Network Tool

Iris

Iris is a packet sniffer: It monitors all the traffic going through a network connection. Iris can inspect every bit of traffic in a very lucid context. Without a tool like this, it is difficult to perfect a distributed network application. We are forced to guess what each application sends based on the response of the other applications. Very tough.

Directly examining packet dumps seems like tedious work, but it is precise and always illuminating. If you are building a system around connectivity, you ought to know what is really going on.

This tool is beautifully made and works flawlessly. Despite its considerable expense, it will certainly save time.

Thanks to Dave Rosenbaum who insists: "Don't assume. Test," and to Nigel Head who showed us how.