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MicroTik's The Dude

Posted on 01-08-2008

Monitoring networks is required to be done in organisations of all sizes from time to time. A network monitoring utility can also be used by an ISP to pinpoint problems with the network or possible troublemakers. We look at Wireshark and in this 30 minutes expert section, we’re looking at MicroTik. Like Wireshark, it too is free and is available for download at www.mikrotik.com/thedude.php.

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Mapping Your Network
Discovering the network means the structure of the entire network is scanned and a representation of it is displayed on the screen. When you first run The Dude after installing, the first prompt requires you to confirm discovering of the network. To look at the map of the network at any given moment, double click on the Local Map item under Network Maps.

Manually Mapping The Network
If you think that the automatic mapping feature doesn’t map your network as you’d like it, you can create your own mapping. You can do this by creating devices and links between using the Add button on the toolbar. Custom background images can be used which can be particularly useful for ISPs mapping their network of customers. A map or a Google Maps snapshot can make things much simpler.

Exporting Maps
For many, just the ability of The Dude to be able to generate a map of the network might be special. The software can be used to export the scanned network structure into an image or a PDF file. Click on the window with the network map on it. Click on Tools > Export > PDF or PNG to export the structure.

Filtering Devices List
If your network has many machines on it and you are looking for PCs of a particular kind, say a web server or mail servers, it can be painful sorting and browsing through the endless list. To see the entire list of devices, click on the Devices item on the left pane. On the right top of the panel, you will find dropdown menus for the status and type of device. Set the conditions and the list will be filtered as per your requirements.

Quickly Changing Window Components
All of the features of The Dude appear in panels windows within the primary window. The various modules of the program can be put into any of the panels by clicking on the dropdown menu on the left top of the panel. Modules can also be dragged and dropped into any of the other panels. A similar list is available for devices and the services running on them which can be found in the Services item.

Getting Notified Of Events
Events in The Dude can be sent to the administrator using e-mail and some other methods. E-Mail is one of the simpler things to set up. Click on the Settings button on the interface. The General tab has a section for E-mail notifications. Enter the primary and secondary SMTP servers that you want to use and an e-mail address for the software itself. Click OK.
Another way to communicate with the application is to use the web interface feature. First open up the Settings window by clicking on the button. It can be enabled by navigating to the Server tab and then on the Web Access section. Click on the Enable checkbox and then click OK.

Outage Monitoring
The Dude has a feature called Outages which monitor which services and PCs go offline and at what time. Click on the item on the left panel to view the details. Filters are available to sort out the devices and the current status. The status of the machines is updated across all the maps and lists simultaneously.

Backing Up And Restoring Settings
All the settings in The Dude can be saved for use at a later time if any issues or confusion arises. When you are pleased with the way The Dude has been set up, click on the Export button on the toolbar on top. Enter a name for the file and save it. Similarly, importing of the settings file can be done by clicking the Import button.