Device Monitoring Studio Version History

Error launching scripts on startup

Device Monitoring Studio could fail to launch scripts specified on a command-line with -run parameter.

Uninstallation error fix

This release fixes a potential inability to uninstall the product.

Fixed crash in parsing USB setup packet in URB View

URB View could crash the USB Monitor when parsing some rare configuration of device descriptors.

Remote Monitoring Support

This release adds support for monitoring of remote serial devices. An instance of free Device Monitoring Studio server should be running on a remote computer.

Remote Monitoring Support

This release adds support for monitoring of remote USB devices. An instance of free Device Monitoring Studio server should be running on a remote computer.

Non-reporting required reboot on uninstall

In some cases, setup could fail to report the reboot was required after product uninstall. This could led to inability to install DMS again without a manual reboot.

Error parsing USB device descriptors

USB Monitor may fail to parse device descriptor for a (partially) malfunctioning device.

Critical bug fix

This release fixes a critical bug in Device Monitoring Studio 9.05.00.1533 uninstaller. This update must be installed in order to prevent possible damage in device configuration after the Device Monitoring Studio is uninstalled or upgraded.

IMPORTANT: License update is required

License update is required for registered users!

Several Capture and Display Filter improvements

Several improvements in Capture/Display Filter editor, including updated IPv6 parser and resolving of enum constants.

Several Serial Terminal issues

Several issues in Advanced Send window have been fixed.

Getting Started tooltip disappears if overlapped by a popup window

Device Monitoring Studio now makes sure popup windows do not overlap Getting Started tooltips.

Several Packet Builder issues

Several issues in Packet Builder have been fixed, including missing network adapters and protocols.

Missing timestamps in Console View window

Missing timestamps in Console View have been fixed.

Unable to set Custom session type script

The option to set custom script was missing in Custom session type mode.

studio.exe stays in memory after being closed

An issue has been fixed that could lead to Device Monitoring Studio process to remain in memory after application was closed.

Packet View update bug

Packet View did not update its lower part when selected packet was changed using keyboard.

Language pack update could not be processed

Device Monitoring Studio failed to properly handle updated language packs.

Setup: prevent x64 installer from being launched on ARM64

If x64 version installer is launched on ARM64, it tries installation (because Windows on ARM64 fully emulates x64), but fails (because x64 device drivers are not supported). Now it correctly tells to use the ARM64 installer instead.

Broken filtering for serial bridges

An issue has been fixed that prevented filtering from working correctly when monitoring serial bridges.

Raw Data View update issues

Raw Data View may not be updated in playback session when DMS is launched with a log file path in a command line.

Invalid error message in HID Send

Fixed invalid error message for SET_FEATURE_REPORT code in HID Send window.

Error playing back multi-source network logs

An issue has been fixed that prvented such logs from being correctly played back.

Critical bug fix

This release fixes a critical bug in Device Monitoring Studio 9.03.00.1447 uninstaller. This update must be installed in order to prevent possible damage in device configuration after the Device Monitoring Studio is uninstalled or upgraded.

Added support for USB Attached SCSI

USB Monitor now correctly recongnizes and parses USB Attached SCSI devices and their monitoring traffic.

Mass Storage View table formatting fixed

This release fixes table formatting for several Mass Storage requests in new Mass Storage View data visualizer.

Crash during log file enumeration

Application may crash when updating log file information in Devices tool window.

Crash in Packet Builder

Packet Builder may crash on copy/paste or Send operations.

Error starting monitoring

Attempt to start monitoring of an USB device sometimes fails.

Device Monitoring Studio 9

This is a major version update. This topic lists new key features as well as improvements and updates in existing Device Monitoring Studio features.

UI Refresh

Version 9 comes with a revamped user interface that offers a sleek and modern look. These improvements to the user interface make Device Monitoring Studio more visually appealing, user-friendly, and adaptable to various device configurations and preferences. Here are the key improvements:

New beautiful vector icon set

The new icon set is designed to be crisp and clear on any screen resolution, ensuring a consistent and visually appealing experience across all devices.

