About Network Toolbox

Network Toolbox is an easy-to-use network utility suite, which provides access to 12 tools that can be used to diagnose both your local machine as well as computers on a LAN or WAN.

Network Toolbox performs the following functions:

•	Finger obtains information about users on a specified computer

•	Quote also known as Cookie, returns a unique quote from a UNIX quote server

•	Ping determines if a network connection exists to a remote computer

•	Time Sync obtains precise atomic clock synchronized time, and sets your PC clock if needed

•	IP Address Search searches for hosts in a specified range of IP addressees

•	Domain Name Service converts IP addresses to hostnames or vice versa

•	Whois queries the InterNIC registration database and obtains information about registered domains

•	Traceroute traces the exact route to a host

•	Internet Speedometer shows the speed of an Internet connection between two computers

•	Mail Tracer determines if e-mail can be delivered to the addressee

•	Network Information provides information about your Windows 95 network configuration and Winsock stack

For more information on the specific utilities found in Network Toolbox, click on the respective icons below.

Finger	Quote
Time Sync	DNS
IP Address Search	Whois
Ping	Traceroute
Port Scanner	Network Information
Mail Tracer	Internet Speedometer


 Finger

Finger is an Internet service, which allows you to obtain a list of active users on a host and retrieve information on a specific user. The remote host must be running a Finger server for you to be able to query that host.

By entering only the hostname (computer.company.com) you will obtain a list of users on that computer. You may also specify an exact username by entering the complete user address (user@computer.company.com) to retrieve information about the specific user.

Additionally, you may double click on a specific user's name when viewing a complete list of users on a host – by double clicking on a username, you will see detailed information about that specific user. This is essentially the same as if you had entered the computer user address (user@computer.company.com).

Finger displays the user's login name, real name, terminal name and write status (as a “*” before the terminal name if write permission is denied), idle time, login time, and both office location and office phone number, or the remote host.

Idle time is in minutes if it is a single integer; hours and minutes if a ”:” is present; and days if a “d” is present.  Login time is displayed as the daytime if less than 6 days, else month, day; hours and minutes, unless more than six months ago, in which case the year is displayed rather than the hours and minutes. Unknown devices as well as nonexistent idle and login times are displayed as single asterisks.

To customize behavior of the Finger tool, click the Options button or press Ctrl+O.

Cache Finger Information allows you to cache data received from the Finger server. This option is very useful if you want to retrieve information about items in the list box and you do not want to lose time reconnecting to the Finger server.

Use Long Output Format produces a multi-line format displaying all of the information described for the Finger option as well as the user's home directory, home phone number, login shell, mail status, and the contents of the files “.forward”, “.plan” and “.project” from the user's home directory.

If idle time is at least a minute and less than a day, it is presented in the form “hh:mm.”  Idle times greater than a day are presented as “d day[s]hh:mm.”

Phone numbers specified as eleven digits are printed as “+N-NNN-NNN-NNNN.”  Numbers specified as ten or seven digits are printed as the appropriate subset of that string.  Numbers specified as five digits are printed as “xN-NNNN.”  Numbers specified as four digits are printed as “xNNNN.”

If write permission is denied to the device, the phrase “(messages off)” is appended to the line containing the device name.

Mail status is shown as “No Mail” if there is no mail at all. “Mail last read DDD MMM ## HH:MM YYYY (TZ)” is displayed if the person has looked at their mailbox since new mail arriving, or “New mail received ...”, “Unread since ...” if they have new mail.

•	Use Standard finger Protocol will use standard finger protocol.

•	Use Finger Forwarding Protocol to request to forward a query to another remote user information program (RUIP).  An RUIP can either provide or actively refuse this forwarding service.

For more information on Finger protocol see RFC 1288.


 Quote

The Quote of the Day Protocol provides a simple service that gives out famous quotes or bits of advice. The service is often nicknamed the “Cookie Service.” As a diagnostic tool however, Quote can be used to identify if a host is “alive.”


 Ping

Ping allows you to quickly verify whether or not a host is accessible from your machine. It is most often used when you suspect that a host is down or not functioning properly.

To customize the behavior of Traceroute tool, click the Options button or press Ctrl+O.

•	Packet Timeout allows a user to designate the time in milliseconds that the Ping utility will wait for a reply from the test computer indicating that the test computer is unreachable.

