Where http://www.yourvrserver.com is the URL to your DesktopPerspective Server (that is running and working). So, your corporate web server contains an HTML web page with the HTML code above and it points to your working DesktopPerspective Server (via codebase) so that traces can be performed. Please note that simply viewing the "www" folder files through your corporate web server will not work.
Starting a Traceroute Automatically: To start an automatic trace to a domain or IP address with DesktopPerspective Server, add '?go=www.host.com' or '?go=IP Address" onto the URL in your browser. For example:
http://your-desktopperspective-server.com/?go=www.visualware.com
will automatically launch DesktopPerspective Server and run a traceroute to 'www.visualware.com'. This allows for great flexibility in creating custom Web pages with traceroute capabilities. As DesktopPerspective Server may also be embedded in html code, it is easy to create a customized look and feel for your site while providing the traceroute functionality via HTML forms.
5. Starting the Reverse Trace Server
In order to conduct a reverse trace from a remote desktop, you must start the Reverse Trace Server. Once you have started the DesktopPerspective Server engine and you have the DesktopPerspective GUI (Fig 3.2) in view again go to the Tools menu and choose Reverse Trace Server... You will get a screen similar to the one below:
Fig 5.1 Remote Trace Server WindowOnce again set the IP address and port number for the Reverse Trace Server server to run on (different than the port specified for the DesktopPerspective Server engine), along with the maximum number of users that can access the Reverse Trace Server at one time. This last setting is the number of remote users that can download the Reverse Trace Agent at one time (the default is 80). Once these options have been configured, click the Start button to start the Reverse Trace Server. The Start button will toggle between "Start" and "Stop" indicating the status of the Reverse Trace Server. You may now Close the Reverse Trace Server window or configure additional preferences as detailed below.
With the Reverse Trace Server running, you can now perform a traceroute from a Remote User location. Step-by-step instructions for using DesktopPerspective to conduct a reverse trace can be found in Section 6. How Does it Work?
Configuring Reverse Trace Server Preferences
You may also choose to configure Reverse Trace Server preferences by clicking on the Preferences... button.
Fig 5.2. Reverse Trace Server Configuration OptionsClicking on the Preferences... button allows you to configure specific user options by opening the Reverse Trace Server Configuration dialog window. Configuration options include setting up automated trace capability and other advanced options as detailed below.
The redirector agent should automatically perform a traceroute and email me the results - Allows you to configure the DesktopPerspective Reverse Trace server to run in an automated fashion. To complete the automated traceroute feature, simply complete the steps below:
- Click The redirector agent should automatically perform a traceroute and email me the results.
- In the Traceroute using box, enter the public name of your DesktopPerspective server. This is necessary because, in this configuration, the agent not only connects to the Reverse Trace Server but also to the DesktopPerspective Server. It connects to the former to receive ‘work requests’ (ie: details of addresses to analyse) and connects to the latter to request the traceroute take place.
- Enter the host that you would like to be the target of the automatic traceroute in the Traceroute to box.
- In the Email results to and Email results from boxes, enter the receiver and sender email addresses (as results of the traceroute are to be sent by email).
- Enter the subject of the email in the Email subject box. You may use the word [HOST] which will be substituted for the target host of the traceroute when the email is sent.
- Enter an SMTP server address accessible to the Reverse Trace Server (it does not have to be accessible to the client or agent) in the Email server box.
- By checking and unchecking the self-explanatory checkboxes in the lower half of the dialog, you can specify the agent’s behavior on errors and on completion.
Once you have completed the above steps, you have fully set up DesktopPerspective for automatic remote tracerouting. For manual configuration of automated trace settings within a web page link, see details in Section 7. Manual configuration provides much more flexibility in creating a self-service DesktopPerspective portal.
To perform an automated traceroute, have a client browse to http://<reverse_trace_server_IP>/hdgen.html and download an agent as described in Section 6. The traceroute will be performed and the specified email address (step 4 above) will receive an email detailing the results.Clicking on the Advanced... button allows you to specifiy additional options (see Fig 5.3) regarding how users of the Redirector can interact with the application download process and whether Support Technicians will need login credentials to access DesktopPerspective from a browser.
'Allow users to choose their own session ID's' - When checked, Support Technicians will be able to select the Session ID to use when performing a trace. This is configured by putting "?session=<session id>" on the end of the /redirect URL. If unchecked, a default Session ID will be used. See an example in Section 6.
'Users of the Redirector applet must log on' - When checked, you can specify user names and passwords for Support Technicians attempting to run the DesktopPerspective GUI application from their browser. If unchecked, users will be able to access the GUI from a browser without a username and password.
Fig 5.3. Advanced Configuration Options
6. How Does it Work?
With the DesktopPerspective Server and the Reverse Trace Server server running, you can now begin to conduct traceroutes from a user's desktop to any networking device in the world. This section will step through an example to illustrate how DesktopPerspective can be used by a Support Technician in London to analyze a connectivity problem experienced by a Remote User in Sydney.
A customer in Sydney is having problems connecting to a location and calls the Helpdesk located in London. In order to see first hand where the problem lies, the Support Technician sends the Remote User a link to the Reverse Trace Server site.
- The Support Technician provides a link consisting of the IP address and port number specified in the Reverse Trace Server preferences process followed by "/hdgen.html" (additional options are available). In general, the format should be http://ipaddress:portnumber/hdgen.html. For example:
http://217.134.204.30:81/hdgen.html will take the Remote User to a page similar to the one below. Note that the Remote User will need to provide the session ID provided at the bottom of the page.
