Project Description
(For detailed information about the SOFTWARE and HARDWARE components please check the
project documentation files.)
Main Goals
The Simple Tool for Analyzing Networks (STAN) is a utility that is used for analyzing networks of
computers that will be distributed with PC-Doctor's suite of computer troubleshooting utilities.
The tool is being developed to assist network administrators, support technicians, and even
average consumers in troubleshooting problems with computer networks. It gathers data that
can be used to interpret when a problem has arisen and possibly provide a solution to the
problem, as well.
Main Functionality
STAN is used for troubleshooting networks by gathering data, analyzing it, and displaying it in a
user-friendly graphical user interface. This data can then be interpreted by a professional or
experienced computer user to determine the cause of problems that arise in a computer
network.
Intended Users and Usability
The intended users of this utility vary from the support technician down to the average user. It
can be used to display very precise data to a support technician or high-level data to the average
user. It will be used by PC-Doctor and included in their software package that is preinstalled on
most new brand-name computers.
Further Development Potential
PC-Doctor is overseeing the development of the STAN utility during the duration of the Senior
Projects course. After the course is complete, the software has the potential of being
incorporated into their suite of troubleshooting tools. This means that the software will need to
migrate from a standalone product into a modular one that can be used by their team of
software developers. There is also the potential of adding many more features to the utility.
Some of these features include automating some network tasks like sharing a file or printer and
automatically solving network issues as they arise.
Challenges
One of the main challenges that may arise during the development of this project is finding the
libraries that are needed for this software. For instance, it will be very difficult to find a C#
graphics library that is capable of displaying the network map the way that is desired. Also,
there is no C# library that exists that allows the developer direct access to network cards. This is
crucial because some of the discovery protocols require access to Ethernet frames and packets.
Technology
The STAN network tool is being developed using the Microsoft .Net libraries, and it is written
entirely in the C# programming language. It is intended to operate on Windows XP and Vista.
There are a few graphical libraries that are used for the user interface, but the entire back-end is
written by the group.