Full support for high-DPI monitors

The software now automatically adjusts its interface elements to provide optimal clarity and readability on high-resolution displays. Multi-monitor configurations (including monitors with different DPI settings) are also supported.

Support for color themes for all interface elements

Users can now customize the look and feel of Device Monitoring Studio by adjusting colors of any visual element. This allows them to personalize their experience and make the software more visually appealing.

Dark theme support

The updated version of Device Monitoring Studio offers full support for Windows 10/11 dark theme, providing a more comfortable and energy-efficient experience for users, especially in low-light environments. This feature helps reduce eye strain and improves visibility of interface elements.

Resizable windows

The new version of Device Monitoring Studio allows users to resize most dialog boxes according to their preferences. This feature provides greater flexibility and customization, allowing users to adjust the interface to suit their needs. In addition, some dialog boxes have been redesigned to improve the user experience, making them more intuitive and easier to navigate.

Localization support

Device Monitoring Studio now fully supports localization. Initial release comes with support for English, Spanish, German, French, Italian, Portuguese and Russian languages. New language packs may be created with a free Language Editor.

New and improved Data Visualizers

Almost all existing data visualizers have been improved in a number of ways, with better functionality, performance and look. A number of new data visualizers (all based on Custom View technology) have been added, including USB Mass Storage View, Still Image View, Communication View, Audio View and Video View.

ARM64 support

Device Monitoring Studio now offers full native support for ARM64 architecture. This means that the software can now be seamlessly run on devices powered by ARM64 processors, ensuring optimal performance and compatibility. With this new feature, users can enjoy the benefits of using it on a wider range of devices.

Settings Manager

This version introduces a new Settings Manager with centralized storage for all application settings. By default, these settings are stored in the Registry, but they can be configured to be stored in a file in the file system. This file can be placed in a network shared folder or cloud-based shared folder. This new feature allows users to easily manage and access their settings from any device, making it more convenient for them to use Device Monitoring Studio from different devices.

Application settings are now stored in JSON format, when exported, allowing for automating settings deployment in large organizations.

Walkthroughs and tutorials for new users

Device Monitoring Studio now shows a few brief walkthroughs and tutorials for novice users. Experienced users may easily turn this feature off.

Breaking Changes

• This version drops support for Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 operating systems (and corresponding server versions). It also drops support for 32-bit OS versions. Only 64-bit (x86-64 and ARM64) Windows 10 or later versions are now supported. Please note, that Windows Server 2016 is not supported.
• Legacy DMSLOG7 log file format is no longer supported (it was declared deprecated in Device Monitoring Studio 8). Device Monitoring Studio 9.x does not support recording or playing back of these log files.

IMPORTANT: Upgrading to this release will require the license upgrade as well. Existing users with Lifetime Upgrades will need to download new license file.

Timestamps in Console View

Console View data visualizer may now be configured to show time stamps at the beginning of each line.

saveToLog method added to ISession

ISession.saveToLog method may now be used to save the entire monitoring session to a log file.

Several bugs fixed in MODBUS View

Several bugs have been fixed in both MODBUS View and Legacy MODBUS View data visualizers.

Several bugs fixed in Serial Bridge mode

Several bugs have been fixed in various data visualizers when working in Serial Bridge mode.

Exception in TCP/IPv6 protocol definition

A bug has been fixed that caused an exception to be displayed when parsing TCP over IPv6 packets.

Fixed configuring serial terminal timeout settings from scripts

A bug prevented correctly setting serial terminal timeout values from being correctly set when called from user script.

saveToLog method added to ISession

ISession.saveToLog method may now be used to save the entire monitoring session to a log file.

ISession.addDevice method may now match device by its serial number

USB ISession.addDevice method now supports matching device by its serial number.

Crash on startup

Application may crash on startup or when enumerating log files.

New MODBUS Visualizer

New version of MODBUS Data Visualizer, based on Custom View, has been implemented. The old version of MODBUS View is still available under "MODBUS View (Legacy)" name.