•	Number of Packets to Send allows a user to designate the number Ping attempts to the test computer.

•	Length of Echo Packet Data allows a user to designate the length in bytes of data packet sent by Ping.

•	Timeout Between Packets allows a user to set the time Ping waits until sending the next data packet.  Time is indicated in milliseconds.

•	Allow Packet Fragmentation allows Ping data packets to be fragmented as it goes through a router.


 Time Sync

Time Sync provides you with a quick way to properly synchronize your Windows 95 system clock with the National Institute of Standards and Technology atomic clock.

This program can be run from within Network Toolbox, or executed separately with the Time Sync icon in the Network Toolbox folder. If you are on a computer which has constant network access you may wish to make a shortcut of the Time Sync icon and drag it to your Program/Startup folder so that your computer will synchronize its clock every time you turn-on your PC.

To change the default time server go to File menu and select Options or just press Ctrl+O, the program will show the Time Sync customization dialog box.

Select the new timeserver from the combo box or press [image] the add button icon and type the new server name in the space provided. After you finish typing, press the OK button at the bottom of the dialog box.

To delete the timeserver from the server list, select the unwanted server in combo box and press [image] the delete button.


 IP Address Search

This service allows you to make a quick scan of a range of IP addresses. It is useful for locating and identifying hosts on a particular subnet.

If you want to find all computers on your network, enter the Starting and Ending IP addresses and press OK.  To change options for the IP Address Search, press the Options menu or just press Ctrl+O.

•	Ping Request Timeout allows a user to determine the amount of time Ping will wait for a response from the test before sopping the test.

•	Resolve Host Names, when checked, will attempt to translate IP Address to human readable machine name.  Note: some machines have only IP addresses.

•	Ping Host While Scanning, when checked will try to ping each host and then wait for an answer.


 DNS

The Domain Name System (DNS) is a global distributed database that keeps the Internet running. In its most familiar role, the DNS allows users to map human readable machine names to IP addresses.

Following is a list of DNS resources, which can be resolved with Network Toolbox:

All	All resources
A	Host address
NS	Authoritative name server
MD	Mail destination (use MX instead)
MF	Mail Forwarder (use MX instead)
CName	The true, non-abbreviated (canonical) name corresponding to an alias
SOA	A marker indicating the starting point of a zone of authority
MB	Mailbox (experimental)
MG	Mail group member (experimental)
MR	Mail rename domain name (experimental)
WKS	Well-known service description
PTR	Domain Name pointer
HINFO	Host information
MINFO	Mailbox or mail list information
MX	Mail exchange
TXT	Text string

To select any of these resources you need to open the Options dialog Box.

To use the alternative DNS server instead of the primary DNS server which is the default in your Windows TCP/IP configuration, click on Use alternative DNS server and type new the DNS server name or the IP address below.

For more information on DNS protocol see RFC 1034, RFC 1035.


 Whois

Whois service is a service provided by InterNIC (the main Internet registration authority). It allows you to obtain complete information about registered Internet domains and their respective owners and contacts (both administrative and technical). Whois is helpful when you are trying to locate information about a particular domain or are attempting to determine if the domain name your company is considering already exists.

To use Whois, just type a query in the main window and press OK. After the information appears in the list box, you may double click on any item in it to see detailed information about the results.

To customize behavior of Whois tool, click Options button or press Ctrl+O.

•	Cache Whois Information allows a user to cache data received from Whois server. This option is very handy if you want to see information about items in the list box and you want to use data, which you just received.

•	Use Long Output Format allows a user to see as all details regarding your query. The down side of the option is that it takes more time to receive data.

•	Whois Server Name allows a user to type new server name in this location or simply select one from combo box.


 Traceroute

The Internet is a made up from multiple networks around the world. Traceroute tracks the exact route your packets follow and indicates problems reaching your desired destination. If there is a problem in reaching the destination host, Traceroute allows you to easily determine where packets are being lost.

To customize the behavior of the Traceroute tool, click the Options button or press Ctrl+O.

•	Packet Timeout allows a user to specify the time in milliseconds for Traceroute to wait for a reply from the test computer before ending the test.

•	Maximum Number of Hops lets a user to determine the number hops Traceroute will allow before ending the test.

•	Length of Echo Packet Data allows a user to set the length in bytes of the data packet sent by Traceroute.

