Performance Optimization

The performance of Colasoft Capsa depends on many factors like network environment, network scale, traffic size, etc. To get the most out of Colasoft Capsa, you can take the following measures to optimize its performance.
  • Program configuration
    By default, Colasoft Capsa captures and analyzes all the traffic passing through your network. When you only need to analyze segmental packets, the efficiency will play down if you maintain the default settings.

    • Packet filters
      The packet filters in Colasoft Capsa are flexible and customizable, you can discard undesired packets by setting filters to increase the analysis speed.

    • Logs
      The logs can be disabled in the Project Setting - Log page. When you disable a log, Colasoft Capsa will not display the logged data corresponding to it.

    • Packet buffer size
      The packet buffer size is set to 16384 KB by default and should be customized according to your system memory size, it might slow down the system performance if you set a big value.

    • Project settings
      Some Project Settings may increase the resource occupation of your system, such as enable logs, save log file to disk, etc. You can enable such optional functions only when necessary.
       
    • Analyzer
      The more analyzers are enabled the more system resource and memory will be occupied. You can disable some analyzers in the Options - Analyzer dialog.

    • Packet decoders
      The more decoders you enable for packet decoding, the more system resources are occupied. You can disable some packet decoders in the Options - Decoder dialog.

    • Multiple projects
      It will increase system's resource occupation when multiple projects are capturing. It would be better not to use multiple projects if a single project can fulfill the monitoring work.

    • Monitoring multiple adapters
      Colasoft Capsa can monitor the traffic passing through different adapters (unique to enterprise edition), but opening multiple adapters simultaneously may play down the program performance. To ensure the capture and analysis efficiency it is recommended to open an adapter at a time.

  • Hardware optimization
    The minimum requirements for Colasoft Capsa are PIII 500 CPU and 256 MB RAM. With the minimum requirements Colasoft Capsa can work well in a small network; however, it may occur such problems as slow analysis speed, unstable system performance or even crash in a big network (e.g. a network with over 1024 hosts). If so, you need to optimize your hardware facilities.

    • CPU
      CPU is one of the most important symbols for system performance, you can enhance the system and program performance using a CPU with quicker process speed.

    • System memory
      Another important symbol for system performance is system memory. Sufficient system memory can ensure the speediness of project storage.

    • Hard disk/NIC
      Such system assistant facilities also may affect the performance of Colasoft Capsa, it is recommended to use high-speed hard disk and 100M - 1000M adapters.

    For more references, please see "Recommended requirements".

  • Operation system and system services
    The performance of Colasoft Capsa may also be influenced by other running processes, enabled services or defined virtual memory. On the server installed with Colasoft Capsa you should enable as few applications/services as possible, expand virtual memory and do not offer outbound services. In addition, since higher operation system occupies more system resources, it is recommended to adopt the most appropriate operation system in view of different configurations.

  • Network topology optimization
    The network topology is very important for network monitoring and analysis, too many broadcast, multicast or loop-back packets will add the resource occupation. You should check your network topology, avoiding loop-back traffic or improper connections to reduce trash packets in your network.
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