Display Filter support for Custom View

Custom View and all standard data visualizers based on it now fully support Display Filter.

Request View, Console View and MODBUS View in Serial Bridge

Custom View-based visualizers Request View, Console View and MODBUS View may now be used in bridge monitoring sessions.

RFC2217 protocol added

RFC2217 protocol definition added.

Custom View error scheme

Custom View script may now specify which scheme to use for error messages.

Crash after clearing Data View

Application could crash after Data View visualizer was cleared.

MODBUS Send bug fixed

Fixed wrong size type in ReadWriteRegisters.

Improved support for capturing transit traffic

This version improves Network Monitor capabilities of capturing transit network traffic on a network interface.

Clearing Data View visualizer breaks it

Data View visualizer stops working after being cleared.

Ability to configure Custom View visualizer options for individual visualizers

It is now possible to configure Custom View visualizer options for individual data visualizers (previously, it was only possible to configure them globally).

Read/Write filtering in Console View

Console View adds two configurable options to enable/disable parsing of read or write packets. This allows, for example, to open two Console View visualizers for a session and configure the first of them to only display read packets and configure the second one to only display write packets.

"Add to Session" command is disabled for Favorites

"Add to Session" is disabled for processing modules in Favorites section. It was still possible to add them to a monitoring session by double-clicking. This is now fixed.

"-run" command line parameter did not work correctly

Fixed -run command-line parameter (load and execute scripts) not working correctly.

Crash on start-up

Device Monitoring Studio may start crashing on start-up if invalid protocol file is found in protocol library.

MODBUS Checksum calculation bug

MODBUS Send module sometimes incorrectly calculated checksum for packets it constructed.

MODBUS protocol parsing bug

Structure View sometimes failed to bind MODBUS protocol for monitored packets.

Several reported bugs fixed

This release fixes a number of reported and internally discovered bugs.

MODBUS View and MODBUS protocol binding improvements

Both MODBUS View data visualizer and MODBUS protocol (used by Structure View data visualizers) now automatically determine if the monitored packet is a request or response.

MODBUS session type mode bugs

Several bugs were discovered and fixed in built-in packet joiner for MODBUS RTU and ASCII protocols. In addition, MODBUS joiners are now more tolerant to errors in monitored data stream.

Playback time range selection bug

It was sometimes impossible to select the desired time range for the log file playback on some computers.

usb.ids file updated

usb.ids file that contains descriptions for USB devices and features has been updated to the latest version.

Crash on startup

A rare crash on startup has been fixed.

Crash on session configuration update

A rare crash during updating a running monitoring session configuration has been fixed.

Errors in HID report parsing

Application sometimes parsed HID reports incorrectly in HID View data visualizer.

Added option to send CR/LF in Serial Terminal

An option to send CR/LF sequence on Enter instead of just CR has been added to Serial Terminal.

Improvements to Serial Terminal module

New Serial Terminal session window now hides devices for which a terminal session is already running. Advanced Send window now displays target device.

Fixed Request View packet joining

Fixed packet joining in Request View for multi-source sessions.

Better error display in Request View

Request View now correctly displays an error code for failed read requests.

Several reported bugs fixed

This release fixes a number of reported and internally discovered bugs.

Updated Custom View refresh rate

Improved smoothness of Custom View (and other visualizers based on it) refreshing and scrolling.

Crash during rendering packets in some data visualizers

Some data visualizers failed to render huge packets, leading to crash.

Crash when opening damaged log files

Program may crash trying to open (or even enumerate) damaged log files.

Fixed addDevice function with new logs

It was impossible to use the addDevice scripting function with new DMSLOG8 log files.

Missing Get/Set Feature Report function

Get/Set Feature Report function was missing in HID Send window.

Duplicate items in HID Send window

Devices were sometimes duplicated in HID Send window.

Visualization of top-level packets in Structure View

Structure View data visualizer is now capable of displaying bound packet data for top-level collapsed packets.