•	Resolve Addresses to Host Names allows a user to convert IP addresses into readable host names if required.

•	Allow Packet Fragmentation gives a user the ability to allow fragmented Traceroute data packets to pass through a router.


 Port Scanner

Port Scanner is tool used to scan a host for available network services via TCP/IP protocol. For example, to see if a packet filter is doing its job, one can scan specify services or ranges of ports. In addition, this version of Network Toolbox allows user to scan UDP* and TCP ports.

Warning: This program will initiate alarms on sites that run TCP packet filtering/firewalls or networks that do other kinds of system monitoring. Use the program only with prior permission from the affected sites.

To customize the behavior of the Port Scanner tool, click Options button or press Ctrl+O.

Figure 1.

Figure 2.

•	Selected Ports: Click on the button to select ports to scan from the port scan list (Figure 1).

•	Scan All Ports: Click on the button to select a range of ports to scan (Figure 2).

•	TCP: Click on the button to scan only TCP ports.

•	UDP*: Click on the button to scan only UDP ports.

•	Add New Item: Click on the button to add a new port to the port scan list. The valid input format is service name or service port number. For instance, http and 80 will be valid entry for the same service.

•	Delete Item: Click the button to delete a port from the list.

•	Move Item Up: Click the button to move the port one step up. First port in the list will be scanned first, last port will be scanned last.

•	Move Item Down: Click the button to move the port one step down.

•	Check All Items: Click the button to scan all ports in the list.

•	Uncheck All Items: Click the button to uncheck all ports in the list.

•	Restore Defaults: Click the button to restore default ports. Note:  all ports you entered manually will be lost.

•	Show Response: Select the item to see responses from service in the output grid. Note: this is only available if you are scanning TCP ports.

•	Timeout: Gives time in milliseconds for port scanner to wait on each port before ending scan.

* - Winsock 2.0 is necessary.


 Network Information

Network information provides complete network configuration and Winsock stack information for a specific user.

Winsock Information:

Description:  Provides Windows Sockets implementation, including vendor identification.

System Status: Provides relevant status or configuration information.

Maximum Sockets: Provides the maximum number of sockets that a single process can open. The number may reflect the way the Windows Sockets DLL or the networking software was configured.

Maximum Datagram: Provides the size, in bytes, of the largest UDP datagram that can be sent or received by a Windows Sockets application. If the implementation imposes no limit, Maximum UDP Datagram Size is zero.

Network Information:

Network Computer Name: Identifies your computer on a Network.

DNS Server(s): Identifies IP address(es) of your Domain Name System (DNS) server(s).

Ethernet Adapter Information:

Hostname:  Gives the host name for an ethernet adapter.

IP Address: Gives the IP address for an ethernet adapter.

Subnet Mask: Contains the subnet client’s subnet mask.

Default Gateway: Gives the IP address of Default Gateway for the local subnet.

Note:  Data in the dialog can only be viewed, not changed. To change any of the item, go to Control Panel and select the network icon. Be very careful when changing data in Control Panel this can make your network inoperable.


Internet Speedometer

The Internet Speedometer provides you with information about the speed of an Internet connection to a specific host. The remote host must be running the Chargen protocol to allow speed measurements. If the host is not running the protocol, users will receive the message “Connection refused.”

You can also measure data transfer speed between two Windows computers that are running Network Toolbox 3.0. To do this, check the “Enable Chargen Server” item under the “Tools” menu on the computer that you want to test.


 Mail Tracer

Mail Tracer determines if the e-mail address a user wants to send e-mail to is valid. To conduct the test, simply type the e-mail address to verify in main window and press the OK button.

If the e-mail address is a valid, a  “E-mail address verified successfully” message is received.  If the address is not valid, Network Toolbox sends the message “Can not verify e-mail address.”

For detailed information about each step Mail Tracer performs, check “Show details on Mail tracing” in Options dialog.


Push OK button to start chosen operation.


Push on Exit button to cancel operation and exit.


Click this button to access Options dialog.


Click this button to synchronize your Windows 95 system clock with clock on remote timeserver.


Click this button to print contents of the screen.


Click twice on any item in list box to see more detailed information.


Enter host name or IP address of server you want access in the edit box.


Click OK button to save options you chose and close window.


Click Cancel button to exit the windows without saving.


Click Help button to see help topics.


Enter remote host name or IP address here.


Click this button to stop any operation.