Software Protocol Analyzers - seeking opinions

[mihooper]

I am in the market for a software protocol analyzer. I have just done a quick survey of the packages Jan has listed http://lvr.com/development_tools.htm#analyzers. I've decided that I want to spend around $200 or less. This narrows the search down to :
Advanced USB Port Monitor - ~$60
HHD Software ~$140 with HID parsing (important to me).
SysNucleus ~$200
UBLyzer ~$200.

Does anyone (Jan, you can remain neutral if you like) have any strong opinions or good/bad experience on these sub-$200 tools? Comments welcome.

thx

MikeH

[Jan Axelson]

Look for one that decodes the traffic you're interested in, otherwise you'll just see those undecoded hex bytes back at you.

Not all software analyzers decode enumeration traffic.

Try them out first if you can.

Jan

[mihooper]

I tried 3 of the software analyzers with varying degrees of success and satisfaction:

1. HHD - seemed to work well. Not quite as intuitive. Did not get the detail hoped for during enumeration (PnP activity).
2. USBTrace -started off on a bad foot. It allowed me to install the wrong version (32 bit) of code. After installing the correct version (64 bit), I experienced the blue screen of death. Tried once again to use during enumeration, but it would not capture my hot plugged device (yes, had "capture hot plug" checked.
3. USBlyzer - installed fine. Very intuitive. Captures all enumeration activity including PnP transactions. Nicely formatted HID descriptor reports. This is my choice.

I hope this helps.

MikeH

[Jan Axelson]

Thanks for reporting your experience!

Jan

[tkafafi]

does USBlyzer support usb3 ?

Thanks

[rallysjd]

I've had Advanced USB Port Monitor for the last year or so. Works well in Win 7. Some of the windows behave a bit oddly, but I'm used to it now. The data captured has been helpful, if a bit arcane to start with.  The documentation is in excellent English, but the best thing is that you get 1 year tech support from the developers in Russia. I asked questions and reveived anwers within 1-2 days every time.  I also found some minor bugs that were corrected and a new version can be automatically downloaded when the app starts. For $60 it's good value.

SD