New built-in visualizer() function

New built-in visualize() function allows protocol definition code to invoke standard field visualization algorithm, including automatic invocation of display attribute.

New LLDP protocol definition

LLDP (Link Layer Discovery Protocol) definition added to a list of predefined protocols.

Log enumeration performance improvements

Improved performance when enumerating log files. This greatly improves application initialization time when there are hundreds of log files in default log folder.

Better rendering of serial protocols

The display attribute has been applied to various serial-related protocols. Now, Structure View data visualizer displays brief important packet information without the need to expand the packet first.

Better rendering of network protocols

The display attribute has been applied to various network-related protocols. Now, Structure View data visualizer displays brief important packet information without the need to expand the packet first.

Broken log file name generation

Wrong character 'o' used instead of '0' in auto-generated log file name.

Request View support for multi-source is broken

This release fixes Request View behavior when used in multi-source session.

Crash on application exit

Device Monitoring Studio may crash on exit.

Filter string syntax error

Application incorrectly rejects valid filter expressions. This fix also allows constant filter expressions to be used (previously they did not work as expected).

Protocol definition errors are not displayed

In some situations, protocol definition errors may not be displayed in Output window.

Cursor jumps randomly when item is expanded in Structure View

Fixed random cursor jump after expanding packet in Structure View data visualizer.

Structure View displays local packet index instead of packet's ordinal number

Structure View now correctly displays session-unique packet ordinal number.

Playback session cannot be started from script

Unable to start a playback session with new logging format from script.

New logging system crash

Application could crash during recording log using new logging format.

New Logging Format

New data logging format (DMSLOG8) supports the following logging modes:

1. Unlimited single-file mode (similar to the previous format DMSLOG7)
2. Limited by size multiple-file mode
3. Limited by duration multiple-file mode
4. Limited by size single-file mode
5. Limited by duration single-file mode

In limited multiple-file modes the user may additionally limit the total number of files per log. In limited single-file mode oldest data is automatically overwritten by new data according to specified limit.

Data duplication in Data Repeater

Fixed a bug in Data Repeater component that caused duplication of monitored data when redirected to a serial device.

Several reported bugs fixed

This release fixes a number of reported and internally discovered bugs.

Packet View numbers bug

Packet View may incorrectly display numbers. Fixed.

Raw Data View Eastern languages bug

Raw Data View may display incorrect data if system locale is set to one of eastern languages. Fixed.

Structure View update bug

Structure View window may not be updated when new packets are added. It can also lose focus and not update command states. Fixed.

Playback in stepped mode broken

Next button may not appear in stepped playback mode. Fixed.

Settings in property pages not saved

Changes made in some of the settings property pages are not saved. Fixed.

Raw Data View mouse wheel or touch scroll bug

Raw Data View may scroll incorrectly when scrolled by some high-definition mice or touchpads.

Beta packages could not be installed

Beta packages could not be successfully installed on Windows 7.

Bug in processing of non-general session types

In some cases, non-general session type is not successfully applied. Fixed.

Errors in remote monitoring

Sometimes garbage data may be received from the remote monitoring session. Fixed.

Crash on application close

An application could crash on exit on slow (or busy) single-CPU computers.

Hang on application close

An application could hang and had to be killed by Task Manager in some cases after changes had been detected in watched folders (log files, structure definition files or custom view implementation files).

Packet View performance issues

Packet View could not sustain high packet rate (for example, log playback in continuous mode).

Packet View packet loss

Packet View could start "losing" packets when session contained several hundred million packets.

Various performance improvements

Improved performance of the following data visualizers: Raw Data View, Structure View, Packet View, Custom View.

Failed log playback

There was an error playing back recorded log files in some cases.

Continuous mode playback performance improved

Playback performance in continuous playback mode was improved.

Filter string could not contain hexadecimal numbers

It was not possible to use hexadecimal numbers in capture/display filter string.

Auto-completion did not work in Capture Filter

Auto-completion did not work in Serial Bridge's capture filter.