Fig 6.2 DesktopPerspective Remote Trace Server Website
Clicking the Download button initiates the download of the small Redirector application (helpdesk.exe) to the Remote User's local system. The Remote User will be prompted to either open or save the application. Note that the Support Technician can perform the above step, choose to save the Reverse Trace agent and then email the agent to the Remote User. Once the Reverse Trace agent is opened (running), the Remote User will get a dialog box similar to the one in Fig 6.3.
Fig 6.3 Remote Trace Dialog BoxThe Remote User should automatically be connected to the DesktopPerspective server that has been setup for this purpose. If not, they can click on the Connect button to connect. This button toggles between Connect and Disconnect to indicate the status.
The Support Technician based in London is now prepared to conduct a trace from the Remote User's desktop to the desired location. The Support Technician may either use DesktopPerspective GUI directly or connect via a standard browser to the DesktopPerspective Server configured and started previously to perform a trace from the Remote User's desktop.
- Connect via the GUI - The Support Technician can use the DesktopPerspective GUI to conduct a trace from the Remote User's desktop by first selecting the Remote User from the Reverse Trace Server dialog box (Fig 6.4.1). All traces initiated from the GUI by entering a host or URL to monitor will be conducted from the selected host. Selecting "localhost" will conduct a trace from the DesktopPerspective Server location.
Fig. 6.4.1 Selecting the Host to Perform the Trace
- Connect via a Standard Browser - The Support Technician can use a browser to connect to the IP address and port specified in the DesktopPerspective Server preferences configuration. This may be the same IP address as the Remote User was directed to, but a different port number and "/redirect" after it. Additional options are available. In general, the format should be http://ipaddress:port/redirect. For example:
http://217.134.204.30:89/redirectIf User options were configured with allow users to choose their own session ID's checked, the Support Technician will need to enter the session ID provided by the Remote User and click OK (see Fig 6.4.2) and then select the appropriate user from the "Choose user:" drop down selection box (see figure 6.5). The Support Technician will now have a one-on-one session with the user since the session ID is unique.
Fig 6.4.2 Server Displayed in a Browser Window
Fig 6.5 Once session ID has been enteredThe Helpdesk Representative can now conduct a trace by entering a host or URL to monitor.
DesktopPerspective Reverse Trace and Server Options
Several options are available with regard to the Remote User and Support Technician /hdgen.htm and /redirect URL links provided in the above DesktopPerspective Server example.
Option 1: Specification of Session ID
With the allow users to choose their own session ID's checked, the Spport Technician can ask the Remote User to go to a new link that will provide a session ID. The general format is http://ipaddress:port/hdgen.html?id=<sessionid>. For example,
http://192.168.0.20:81/hdgen.html?id=danielThis link will specify the session ID as 'Daniel' instead of a randomly generated session ID (fig 6.6 below).
Fig 6.6 hdgen.html page when ID has been specifiedOnce the Remote User has been to this page and entered his name and opened the Reverse Trace agent, the Support Technician can now access the DesktopPerspective Server. This time he/she may also use a different link as the ID has been specified as Daniel. The general format is http://ipaddress:port/redirect?session=<sessionid>. For example,
http://192.168.0.20:82/redirect?session=Daniel
Fig 6.7 Server GUI once predefined ID has been usedNotice that by pre-specifying a session ID, the Support Technician can have many users connected using the same session ID. The Support Technician will therefore be able to switch between the various users simply by selecting their names from the drop-down list in the GUI.
Option 2: Specification of Session ID and User Name:
The Support Technician can also specify a user name in addition to the session ID in the link sent the Remote User. Doing so would mean that the Remote User need not enter any information prior to downloading the Reverse Trace agent as the session ID and the name have been specified in the URL. The general format is http://ipaddress:port/redirect?session=<sessionid>&name=<name>. For example,
http://192.168.0.20:82/redirect?session=Daniel&name=JohnBy clicking this link, the Remote User would see the following:
Fig 6.8 Session ID and Username both specifiedOnce the Remote User has been to this page and opened the Reverse Trace agent, the Support Technician can now access the Desktop Perspective Server using the same link as in the previous example. The general format is http://ipaddress:port/redirect?session=<sessionid>. For example,
http://192.168.0.20:82/redirect?session=DanielThis way you will get the same view as Fig 6.7, but since the Support Technician has chosen the name of the user, it may be easier for the technician to keep track of who he/she was dealing with.
Option 3: Saving the Reverse Trace Agent for Deployment:
The Support Technician may also perform the step of downloading the Reverse Trace agent for deployment to Remote Users via email or posting to a public server or for creating a dynamic rmeote connectivity testing model. By deploying Reverse Trace agets to strategic locations throughout the global network, Support Technicians can conduct real-time trace routes from thesec locations throughout the global network, through supporting networks and ISPs to any destination worldwide. Specifying a single session ID as outlined in Option 1 above (note use of a single session ID of "DMZ" in Fig 6.9) would allow the technician to quickly trace from multiple locations with a single click.
Fig 6.9 Use of DesktopPerspective to Support Global Network Testing
7. Reverse Trace Server Manual Configuration
In the above section you have seen several different configurations which give a glimpse of what is possible to achieve using DesktopPerspective. The real power and flexibility of the product, however, is seen through using a manual configuration of the Reverse Trace Server preferences.
