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-pane layout with a navigation tree on the left, content area on the right, 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, use the navigation tree on the left side to select the view you want to examine.
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 view.
Navigation tree (left pane)	Tree-style navigation replacing tab bar. Select an item to display its content in the main area.
Search filter (above navigation tree)	Text input field for filtering items in the navigation tree. Typing narrows the visible items.
Page title (content area)	Large bold title at the top of the content area indicating the currently selected view.
Overview (page)	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 (page)	Scrollable grid with labeled values for Network Status, Incoming Stream Rates, Packet Loss, and Audio Playback groups.
Latency (page)	Full-width time-series graph of RTT, arrival gap, and jitter in ms.
Rates (page)	Full-width log-scale time-series graph of per-stream incoming bitrates (RX total, Audio, FFT, Waterfall, Meters, DAX) in kbps.
Packet Loss (page)	Full-width time-series graph of packet loss % per stream category.
Audio (page)	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 view's detail view.
Logs (page)	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 view 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 content area when viewing Overview, Details, Latency, Rates, Packet Loss, or Audio. Hidden when viewing Logs.
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 view¶

The Logs view provides a live tail of the AetherSDR log file directly inside the dialog.

In the navigation tree, select Logs.
The full path of the log file being tailed is shown at the top of the view 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 view is active. Switch to any other view to restore it.

Tips¶

The dialog refreshes all indicators once per second. If First UDP Packet stays No for 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 No with 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 views. The default is 5 minutes.
The Rates view uses a logarithmic scale so that low-bitrate streams (such as Meters) remain visible alongside the higher-bitrate RX total.
Use the Search filter above the navigation tree to quickly find specific view pages when many items are present.
The dialog uses a custom dark-themed appearance with styled panels, navigation tree, and controls for consistent visual feedback across all platforms.
The dialog geometry (position and size) is remembered between sessions via the NetworkDiagnosticsDialogGeometry setting.

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 view 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.