Display Filter not working correctly

Display Filter could not be applied for some sessions after they have been started.

Workspace loading order bug

Workspace components loading order has been updated. Now, if workspace contains a serial terminal session and monitoring session for the same port, a monitoring session is guaranteed to be started before the terminal session.

Unable to start script upon launch

Script files specified on command line with "-run" option failed to start if they were using monitoring session objects.

Hidden zero bytes in USB string descriptors

Sometimes zero bytes were stored as part of USB device string descriptor which made them unavailable to use in scripts.

Several reported bugs fixed

This release fixes a number of reported and internally discovered bugs.

Several reported bugs fixed

This release fixes a number of reported and internally discovered bugs.

Performance improvements

This release has increased performance in various key scenarios.

Several reported bugs fixed

This release fixes a number of reported and internally discovered bugs.

HID Send

New HID Send module allows the user to directly control USB HID device. This component may be controlled either from the user interface or with scripting.

Several reported bugs fixed

This release fixes a number of reported and internally discovered bugs.

Several reported bugs fixed

This release fixes a number of reported and internally discovered bugs.

Several reported bugs fixed

This release fixes a number of reported and internally discovered bugs.

Several reported bugs fixed

This release fixes a number of reported and internally discovered bugs.

This is a new major version release. The following features are new or have been significantly improved compared with the previous version:

Script Debugger

Increased support for scripting in Device Monitoring Studio calls for better tools. The built-in script editor with auto-completion support and built-in documentation is now accompanied by a script debugger.

The user may now place breakpoints, and perform stepping while debugging his scripts. The Watch tool window and Stack Trace tool window provide the detailed information about the script execution state.

Custom View Visualizer

The Custom View data visualizer is now out of beta. It has been redesigned and is now backed by TypeScript (not internal protocol definition language). Serial's Request View and Console View have been rewritten using Custom View.

Custom View data visualizer allows the user to consume the information produced by protocol binding module and display parsed data with rich visualization capabilities.

Request View and Console View data visualizers are now powered by Custom View. Old versions of these visualizers are still available as Request View (Legacy) and Console View (Legacy).

HTTP View (Beta) data visualizer, powered by Custom View, implements parsing and decoding of HTTP protocol for network monitoring sessions.

Extended Scripting API

This release extends the list of components that may be controlled from TypeScript (JavaScript) scripts executing inside the Device Monitoring Studio:

1. File Manager object.
2. TCP Session, UDP Session and TCP Listener objects.
3. Updated Serial Terminal object.
4. New MODBUS Builder Object.

Added support for promises

Scripts may now use promises and async/await language operators.

New 'delay' function

New function delay added that returns promise, which is completed after specified number of milliseconds.

New Console View data visualizer

New Console View data visualizer was added. It is based on Custom View.

HTML Copy/Export in Custom View

Custom View now supports copying/exporting selected data in HTML format. New Request View and New Console View data visualizers, which are based on Custom View, also support this feature.

Updated TypeScript version

Built-in TypeScript compiler updated to version 2.3.0.

TCP manager renamed

TCP Manager has been renamed to Network Manager. This only affects scripts.

Improved performance

Application start-up performance has been improved.

Crash on playback in continuous mode

Application could crash if playback was running in continuous mode.

Baud rate limit removed

In previous versions, application did not allow using baud rates larger than 256000 both in Serial Terminal UI and scripting. This limit has been removed.

Fixed "Invalid Configuration" message on license installation

An "Invalid Application Configuration" message could be displayed after successful license installation. This has been fixed.

Improved USB descriptors parsing and displaying

This release adds detailed USB descriptor parsing to Structure View data visualizer. USB Monitor now also shows the same information in Configuration Descriptor window. More USB 3.0-specific descriptors are now supported.

Several reported bugs fixed

This release fixes a number of reported and internally discovered bugs.

Incorrect data in Statistics View

Statistics View data visualizer incorrectly calculated data for isochronous pipes.

Improved protocol definition language

This release adds new directives and attributes to protocol definition language, adding look-ahead support to protocol binding.