It is in fact possible to have a number of configuration options functioning together. You can also use features such as Automatic Retesting (where a route is constantly analyzed and emails are regularly sent with route information). You can also traceroute backwards from the server to the client as well as examining the route from client to server.
An important point to understand is that the entire DesktopPerspective mechanism works simply by Remote Users or Reverse Trace agents hitting URLs. So, in describing how the manual configuration works, we simply have to describe how these URLs are formed. There are two URLs worth mentioning, downloading the agent and running a traceroute. These are discussed here:
Downloading the Agent
Running a TracerouteThe agent is downloaded by hitting the following URL on the Reverse Trace server:
/prohelpdesk/key-value/key-value/.../key-value/helpdesk.exe
Possible key-value pairs:
- id - sessionid, sessionid=session ID to sign to agent (required)
- name - ruser, ruser=username within that session ID (required)
- autoserver - saddr, saddr=public address of traceroute server
- autotarget - url, url=target of traceroute
- autoemail - email, email=email address to send results to
- autoemailsubject - subject, subject=subject line of email
- autodisconnect - disconnect, disconnect=true/false to ask server to disconnect agent after traceroute finishes
- tests - numtests , numtests=number of traceroute tests to perform to host (since version 2.1a)
- retestdelay - delay , delay=delay, in seconds, between successive traceroute tests (since version 2.1a)
- proxy - proxyserver, proxyserver=address of proxy to sign into agent (since version 2.0d)
- proxyport - port , port=port for above proxy server (since version 2.0d)
- visible - vis, vis=true/false to make the agent visible on the user's desktop
- errexit - ee, ee=true/false to exit on errors (otherwise the agent will be shown. Applies only when vis=false, above)
- shutdownexit - se, se=true/false to shut down the agent after its disconnection
Note that sessionid and ruser must be unique: you cannot have two agents running which have the same session ID and username.
Example 1: A URL which downloads a helpdesk agent designed to allow you to run manual traceroutes from it (as in common configurations 1 and 2):
http://desktopperspectiveRTserver.yourcompany.com/prohelpdesk/id-session/name-bob/helpdesk.exe
Here, the session ID is ‘session’ and the username is ‘bob’.
Example 2: A URL which downloads an agent and automatically traceroutes to www.visualware.com:
http://desktopperspectiveRTserver.yourcompany.com/prohelpdesk/id-session/name-bob/autoserver-desktopperspectiveserver.yourcompany.com/autotarget-www.visualware.com/autoemail-traceroutes%40visualware.com/autoemailsubject-Traceroute/helpdesk.exe
Here we specify:
- Session ID is ‘session’
- Name is ‘bob’
- The address of the DesktopPerspective server is desktopperspectiveserver.yourcompany.com
- The target address is www.visualware.com
- The email address is traceroute@visualware.com (notice how the ‘@’ sign has been replaced with ‘%40’, which is the hexadecimal code for ‘@’. This is to ensure that the URL conforms with RFC2616, the Internet standard describing how URLs should be formed.)
- The email subject is ‘Traceroute’
Note that session ID and username need to be unique. You can use Javascript to generate unique strings if you need to embed this URL as a link in a web page.
Example 3: Similar to Example 2, but also specifying that the agent should disconnect and exit when it completes the traceroute:
http://desktopperspectiveRTserver.yourcompany.com/prohelpdesk/id-session/name-bob/autoserver-desktopperspectiveserver.yourcompany.com/autotarget-www.visualware.com/autoemail-traceroutes%40visualware.com/autoemailsubject-Traceroute/autodisconnect-true/shutdownexit-true/helpdesk.exe
Example 4 : Similar to Example 3, but performing 20 traceroutes each at 2-minute intervals:
http://desktopperspectiveRTserver.yourcompany.com/prohelpdesk/id-session/name-bob/autoserver-desktopperspectiveserver.yourcompany.com/autotarget-www.visualware.com/autoemail-traceroutes%40visualware.com/autoemailsubject-Traceroute/autodisconnect-true/tests-20/retestdelay-120/shutdownexit-true/helpdesk.exe
Example 5 : Specifying a proxy server to connect through
The agent communicates with the Reverse Trace Server via HTTP and as such its communications can be proxied. It will attempt to automatically discover proxy settings, but if this fails you can manually specify a proxy server to connect through. In the following URL we specify that the agent connect through proxy.yourcompany.com, port 8080:
http://desktopperspectiveRTserver.yourcompany.com/prohelpdesk/id-session/name-bob/proxy-proxy.yourcompany.com/proxyport-8080/helpdesk.exe
This URL runs a traceroute. Note that you do not have to hit this URL if you are downloading an agent and specifying that it traceroutes automatically. (This is because the agent will hit it for you).
Perform a traceroute by hitting the following URL on the DesktopPerspective server:
/redirect/vr?url=address&dh=dochost&redirector=sessionid&ruser=username&mailto=email&mailsubject=subject&disconnect=disconnect
Where:
- address = address to trace to (required)
- sessionid = session ID of agent to use
- ruser = username within that session ID
- email = email address to mail results to (required)
- subject = text to put in subject line of email
- disconnect = true/false to disconnect agent after traceroute completes.
Example 1 : To perform a traceroute from the server to www.visualware.com and send the results to traceroutes@yourcompany.com:
http://desktopperspectiveserver.yourcompany.com/redirect/vr?url=www.visualware.com&mailto=traceroutes%40yourcompany.com
Notice how the ‘@’ sign has been replaced with ‘%40’, which is the hexadecimal code for ‘@’. This is to ensure that the URL conforms with RFC2616, the Internet standard describing how URLs should be formed.
