Using the Protocol Analyzer RNI
- Sacha Parisot (Unlicensed)
You can use the Protocol Analyzer Layer 2 remote network interfaces (RNIs) with RNI-compatible protocol analyzers such as the Echelon LonScanner Protocol Analyzer. You can configure a Protocol Analyzer Layer 2 RNI for the LAN IP-70 channel and any LON channels including the channels attached to the internal FT network interface and any attached external U60 DIN Network Interfaces. To use a Protocol Analyzer Layer 2 RNI, configure the RNI on the IzoT Router Features Web page as described in Enabling and Disabling IzoT Router Services.
You can use a Protocol Analyzer Layer 2 RNI to monitor all traffic received by the RNI from its attached network interface. For an RNI attached to a LON FT or RS-485 channel, the RNI receives all messages on the channel. For an RNI attached to a LAN IP-70 or IP-852 channel, the RNI only receives messages addressed to the RNI network interface. As a result, a Protocol Analyzer Layer RNI attached to the LAN IP-70 or IP-852 channel will not receive messages routed from any of the attached LON network interfaces if their destination address is a unicast address to a device other than the RNI. To monitor all traffic on a LON channel, use a Protocol Analyzer Layer 2 RNI attached to the LON channel. To monitor all traffic on a LAN IP-70 channel, use Wireshark with the LonTalk/IP plug-in on a Windows computer, or use LonScanner with an IzoT Net Server attached to the IP-70 channel on a Windows computer. In both cases, attach the Windows computer and the IzoT Router to the same Ethernet hub. If you use an Ethernet switch, the switch will filter the IP traffic to the Windows computer, and the protocol analyzer will not receive all the IP-70 traffic.
To monitor all traffic on multiple LON channels, use a protocol analyzer on a separate computer as described in the previous paragraph, and configure all the routers as repeaters so that all FT traffic is forwarded to the IP-70 channel. This configuration is inefficient in terms of bandwidth use, but is a useful way to monitor multiple channels.