Descriptor parsing in Structure View

Structure View now parses and displays device descriptors, HID descriptors, Audio and Video descriptors and communication descriptors.

Improved HTTP parser

HTTP parser has been improved.

Several reported bugs fixed

This release fixes a number of reported and internally discovered bugs.

Incorrect descriptor decoding

USB device descriptor and HID descriptor were not displayed correctly.

Several reported bugs fixed

This release fixes a number of reported and internally discovered bugs.

Several reported bugs fixed

This release fixes a number of reported and internally discovered bugs.

Several reported bugs fixed

This release fixes a number of reported and internally discovered bugs.

New script editor

New script editor is introduced with support for auto-completion and error highlighting.

High-DPI Support

This release makes Device Monitoring Studio fully compatible with high-definition displays.

Custom session type

Serial Monitor now allows setting custom session type (also known as session communication mode) programmed on TypeScript. Custom session type helps protocol binding to find the start of new packet in captured data stream.

Dropped support for Windows XP and Windows Vista

Starting from this version, the minimum supported OS is Windows 7. Application no longer supports Windows XP and Windows Vista. The minimum supported server OS is Windows Server 2008 R2.

TypeScript support

TypeScript is now always supported, the requirement to have Internet Explorer 11 installed is removed.

New scripting engine

Updated scripting engine with support for ES6. This allowed us to improve various APIs provided by Device Monitoring Studio components. For example, all methods that worked with Array objects now also work with typed arrays, array buffers and data views.

Serial Terminal flow control setting

Serial terminal session flow control mode is now correctly read from Session Configuration window.

Start Serial Terminal Command

"Start Serial Terminal" command is now available for serial devices in Devices tool window.

Several reported bugs fixed

This release fixes a number of reported and internally discovered bugs.

Several reported bugs fixed

This release fixes a number of reported and internally discovered bugs.

Several reported bugs fixed

This release fixes a number of reported and internally discovered bugs.

USB Audio/Video 1.5

This release adds support for parsing USB Audio and USB Video version 1.5. This includes new protocol definitions and new visualizer.

Restart device not working

Restart device command (in Dependent Devices window) now works as expected.

Log file playback error

Device Monitoring Studio crashed when user attempted to play back log files with long "gaps" - periods without data.

Crash on startup

Several bugs have been fixed that could cause application to crash on startup.

Crash on Next Connected

"Next Connected" monitoring session could crash Device Monitoring Studio after device had been connected to the computer.

Errors in USB monitoring driver

Several errors have been found and fixed in USB Monitor filter driver.

Better support for USB devices

USB Monitor now supports monitoring of more USB device classes and drivers.

Crashes on startup

Several problems causing application to crash on start have been fixed.

Copy/Export bugs

Several bugs in copy/export code in various data visualizers have been fixed.

Find Next hot key

F3 key now correctly works as Find Next hot key in various data visualizer.

Crash on loading invalid workspace file

DMS could crash if invalid workspace file was loaded.

Crash in Communication View

Crash in Communications View data visualizer has been fixed.

Several bug fixes

This release fixes a number of reported and internally discovered bugs.

Several bug fixes

This release fixes a number of reported and internally discovered bugs.

Several bug fixes

This release fixes a number of reported and internally discovered bugs and improves performance and reliability.

This release is dedicated mostly to polishing various application features. It improves a lot of existing components by fixing bugs and memory leaks. It also significantly reduces application memory requirements and works around memory exhaustion issues, particularly on 32-bit systems.

New Features

This release introduces high-precision session time measurement mode. As of 7.51, this mode is supported by USB, Serial and Network modules. When enabled (per-session), Device Monitoring Studio uses high-precision system timer for packet time-stamping. This mode is enabled by default if Device Monitoring Studio is installed on Windows 7 or later.

Starting from 7.51, various device information is automatically saved to a log file if the Data Recording module is added to a monitoring session. This includes the Serial Device Information for serial devices and all kinds of USB descriptors for USB devices (Device Descriptor, Configuration Descriptor and HID Descriptor tool windows).