Example 2 : To perform a traceroute from the server to www.visualware.com using the agent with session ID / username session/bob, and sending the resulting email to traceroutes@yourcompany.com with subject ‘Traceroute’:
http://desktopperspectiveserver.yourcompany.com/redirect/vr?url=www.visualware.com&mailto=traceroutes%40yourcompany.com&redirector=session&ruser=bob&mailsubject=Traceroute
Example 3: As above, but specifying that the agent should be disconnected after the traceroute completes:
http://desktopperspectiveserver.yourcompany.com/redirect/vr?url=www.visualware.com&mailto=traceroutes%40yourcompany.com&redirector=session&ruser=bob&mailsubject=Traceroute&disconnect=true
8. Selecting a Host / URL to Monitor
To conduct a trace to a destination, simply enter the IP address or URL that you want to monitor into the Address edit box in DesktopPerspective (Fig 8.1). Then press either Start Trace or the start arrow to the right of the address to initiate the DesktopPerspective trace:
Fig 8.1: Host edit boxTIP: Copy (ctrl-c) a host name or URL from any other application and paste (ctrl-v) into the DesktopPerspective edit box in Fig 8.1.
The host / port must be entered into the edit box in a URL-like syntax that looks like:protocol://hostname:port/page.html
Where the fields in this syntax are:
Field Description protocol A protocol such as http, ftp, smtp, etc. hostname Any TCP/IP host name or address port A port number such as 23, 80, etc. page.html Any text -- that is currently ignored All fields are optional except for "hostname", which must be specified. For example, here are various text strings that DesktopPerspective will understand when entered into the edit box:
www.microsoft.com
http://www.testing.com:8080
ftp://ftp.gw2k.com
http://www.oracle.com/products/
Note: You must specify a protocol in order for DesktopPerspective to perform port probing (a check to see if the host is actively listening for connections on the specified or implied port). If no protocol is specified, DesktopPerspective only traces to the hostname.
After entering a host / port that you want DesktopPerspective to monitor, DesktopPerspective will resolve the host name to a list of IP addresses and automatically start a trace route to the first IP address in the list.
You may start a new trace route to a different IP address at any time by selecting any of the other IP addresses from the list or entering a new IP address/URL. Any currently running trace route will be stopped and the new one started.
Many Internet hosts will resolve to only one IP address. Other very large sites (such as www.microsoft.com and www.nytimes.com) will resolve to many IP addresses.
9. DesktopPerspective Analysis
A typical DesktopPerspective analysis section looks like:
Fig 9.1: DesktopPerspective AnalysisIn Advanced Mode, the analysis section for the same trace looks like:
Fig 9.2: DesktopPerspective Analysis in Advanced ModeThis analysis section will explain in English what is going right or wrong in the trace. It will assist you in pinpointing problem areas in the trace. The blue underlined text in the analysis box can be clicked on for a fuller explanation of any error messages.
10. Trace Route Table
A typical Trace Route Table section looks like Fig 10.1:
Fig 10.1: Trace Route Table
TIP: You can use your mouse to resize the table columns by dragging the right edge of a column.
Note: In general, text that is displayed in purple is non-authoritative (from a local cache on your hard drive maintained by DesktopPerspective) and text displayed in black is authoritative. Non-authoritative information is validated as soon as possible, but is displayed immediately to speed up the display of information to you.
Clicking an item in the node name column will show a domain whois, if available, for that hop's domain. Similarly, the network whois for a hop can be accessed by clicking the relevant item in the 'Network' column.
The columns in this table are:
Hop The trace route hop count. % Loss This shows the percentage of ping packets that have been lost at this hop level. This number is red if a host is detected at this hop level. This means that ping packets are being lost. Otherwise, this number is black, because the host may just be ignoring all of our ping packets. This number is updated as the trace is completed, however if you should stop a trace before completion this value may not be totally accurate as DesktopPerspective may still have been waiting for responses from some of the ping packets that it had sent. IP Address The IP address of the host at this hop level. It is red if a recent ping packet was lost. It is blue when it matches a Loose Source Route IP address. Otherwise, it is black. The IP Address is bolded if it is the host that you are trace routing to. Node Name The reverse DNS lookup of the IP Address. Location The geographical location of the node. It is black if we are fairly certain of the node's location. Otherwise it is purple, meaning that the location is a best guess based upon information from various WHOIS databases. Click on the location for details. Tzone If the location of the node has been resolved then the time difference to your selected timezone will be displayed. You can change the base timezone that DesktopPerspective uses in Options -> Preferences -> Analysis Columns ms The average number of milliseconds (roundtrip) that it took for a ping packet to go from your machine to this hop level and back to your machine (just like the system 'tracert' program). Graph The blue line is a graph of the 'ms' column. The gray horizontal bar in each hop line represents the minimum and maximum millisecond times for that hop level. Network The network that this node is in, as reported by various WHOIS databases.
11. Trace Route Map
A typical Trace Route Map section looks like Fig 11.1.
Fig 11.1: Trace Route Map
The trace route is displayed on a map of the world. Links drawn in blue indicate known locations. Links drawn in purple indicate that a guess was made.
Left Mouse Click Zoom IN Right Mouse Click Zoom OUT Mouse Drag Moves the map around DesktopPerspective will immediately redraw the map as new information becomes available from the trace route. In some cases, this will result in lines previously drawn looking like they are being erased and drawn elsewhere. You are just seeing DesktopPerspective update its map information in real-time.
