This MacNews Category Review looks at networking utilities for Mac OS X. Products covered include 1001, Acquisition Italian Pack, ADPasswordUtils, AirPort Configurator, AirPort Monitor Utility, AirTraffice Control, Almost VPN, AP Grapher, Apple Remote Desktop, AquaEthereal, AutomountMaker, AysMon, Azureus, Bitwise IM, Bonjour Browser, BootMania, Butler, BwanaDik, Cabos, CaminoKnight, Cisco IPSec VPN Client, CleanUp smb mess, CocoaPer, coconut WiFi, DICOMListener, DiskSpy Solid, DockIP, DummyMac, Dustman, FireNet, Fork Server Helper, FrameSeer, GpsdZ, Granet, Helios LanTest UB, Hostal, HostManager, identD, IP and IP Address Menu.

1001

[url=http://kula.jp/software/endo/]1001[/url] is a desktop client for Flickr.

Acquisition Italian Pack

[url=http://www.pyxart.it/macsw/]Acquisition Italian Pack[/url] is an Italian localization plug-in for Acquisition, a P2P application.

ADPasswordUtils

[url=http://www.xutils.com/]ADPasswordUtils[/url] is a collection of three active directory utilities: ADPasswordMinder, ADPasswordMinder Policy Editor, and ADPasswordChecker.

AirPort Configurator

[url=http://edge.cs.drexel.edu/GICL/people/sevy/airport]AirPort Configurator[/url] is a configuration utility for Apple's AirPort Base Station.

AirPort Monitor Utility

[url=http://www.trulycertifiable.com/]AirPort Monitor Utility[/url] is a utility for viewing info about Apple AirPort Base Stations.

AirTraffic Control
[url=http://www.spintriplet.com/atc/]AirTraffic Control[/url] is a wireless network monitoring utility.

Almost VPN

[url=http://www.leapingbytes.com/almostvpn]Almost VPN[/url] is a SSH tunnel management app.

AP Grapher

[url=http://www.chimoosoft.com/]AP Grapher is a freeware program that searches for nearby wireless (i.e., WiFi, Airport) access points and graphs the signal strength as a function of time for the base station you are currently connected to.

Apple Remote Desktop

[url=http://www.apple.com]Apple Remote Desktop[/url] is a tool for managing the Mac computers on your network. With it you can distribute software, provide real-time online help to end users, create detailed software and hardware reports, and automate routine management tasks -- all without leaving your desk. It features Automator actions, Remote Spotlight search and a Dashboard widget.

AquaEthereal

[url=http://www.codebykevin.com/]AquaEthereal[/url] is an application launcher, written in Python, for the Unix-based Ethereal network monitoring program.

AutomountMaker

[url=http://jm.marino.free.fr/index.php]AutomountMaker[/url] is a tool for mounting filesystems of type AFP, FTP, http, NFS, SMB. After having created your files of script you can open "System Preference," choose "Login" and drag and drop in the list. At next session login, your preferred volumes will go up automatically on your desktop.

AysMon

[url=http://www.pepsan.com/]AysMon[/url] (Are You Serving Monitor) is a multi-purpose utility for monitoring system resources associated with network services. System administrators and other expert users benefit from continuous monitoring of critical aspects of network services of the host system. End-users can use AysMon to monitor throughput on their DSL, Cable, PPP, or other network connections, as well as providing a display of disk space usage and key open network ports.

Azureus

[url=http://www.zudeo.com/az-web/app]Azureus[/url] works with the Java-based BitTorrent client and includes a new split-window MyTorrents view with support for categories and advanced downloading/seeding/queuing rules for automated torrent management. It also sports a customizable user interface, seeding from read-only media, and offers reductions in resource usage.

Bitwise IM

[url=http://www.bitwiseim.com/]Bitwise IM[/url] is an application that encrypts over cross-platform P2P, IM, voice and file sharing.

Bonjour Browser

[url=http://www.tildesoft.com/]Bonjour Browser[/url] is a utility that lets you see all available Bonjour services on your local network. It comes with a list of default services to scan for, as well as letting you add your own services.

BootMania

[url=http://www2.tba.t-com.ne.jp/beanz/index_e.html]BootMania[/url] enables multiple computers to boot from a single disk image over IP network. With it you can create NetBoot or NetInstall images from installation CDs/DVDs, the Internet or installed OS.

Butler: IP Numbers

[url=http://www.petermaurer.de/]Butler: IP Numbers[/url] is an IPv4/iPv6 number monitor.

BwanaDik

[url=http://www.jschilling.net/software.php]BwanaDik[/url] is an IP address (WAN and LAN) menu item. Monitors your network for a good connection. If the connection is lost, it lets you know with an alert the second it comes back online.

Cabos

[url=http://www.jschilling.net/software.php]Cabos[/url] is a Gnutella file sharing program based on LimeWire and Acquisition.