When resulting log file is later selected in the Devices tool window, corresponding tool windows are updated with saved information.

Raw Data View and Structure View data visualizers now support additional packet coloring mode. Now they allow the user to choose one of three modes: no coloring, packet interlacing (coloring odd and even packets) and read/write coloring (coloring read and write packets).

In addition, built-in MODBUS protocol now automatically selects RTU or ASCII mode. This works automatically in Structure View and in filters and does not affect MODBUS View data visualizer.

Fixed Bugs

This release fixes over 200 different bugs, including crashes. A special attention has been paid to the following:

1. Monitoring session startup and shutdown-related issues, including crashes and hangs. This includes configuring and starting monitoring session, adding or removing data processing modules to running session and stopping monitoring session, as well as changing session's Capture Filter or visualizers' Display Filter for a running session.
2. Capture and display filter performance.
3. Protocol binding performance.
4. Issues with various data visualizers. Almost every data visualizer has been optimized or fixed in some way.
5. Workspace saving and loading issues.

Here is a short list of most remarkable fixed bugs:

Line View

Line View had a bug that prevented it from working. Now Line View works correctly when monitoring serial modems.

Correct emergency session termination

When resources are low, Device Monitoring Studio is now more robust in stopping affected high-data rate monitoring sessions, or session processing modules. This mostly affects 32-bit systems or systems with slow secondary storage.

Log file repairing

Device Monitoring Studio has always repaired damaged log files on startup. If log file was large, it introduced a startup delay (only splash screen was visible and application appeared to be hanging). Now a progress bar is shown to tell the user that application is alive.

Serial communication mode

A number of various bugs related to support for serial communication mode in Serial and Serial Bridge modules have been fixed. This includes saving the mode into the workspace or log file.

Reading USB device descriptors

It was impossible to read USB device descriptors on some systems. The problem seems to be related to incorrect system configuration, damaged host controller driver installation or various security issues. Device Monitoring Studio now has an alternative way to read descriptors if previous method fails. This improves monitoring experience for USB devices on affected systems.

Operating with limited processing resources

During monitoring Device Monitoring Studio uses available disk space as configured in the Data Processing Tab (invoked by Tools » Settings menu command). We have fixed a number of bugs related to Device Monitoring Studio operation under limited settings (like 1% on a single disk and 0% on all others).

"Exporter" data processing modules: Raw Exporter, Text Exporter and Data Recording

A number of bugs have been fixed in exporter modules. CPU and memory usage have been carefully profiled and optimized.

Memory Usage Optimizations

This release also brings improvements to Device Monitoring Studio memory usage strategies. All critical paths have been carefully analyzed and profiled, resulting in memory usage savings of up to 10 times in several places. Application is now much more robust on systems with lower amount of RAM. In addition, when installed on 32-bit operating systems, application is now capable of sustaining much higher data rates during monitoring.

Reduced memory demands now also allow to start "heavier" monitoring sessions - sessions with more data processing modules, complex custom protocols and filter expressions.

Supported OSes

This release drops support for 64-bit Windows XP and Windows Server 2003. 32-bit versions of these operating systems are still supported.

Remote Source now requires at least Windows Vista and will not be installed on Windows XP or Windows Server 2003.

Future releases will drop support for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 entirely.

UI Layout Update

This release will install new default UI layout (tool windows and toolbars). Any user-defined layout will be overwritten.

Trial period extension

Trial period has been extended to 21 days from 14 days.

Multiple crashes in Serial Terminal

Serial Terminal module crashed when loading workspaces from previous versions. It could also crash on saving workspace.

Crash after removing data processing modules from running session

Application crashed when a data processing module was removed from a running session.

Invalid behavior after changing visualizer's root protocol

When Root Protocol was changed for the active visualizer, it could result in removing all monitored packets due to incorrect interpretation of empty display filter.