12. DesktopPerspective Menu Options
FilePrint... - Prints the heading, analysis, table, and map.
Exit DesktopPerspective - Exits the DesktopPerspective application.Edit
Copy, Paste - Clipboard support.
Snap table as text... - This will snap a text version of the heading, analysis, and table. Great for e-mailing the results! A shortcut to this option is the 'button' in the table (upper right:).
Snap table/map as JPEG - Allows you to save the traceroute Table and World Map as a graphic in the JPEG format.
HTML Report... - Allows you to save the traceroute Table and World Map as an HTML web page.
License Key... - Allows you to enter or change the product license key.
Reset Map... - Fully zooms out of the map and places it in the center of the screen.Options
Scan Network - Turns network scanning on/off. Network scanning will provide a better analysis when the trace route node is down or does not exist. How it works. However, use carefully since high security sites may think you are attacking their network.
Language... - Displays a dialog that allows you to select English, French, German, or Spanish as the language.
Map colors... - Allows you to change the colors used in the map.
Java Console... - Allows you to view the Java console.
Set Location for Host... - Displays the Set Location Dialog
Preferences... - Displays the DesktopPerspective Preferences Dialog.Tools
DesktopPerspective Server - The DesktopPerspective Server package (a separately priced option) that allows a web browser to access DesktopPerspective. Please refer to the DesktopPerspective Server page for more details.
Reverse Trace Server ... - Shows the DesktopPerspective Ping Redirector dialog.
Help
Support... - Takes you to this web page.
Product feedback... - Takes you to our Feedback web page
DesktopPerspective Home Page... - Takes you to the DesktopPerspective home page
Frequently Asked Questions... - Takes you to our FAQ web page.
How to Purchase... - Takes you to our Purchase web page.
Newsletter signup... - Takes you to our Newsletter signup page.
About... - Displays the About box. Your license key information, Java version and the amount of memory used by DesktopPerspective in the Java VM is displayed in this dialog.
13. DesktopPerspective Preferences Dialog
To view the preferences dialog, select "Preferences..." in the Options menu. The tabs in this dialog are:
14. General Preferences Dialog Tab
The general preferences dialog tab looks like Fig 14.1:
Fig 14.1: General TabThe Display/Mapping Options are:
Show Whois in Simple Mode - In simple mode, shows network and domain whois lookups in place of the table if they are available.
Show map - Toggles map display on/off.
Show map labels - Shows map labels (includes Country/State names and towns/cities).
Graph start/end location guesses - Graphs the first and last location guesses on the map.
Autozoom to trace route - Enables autozooming of the map to show just the locations of the hosts for the current trace. The zoom level of the map will update realtime as more locations are resolved.
Use DNS LOC Locations - When checked, tells DesktopPerspective to search for DNS LOC records (as specified in RFC 1876) for geographical location information. For example, try connecting to www.yahoo.com. For more information, refer to DNS LOC.
Smooth Map Update - When checked, moving the map will be faster because the map is not completely redrawn until the mouse is released.
Show map crosshairs - When checked, shows crosshairs denoting the last hop location on the map.
Font Size - Controls the table font size.The Ping Options are:
Pings per Hop - Sets the number of pings that will be sent to each hop along the route. The minimum number of pings is 3, while the maximum is 100. Increasing the number of pings per hop allows for more accurate recording of average response times.
Ping packet size - Sets the packet size that will be used for each ping along the hop. The minimum value for this is 4 bytes with a maximum of 4096 bytes. This allows the testing of networks to determine how well they handle larger packet sizes, however increasing ping packet size and the number of pings per hop will increase the amount of network traffic that is generated.
Ping timeout - This sets the amount of time that DesktopPerspective will wait for a response to a ping being sent before it considers the packet lost.
Use UDP - Specifies that UDP packets be sent.
Reveal sender in ping packets - (advanced) for ICMP ping requests, uses the originating IP address of outgoing ping packets as part of the packet's data field. For DesktopPerspective server, this is the address of the user connected to the server.The Miscellaneous Options are:
Report unknown node names to rh.desktopperspective.com - Reports node names discovered to Visualware, which helps us to improve the geographical database.
Restart - 'Restarts' DesktopPerspective, which flushes memory caches.
Splash Screen - Shows the splash sreen on startup.
Port Probing - Probes protocol ports of the entered URL (HTTP/FTP/etc) for information to improve the analysis.
Hot Links - Connects to www.DesktopPerspective.com at program startup to check for new Hot Links, which notify you of new releases, etc.
Internet Explorer Integration -Not currently supported.
15. Files & Caching Preferences Dialog Tab
The File & Caching preferences dialog tab looks like Fig 15.1:
Fig 15.1: File & Caching tabThe File & Caching Options are:
Application Dir - Sets the directory that DesktopPerspective will use to store its cached lookups and application data. This directory defaults to a subdirectory vr/ of the installation directory.
Recent Hosts List - Sets the maximum number of entries to be held in the Most Recently Used list. Once this maximum is reached the oldest entry is removed when a new entry is added.
DNS, RDNS, Whois and Hops caches - Each of these caches hold lookups done for previous traces. This information is then used when starting a new trace. The number of days that each cache should be stored for can be set and each cache can be cleared by pressing the clear now button. The size of each of the caches is shown in blue.
Local WHOIS cache is authoritative - Determines if data found in the local WHOIS cache is considered authoritative, which can help to significantly reduce the number of connections to WHOIS servers.
