Network Diagnostics¶
Use the Network Diagnostics dialog to monitor the live network link between AetherSDR and the FLEX-8600 radio. The dialog provides a multi-tab layout with an Overview dashboard, detailed metric panels, per-stream performance graphs, and a live log viewer.
Before you start¶
- AetherSDR must be running. The dialog can be opened whether or not a radio is connected, but indicators are only meaningful after a connection attempt.
- You must have already initiated a connection to a FLEX-8600 radio.
Steps¶
- Click
Settings > Network.... - In the Network Diagnostics dialog, navigate through the tabs to view different aspects of the connection.
- Click Close to dismiss the dialog.
What each control does¶
| Indicator / Control | Meaning or Behavior | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| First UDP Packet | Shows Yes or No. Updates once per second. Reflects whether any UDP packet from the radio has been received in the current session. |
|
| Status | Overall link quality, color-coded green to red. States: Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, Poor. | |
| Target Radio IP | IP address of the connected radio, or "Not connected". | |
| Selected Source | Local NIC or bind path used for the connection. | |
| Local TCP | The local TCP endpoint in use for the current connection. | |
| Local UDP | The local UDP endpoint AetherSDR is listening on. Useful for confirming the correct port is bound. | |
| Latency (RTT) | Current round-trip time. | |
| Max Latency (RTT) | Highest RTT seen since connect. | |
| Network Jitter | Smoothed jitter estimate of the audio stream in ms. | |
| Audio / FFT / Waterfall / Meters / DAX rates | Per-category ingress rate in kbps. | |
| Total RX / Total TX | Aggregate bytes per second in each direction. | |
| Audio / FFT / Waterfall / Meters / DAX drops | Per-category dropped-packet counts and percentage. | |
| RX Buffer Now / Peak | Current and peak audio buffer fill in bytes and ms. | |
| Underruns (total / last sec) | Audio underrun counters. | |
| Audio Arrival Gap / Max Arrival Gap | Inter-packet arrival timing. | |
| Log path label | Shows the full path of the log file being tailed in the Logs tab. | |
| Overview (tab) | Shows four health cards (Status, Latency, Packet Loss, Audio Buffer) and four time-series graphs (Latency and Jitter, Recent Packet Loss, Total Stream Rates, Audio Buffer). | |
| Details (tab) | Scrollable grid with labeled values for Network Status, Incoming Stream Rates, Packet Loss, and Audio Playback groups. | |
| Latency (tab) | Full-width time-series graph of RTT, arrival gap, and jitter in ms. | |
| Rates (tab) | Full-width log-scale time-series graph of per-stream incoming bitrates (RX total, Audio, FFT, Waterfall, Meters, DAX) in kbps. | |
| Packet Loss (tab) | Full-width time-series graph of packet loss % per stream category. | |
| Audio (tab) | Full-width time-series graph of playback buffer fill (ms) and underruns/s. Includes per-stream RX audio diagnostics showing feed rate, deficit, late packets, packet class code, and stream health for each active audio stream. | v26.5.3 (#2889): per-stream RX diagnostics exposed in the support bundle and in this tab's detail view. |
| Logs (tab) | Live tail of the AetherSDR log file, filtered by category checkboxes. Syntax-highlighted by log level and category name. | The Timeframe selector is hidden while this tab is active. |
| Timeframe | Selects how far back the time-series charts display history. Default is 5 minutes. Options: 1 minute, 5 minutes, 15 minutes, 1 hour, 1 day, 1 week. | Shown in the top-right corner of the tab bar; hidden when the Logs tab is active. |
| Filter Categories (Logs) | Per-category checkboxes filter the log view. Includes a General (default) category plus all registered LogManager categories. | |
| Select All (Logs) | Shows all log categories in the viewer. | |
| Deselect All (Logs) | Hides all log categories from the viewer. | |
| Live / Paused (Logs) | When Live, the viewer auto-scrolls to newest output. Scrolling up auto-pauses; clicking Live resumes and jumps to the tail. | |
| Close | Closes the dialog. | |
| ## Using the Logs tab |
The Logs tab provides a live tail of the AetherSDR log file directly inside the dialog.
- Click the Logs tab.
- The full path of the log file being tailed is shown at the top of the tab in the Log path label.
- Use the Filter Categories checkboxes to show only the categories you are interested in. The General category is available by default; additional categories reflect all registered LogManager categories.
- Click Select All to enable every category at once, or Deselect All to clear all selections.
- The viewer starts in Live mode and auto-scrolls to the newest output. Scroll up at any time to pause auto-scrolling; the toggle switches to Paused.
- Click Live to resume auto-scrolling and jump back to the tail.
Log entries are syntax-highlighted by log level (DBG, INF, WRN, CRT/FTL) and by category name, timestamps, numeric values, and protocol keywords.
Note: The Timeframe selector is hidden while the Logs tab is active. Switch to any other tab to restore it.
Tips¶
- The dialog refreshes all indicators once per second. If First UDP Packet stays
Nofor several seconds after connecting, UDP traffic is not reaching the host — check firewall rules, routing, and that the local UDP endpoint shown in Local UDP is reachable from the radio. - On a VPN or routed link, TCP may connect successfully while UDP is blocked separately. First UDP Packet showing
Nowith Status showing a connected state is a reliable sign of this split. - First UDP Packet resets on each new connection. Disconnect and reconnect if you want to re-verify delivery after changing network settings.
- Use the Timeframe selector to narrow or widen the history shown across all time-series tabs. The default is 5 minutes.
- The Rates tab uses a logarithmic scale so that low-bitrate streams (such as Meters) remain visible alongside the higher-bitrate RX total.
- The dialog uses a custom dark-themed appearance with styled panels, tabs, and controls for consistent visual feedback across all platforms.
- The dialog geometry (position and size) is remembered between sessions via the
NetworkDiagnosticsDialogGeometrysetting.
Troubleshooting¶
- First UDP Packet stays "No" after connecting — UDP is not arriving at the local endpoint. Verify that no firewall is blocking UDP on the port shown in Local UDP, and that the radio can route back to your machine's IP. On a VPN connection, confirm the VPN passes UDP in both directions.
- First UDP Packet shows "Yes" but audio is silent — UDP is arriving, but a different problem affects playback. Check the Audio Playback group in the Details tab for underruns or buffer issues, and see the audio diagnostics page.
- Log viewer is empty or shows no entries — Confirm that at least one Filter Categories checkbox is selected. If all categories are deselected, no entries are displayed. Click Select All to restore visibility.