Packet Monitor intercepts packets at multiple locations throughout the networking stack, exposing the packet route. Packet Monitor provides the enhanced visibility within the networking stack that is often needed to pinpoint these mistakes. Such a flexible environment allows for much better resource utilization and security isolation, but it also leaves more room for configuration mistakes that can be hard to diagnose. This extended networking stack now includes components like the Virtual Switch that handle packet processing and switching.

However, with the advent of network virtualization, the size of the networking stack has multiplied. In traditional scenarios, the networking stack is small, and all the packet routing and switching happens in external devices. All the components between this adapter and an application form a networking stack: a set of networking components that process and move networking traffic. OverviewĪny machine that communicates over the network has at least one network adapter. It is available in-box via the pktmon.exe command and via Windows Admin Center extensions. The tool is especially helpful in virtualization scenarios, like container networking and SDN, because it provides visibility within the networking stack. It can be used for packet capture, packet drop detection, packet filtering and counting.

Packet Monitor (Pktmon) is an in-box, cross-component network diagnostics tool for Windows. Applies to: Windows Server 2022, Windows Server 2019, Windows 10, Azure Stack Hub, Azure, Azure Stack HCI, versions 21H2 and 20H2

Packet analyzer tools