16. Analysis Columns Preferences Dialog Tab
The Analysis Columns preferences dialog tab looks like Fig 16.1:
Fig 16.1: Analysis Columns Tab
The Analysis Columns Options are:
Column Preferences - This allows you to change which columns are visible, and the order in which columns are shown. Use the Hide>>, <<Show, Move Up and Move Down buttons to configure the columns in the Analysis Table.
Timezone - Select the timezone that is applicable for your location. The timezone (Tzone) column in the Analysis Table will then show the time difference in hours between your location and the location of hosts at each hop.
17. Location Database Preferences Dialog Tab
Note: If you make useful modifications to the geographical database, please forward those changes to us to incorporate into future DesktopPerspective versions so that all DesktopPerspective users can benefit from your changes.
Adding a host into the database: Adding your own entries into the geographical database is now quite simple. If you want to add a host that appears on a trace that you have completed, simply right click on any part of the row in the Analysis Table. Then select Specify Location... from the popup menu and follow the steps as outlined below. Otherwise, you can add a note to the database using the Location Database preferences dialog tab (Fig 17.1).
Fig 17.1: Location Database Preferences Dialog
The Add Note to Database dialog (Fig 17.2) can be accessed by selecting the New button within the options tab shown in Fig 17.1. From here, you can specify the location for hosts within domains, IP addresses, or entire domains.
Fig 17.2: Location Database Add Node to Database Dialog
If you right click on a selected row in the table to get to the Fig 17.2 dialog, then the Domain and System Name fields will be filled in.
To specify a location for a host within a domain: Select 'Specify a location for a host within a domain'. The node name of the machine you are entering should be split into two. The domain name is generally the last 2 or 3 words separated by a dot. The host name is then the remainder of the node name, or enough of it to identify a machine or set of machines within the domain. For example:
Hostname Domain Name System Name nyc1-br1.bbnplanet.net bbnplanet.net nyc1-br lon-7513-2-a10-0-1.cwix.net cwix.net lon- 209-107-88-222.chicago.verio.net verio.net .chicago.
To specify a location for an IP address, or group of IP addresses: Select 'Specify a location for an IP address, or group of IP addresses'. Enter the IP address in the corresponding box. CIDR notation is acceptable; eg: to add addresses from 192.0.0.1 to 192.255.255.255, enter 192/8.
To specify a location for an entire domain: Simply select 'Specify a location for an entire domain' and enter the domain name in the corresponding box.
Specifying a Location: The location now needs to be specified. Pressing the "Select..." button in the Fig 17.2 dialog will bring up the Fig 17.3 dialog:
Fig 17.3: Specify a World Location
DesktopPerspective already has a comprehensive list of locations around the world and you can select any of these by choosing a country (and state if in USA) to display a list of locations that DesktopPerspective already knows.
If the location you want is present in this list then select it by double clicking on the name, or select it and then press OK. If the location is not already present then you must enter the detail for this location.
For a Non United States Location:
Field Format Examples Key This should be entered in lower case and should be the two letter country code (Appendix F), a separating hyphen and then the place name:
countrycode-placenameit-rome
fr-paris
ca-barrieDescription This should be the description of the location and should be in the form Place Name, Country Rome, Italy
Paris, France
Barrie, ON, Canada
Latitude / Longitude These two fields should specify the latitude and longitude of the location. Latitude and Longitude are normally specified in Degrees and Minutes. Some sites on the Internet give it to you in a decimal form. Make sure you know which type you are entering. 41.53N 12.30E
48.52N 2.20E
44.22N 79.42W
For a United States Location:
Field Format Examples Key This should be entered in lower case and should the placename, followed by a hyhen, and then the two letter state code abbreviation (Appendix E):
cityname-statecodeabbreviationchicago-il
austin-tx
syracuse-ny
Description This should be the description of the location and should be in the form Place Name, State Name, Country Chicago, IL, USA
Austin, TX, USA
Syracuse, New York, USA
Zip Code You must enter the zip code of this location. DesktopPerspective can then translate this into latitude and longitude 60601
73301
13201
18. Popup WHOIS Support
Popup WHOIS support is available by clicking on rows in the 'Network' column (for network WHOIS information) or the 'Node Name' column (for domain WHOIS information).
For example, clicking on 'Sprint/Centel' in the network column will popup:
Fig 18.1: Network WHOIS popup
And clicking on a node name in domain 'gnt.net' will popup:
Fig 18.2: Domain WHOIS popup
WHOIS handles (in blue) can be clicked on to get more detailed information. Use the arrows in the title bar of the popup ('<-' and'->') to go 'back' and 'forward'.
e-mail addresses (in blue) can be clicked on to launch the default MAPI mail client.
URL's (in blue) can be clicked on to launch the default web browser.
19. Web Links
"Web Links" allow you to associate a 'URL' with IP addresses. So IP addresses that show up in DesktopPerspective traces become 'clickable'.
This is very useful if you already have web pages with diagnostics about a device or devices within your organization -- so you can integrate these into DesktopPerspective traces.
data\user\weblinks.txt file. Each line in this file associates a 'URL' with a CIDR address (or address range) as follows:cidr-ip-address,url
For example:
192.41.43.189,http://www.DesktopPerspective.com
198.242.57/24,http://www.datametrics.com
So, when "192.41.43.189" shows up in a DesktopPerspective trace, an indicator
will appear after the IP address and clicking on the IP address will launch a web browser to the URL you have configured.