CaminoKnight

[url=http://homepage.mac.com/WebObjects/FileSharing.woa/wa/default?user=reinholdpenner&templatefn=FileSharing4.html&xmlfn=TKDocument.4.xml&sitefn=RootSite.xml&aff=consumer&cty=US&lang=en]CaminoKnight[/url] is an auto download for Camino nightly builds.

Cisco IPSec VPN Client

[url=http://www.cisco.com/]Cisco IPSec VPN Client[/url] Cisco Secure IPSec VPN Client software. The same company also makes Citrix ICA Client, which allows local and remote users to access any Windows-based application running on the server. All the user needs is a low-bandwidth connection (21 kilobytes) and the ICA client, which is downloadable free. The IT Manager must have Citrix WinFrame or MetaFrame products installed at the server.

CleanUp smb mess

[url=http://www.faqintosh.com/risorse/en/sys/setrash/]CleanUp smb mess[/url] is an AppleScript droplet that will clean up Windows shares mounted through the Mac OS X samba client, by removing all "._*" files, .DS_Store files and .Trashes folders on all the volumes and folders dragged on it.

CocoaPer

[url=http://www.nusuni.com/]CocoaIPer[/url] is a small application that will display your external and lan IP addresses.

coconut WiFi

[url=http://www.coconut-flavour.com/]coconut WiFi[/url] is a networking tool that lets you see if you're in range of an open wireless network.

DICOMListener

[url=http://www.crispyprojects.com/]DICOMListener[/url] is a Preference Pane to configure and start/stop a StoreSCP process for the receiving of DICOM objects in a PACS network.

DiskSpy Solid

[url=http://seiryu.home.comcast.net/]DiskSpy Solid[/url] provides a "software disk LED" or visual notification when your Mac is reading or writing to a hard disk. It also shows network activity such as writing to network disks and FTP servers.

DockIP

[url=http://www.kainjow.com/]DockIP[/url] is a utility for viewing your IP address in the Dock menu.

DummyMac

[url=http://www.hanynet.com/applications/index.html]DummyMac[/url] is a network bandwidth limiter.

Dustman

[url=http://www.brattoo.com/propaganda]Dustman[/url] lets you find network trash cans on your Mac OS X sharepoints and erase them.

FireNet

[url=http://www.unibrain.com/]FireNet[/url] is a system-independent IEEE1394 networking software which provides full Ethernet compatibility at 400 Mbps. Protocols supported include TCP/IP, NetBEUI, IPX/SPX and AppleTalk.

Fork Server Helper

[url=http://www.bresink.de/]Fork Server Helper[/url] is designed to help users avoid problems with resource forks when working with a Mac in a heterogeneous network environment. The utility is capable of converting between the various resource fork representations used by different file sharing standards, and can be used to modify permission settings of shared files, for example to create a "transfer area" on the file server for easy file exchange among a workgroup. Run manually or automatically in the background, the software can be entirely controlled from a single launch window.

FrameSeer

[url=http://www.lgosys.com/]FrameSeer[/url] is an application for capturing, decoding and analyzing network traffic on Mac OS X. It supports Ethernet, AirPort, PPPoE, PPP and loopback interfaces, and uses the System Configuration Framework to continuously monitor and report on physical network interface state. FrameSeer's multi-document design means that you can capture traffic simultaneously in multiple windows. Capture filters are supported.

GpsdZ

[url=http://ghw.spade-men.com/]GpsdZ[/url] is an Internet daemon for connecting to and sharing a single GPS device among multiple client programs running on one or many computers. It also offers a way to add GPS functionality to your own software.

Granet

[url=http://www.pepsan.com/]Granet[/url] is an utility that graphs the throughput of each active network interface on your computer. It works with most any network interface recognized by the operating system (including Ethernet, Airport, and PPP). Each interface is displayed in its own window, which can be moved and re-sized from small to large. Each window scales independently so the graph is drawn appropriately throughout the throughput range.

Helios LanTest UB

[url=http://www.helios.de/]Helios LanTest UB[/url] is a network performance utility for network administrators, integrators, and developers to test and measure performance and reliability of any AFP compatible file server or local hard disk.

Hostal

[url=http://www.northernsoftworks.com/]Hostal[/url] is an utility designed to simplify control and editing of a TCP/IP host file.

¨HostManager

[url=http://www.chrisblunt.com/]HostManager[/url] is an utility that stores details of domains and hosting packages, with expiry dates and various account details.

IdentD

[url=http://www.macmax.org/]IdentD[/url] is an identD server.

IP

[url=http://www.astrok-software.com/]IP[/url] is a tool that adds a menu in the right side of the menu bar that gives you your current WAN and LAN IP addresses, and current host name.

IP Address Menu

[url=http://alphaomega.software.free.fr/]IP Address Menu[/url] allows you to display your current IP address (and other information) in the menu bar and to notify you of changes by email or FTP. It displays an icon or your current IP address in the right side of the menu bar. Also, IP Address Menu displays your user name, your computer name, the IP address, the subnet mask and the MAC address of each of your network interface in the menus.

Next week: part two.