One of most popular uses for Netmon Software and Appliance Editions is the ability to monitor network traffic activity in real time. But, in order for Netmon’s packet analyzers to work properly, it must receive a copy of the packets going across your network. This is accomplished using port monitoring (also known as port mirroring or port spanning) on your switch. Most enterprise switches support this feature. The steps to enable port monitoring vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, so consult the product documentation for your switch to determine the necessary steps. For Cisco devices, the manufacturer has provided an excellent resource to get you up to speed on the SPAN capabilities of Cisco devices and the configuration steps that are required, in this document. If, however, you are using a hub, no configuration is necessary: hubs send all traffic to each port automatically.