Appendices
A. Unix
Notes
B. Protocols
C.
Troubleshooting
Guide
D. How
'Scan Network' works
E. US
State Codes
F. Country
Codes
Appendix A. Unix Notes
Running as a user: Before DesktopPerspective can be run as a user
(non-root), you need to grant the DesktopPerspective ping engine the privileges
it needs in order to run. The following commands shoud be submitted:
cd vr7/exe
su
Password: (enter password)
chown root:bin vrping1.*
chmod 4755 vrping1.*
exit
Running as a daemon service: For DesktopPerspective to be set up on Unix as a service/daemon, you will need to install the X virtual frame buffer software. This provides a virtual terminal without the need for a hardware console nor, even if the console is present, a sign on as this maybe construed a security issue. There is a DesktopPerspective shell script, DesktopPerspective.sh, provided for the placing in /etc/rc2.d. Basically the script has three environment variables at the beginning that the should be reviewed. They are:
- DISPLAY, this is required by the X software and DesktopPerspective.
- PATH, this needs three things to be present in its many directories. (1) the directory for the Java Runtime Environment executable. (2) the location of the directory for the X executables (3) the current directory for DesktopPerspective
- VRHOME, the installed directory of DesktopPerspective.
Once these have been changed the script can be saved, named as
S95DesktopPerspective and copied over to the boot directory. Please ensure that
this will start after the X font server software at boot (the process is
xfs) , as some X fonts are required for the Xvfb to function
Other
Applications Support: DesktopPerspective will still work without the
following applications; you will just not get the functionality provided for the
menu items referenced in each section.
- Web Browser: The DesktopPerspective 'Help' menu item invokes a
browser to access web pages. Netscape Communicator is the default. If you want
another browser started, set the environment variable VR_BROWSER to specify
the browser to start. You must either specify the absolute path, or the
browser must be on the path.
- Text Editor: The DesktopPerspective 'Edit | Snap table as
text...' menu item uses a text editor to capture the generated report.
By default GNU Emacs is used. If you want to start another editor, set the
environment variable VR_EDITOR or VR_EDITOR_EQ (see below) to specify the
editor to start. The editor must be started in a new window. When the
environment variable is set, the default editor is overridden, and the
specified editor is started with name of the file to edit, supplied by
DesktopPerspective, appended to the end of the string provided by the
environment variable. If both VR_EDITOR and VR_EDITOR_EQ are set, VR_EDITOR_EQ
is used.
Visit http://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/emacs.html for more information on GNU Emacs. To obtain GNU Emacs (make sure to check on your Unix distribution first) visit http://www.gnu.org/order/ftp.html (scroll down quite a ways to the heading "How to FTP GNU Emacs)."
The environment variable VR_EDITOR_EQ (EQ for "end quote") appends a double quote after the file name supplied by DesktopPerspective. This is used, for example, when using the "gnome-terminal" command to start a new window and using the -e option to specify a program to start. The double quotes are needed to pass both the program and a parameter to the program (the file name). For example, to start vi as the editor using a gnome-terminal the following is the desired resultant command to edit a file named 'dog':gnome-terminal -e "vi dog"
(This assumes the gnome-terminal and the vi binary files are on the path.)
In this case, in order to get the ending double quote, set the environment variable VR_EDITOR_EQ. For example to create the string above, if DesktopPerspective used the file name 'dog', set the VR_EDITOR_EQ environment variable as:VR_EDITOR_EQ="gnome-terminal -e \"vi ";export VR_EDITOR
(This assumes the gnome-terminal and the vi binary files are on the path.)
This (bash shell) example uses a Gnome terminal to present the vi editor session in a new window. The backslash character, '\', is used to escape the double quote character, '"', following it so that the shell does not interpret it as the ending '"' character.
If you do not have GNU Emacs installed and you do not specify an other editor to use, then nothing will start for this menu item selection. By default, the emacs binary is assumed to be on the path.
- Mail Program: Right mouse clicks in the DesktopPerspective report
'Node Name' column access the WHOIS server information (RFC954). Informational
items presented include an e-mail address. If the e-mail address is clicked,
DesktopPerspective starts an e-mail application. By default this is Pine(r); a
'P'rogram for 'I'nternet 'N'ews and 'E'mail. If you do not have Pine the
binary is available via anonymous ftp (make sure to check your Unix
distribution first) from:
in the directories /pine/unix-bin or /pine/unix-bin-compressed. (Make sure to get the Unix binary.) For more information reference:
If you want to start another e-mail interface, set the environment variable VR_EMAIL or VR_EMAIL_EQ (EQ for "end quote") to specify the application to start. (See #2 above for a discussion of ..._EQ environment variables.) The specified e-mail application must be started in a new window. Note that the recipient's name is appended to the string provided by the VR_EMAIL or VR_EMAIL_EQ environment variable.
For example, if Pine were not the default selection, to set Pine to be the e-mail application started use VR_EDITOR_EQ as follows:VR_EDITOR_EQ="gnome-terminal -e \"pine"; export VR_EDITOR_EQ
(This assumes that both the gnome-terminal and the pine binary files are on the path.)
This bash shell example uses gnome_terminal to start Pine in a new window to send e-mail to the recipient name provided by DesktopPerspective. This will cause the final string, which is executed via a system() call, to be:gnome-terminal -e "pine "
If you do not have Pine installed and you do not specify another e-mail to use, then nothing will start for this menu item selection. This gnome-terminal launch method is the default method used for the e-mail application launch.
