You don't want your traffic analysis system getting hacked, so don't assign an IP address to the Gigabit Ethernet card. Set it to run in promiscuous mode only, and make sure you filter incoming network connections by installing security software such as TCP wrappers or IP chains. You should now have a functioning Linux system with two network interface cards. Next time I'll walk you through installing and configuring IPTraf and show you how to use GNUplot to automatically generate graphical reports. Robert Currier has been in data networking for more than 15 years, the last five as Director of Data Communications at Duke University.
Currier is an accomplished writer, public speaker, and photographer.
His credits include product reviews in Network World, features in PC Computing and photographs in the Chronicle of Higher Education.