NOTE: If your are not running DNS you must enter the dotted decimal
notation of the end-point computer in the Host/URL'. Without DNS, the local
computer will not be able to resolve the IP address of the computer name you
want to trace to.
How does the UNIX version differ from the
Windows version? The UNIX version uses a different "ping" engine to elicit
network responses. It also brings up different applications for the 'Edit | Snap
table as text...', the 'Help' menu items, and e-mail. If web access (which can
take several seconds to appear), the Edit menu item operations, or e-mail
accesses fail, it may be because the path to the appropriate application is not
in the PATH environment variable. Specifically, the path to 'hotjava' for
browser access, the path to 'dtpad' for the editor, and the path to 'dtmail' for
email for the defaults. Or, the path to the application specified by VR_BROWSER,
VR_EDITOR or VR_EMAIL.
Appendix B. Protocols
| Port | Name | Description |
| 7 | ECHO | Echo |
| 13 | DAYTIME | Daytime |
| 17 | QOTD | Quote of the Day |
| 20 | FTP-DATA | File Transfer [Default Data] |
| 21 | FTP | File Transfer [Control] |
| 23 | TELNET | Telnet |
| 25 | SMTP | Simple Mail Transfer |
| 37 | TIME | Time |
| 43 | WHOIS | Who Is |
| 53 | DOMAIN | Domain Name Server |
| 66 | SQL*NET | Oracle SQL*NET |
| 69 | TFTP | Trivial File Transfer |
| 70 | GOPHER | Gopher |
| 79 | FINGER | Finger |
| 80 | HTTP | World Wide Web |
| 88 | KERBEROS | Kerberos |
| 92 | NPP | Network Printing Protocol |
| 107 | RTELNET | Remote Telnet Service |
| 109 | POP2 | Post Office Protocol - Version 2 |
| 110 | POP3 | Post Office Protocol - Version 3 |
| 111 | SUNRPC | SUN Remote Procedure Call |
| 119 | NNTP | Network News Transfer Protocol |
| 123 | NTP | Network Time Protocol |
| 137 | NETBIOS-NS | NETBIOS Name Service |
| 138 | NETBIOS-DGM | NETBIOS Datagram Service |
| 139 | NETBIOS-SSN | NETBIOS Session Service |
| 161 | SNMP | SNMP |
| 162 | SNMPTRAP | SNMPTRAP |
| 179 | BGP | Border Gateway Protocol |
| 215 | SOFTPC | Insignia Solutions |
| 217 | DBASE | dBASE Unix |
| 396 | NETWARE-IP | Novell Netware over IP |
| 512 | EXEC | remote process execution |
| 513 | LOGIN | remote login a la telnet |
| 514 | SHELL | cmd |
| 666 | DOOM | doom Id Software |
Appendix C. Troubleshooting Guide
DNS lookups in DesktopPerspective fail for all host names. If you
are running Zone Alarm, make sure that MS Java, vrdns2.exe, and
vrping1.exe are all allowed access to the Internet.
Problems with
eSafe and other anti-virus software. Several users have reported that
running eSafe disables
DesktopPerspective. This is because a 'feature' of eSafe prevents a Java
application from running normally unless there is a "protection set" defined for
it. Please refer to your eSafe manual for details on how to define this
"protection set".
Problems with NetZIP. The NetZIP Folders feature interferes with how
Java accesses class files in a ZIP file. When you attempt to run
DesktopPerspective, you will get an "Unable to locate system class
java\lang\Object" error message. The solution is to disable NetZIP while you
run DesktopPerspective. You can temporarily disable NetZIP by right clicking on
the NetZIP icon in the system tray and selecting 'Disable' from the
menu.
Do you have the proper Java support installed? Most problems
are caused by not having the proper version of Java installed. See the DesktopPerspective
Support Page for more details.
Try reinstalling your Java
VM. We have found that many support issues are cleared up by
reinstalling the Java VM. The problem is file versioning conflicts, which a
reinstall clears up.
Test your internet connection. Do the system
commands ping and tracert work? From a DOS window, try 'ping
www.DesktopPerspective.com' or 'tracert www.DesktopPerspective.com'. If these
commands do not work, please ask your network administrator if your TCP/IP stack
is properly configured.
Are you running Microsoft's TCP/IP stack?
DesktopPerspective works best with Microsoft's TCP/IP stack. The Microsoft
TCP/IP stack comes with Windows.
Is your display set to 800x600, 256
colors, or better? This is a minimum requirement for
DesktopPerspective.
Appendix D. How 'Scan Network' Works
WARNING: 'Scan Network' is an option that should
be used with great care. While it can improve the DesktopPerspective analysis,
high security sites may think that you are attacking their
network.
If the host you are monitoring does not respond,
is the network to that host down, or is the host itself down? With 'Scan
Network' checked, DesktopPerspective can answer this question.
Scan
network first determines which class C network the host in question resides in.
It then sends ping packets to all possible IP addresses for the network, looking
for any host that is up and running.
For example, let's say you are
trying to monitor www.yahoo.com and it is not responding. With 'Scan Network'
checked, DesktopPerspective determines that the network for www.yahoo.com is
204.71.200.x.
It then sends ping packets to hosts .x+1, .x-1, .x+2, .x-2,
and so on for all hosts on network 204.71.200.x. The scan stops the
moment there is any response, which indicates that the network to www.yahoo.com
is up.
Appendix E. US State Codes
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Appendix F. Country Codes
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