Crash after closing Structure View or Raw Data View visualizers

Application could crash after closing Structure View or Raw Data View visualizers.

Crash in Text Exporter

Text Exporter crashed during network monitoring.

New scripting objects: Remote Connection Manager and Bridge Manager

Two new scripting objects added. Remote Connection Manager allows user scripts to establish remote connections. Bridge Manager allows user scripts to create and manage serial bridges. In addition, user script may now add remote devices and serial bridges to monitoring session.

Documentation for predefined fields and functions

All predefined protocol fields and functions have been documented. Additional code cleanup for built-in protocols.

Automatic reconnect for remote sessions

If network connection error occurs during remote monitoring, Device Monitoring Studio automatically tries to reconnect to remote server and continue monitoring.

Typescript updated to 1.5

Built-in Typescript compiler has been updated to version 1.5.

Flow control support for terminal sessions from scripting

It is now possible to set flow control for serial terminal sessions from user script.

Fixed "Minimize to tray" command line switch

Command line switch -m did not work as expected.

Possible crash during remote server connection

Application could crash if connected to remote server running Windows 8 or later.

Fixed script editor auto-indentation feature

Script editor could incorrectly apply auto-indentation in some cases.

Structure View, PPP View and MODBUS View support in bridge mode

Serial Bridge monitoring session may now use Structure View, PPP View and MODBUS View, providing appropriate communication mode is set.

Sorted tool windows in View » Tool Windows menu

Tool windows in View » Tool Windows menu group are now sorted, which makes navigation easier.

Missing Modbus enumeration constant

Serial.CommunicationMode enumeration was missing new Modbus value.

MODBUS View crash on 32-bit OSes

MODBUS View data visualizer could crash on 32-bit operating systems.

Application crash if running multiple copies

Application crashed when multiple copies were launched by different users.

Crash during scrolling or exporting a view in long monitoring session

An application crash was possible when the user tried to export or scroll data window in a long monitoring session.

Duplicate entries in Capture Filter Intellisense

There were duplicate items in Capture/Display Filter Intellisense window.

Incorrect installation state if used by different user

Some default configuration settings were missing if application was installed under one user account and then used under another account.

Improved stability on startup

Improved compatibility with third-party software that modifies application files during startup. This has caused early re-compilation of protocol definition files and could lead to crash.

Several bugs fixed

Several reported bugs have been fixed, including application crashes.

MODBUS serial protocol added to Structure View

This release adds MODBUS protocol, which can now be used in Structure View and filters.

Crash on 64-bit CPUs without support for AVX

It was impossible to install and/or use the application on some hardware configurations (like no or disabled AVX support on CPU).

MODBUS TCP

This release adds new protocol definition files and other supporting tools for MODBUS TCP protocol: new MODBUS communication mode, Packet Builder update to send MODBUS TCP packets and MODBUS Send window update to send MODBUS TCP packets to TCP sessions.

Serial Terminal parameters

Serial Terminal parameters are now saved into workspace.

New column in exporter output

New column containing packet time stamps has been added to Raw Exporter and Text Exporter.

TypeScript 1.4

Built-in compiler for TypeScript language has been updated to version 1.4.

Error copying/exporting multiple selection from Raw Data View

Copying/exporting multiple selection produced incorrect data.

Additional checks for temporary folder locations

If for some reason the default temporary disk location is unavailable, Device Monitoring Studio falls back to %TEMP% folder.

Application crash on empty HID descriptors

Application crashed trying to display descriptors for HID device if it had empty descriptors.

Improved support for unknown pipe handles

Monitoring of data transfers with invalid (or unknown) pipe handles are now supported.

Various crashes

Application could crash if Data View or MODBUS View were added to serial or bridge session.

Custom Visualizer support (BETA)

This release brings (beta) support for creating custom data visualizers.

Protocol & Script Editor

Built-in script and protocol definition files editor now has auto-indentation feature and brace match feature.

Various bug fixes

Several reported bugs have been fixed.

Improved scripting support

User scripts may now create, configure and start monitoring sessions. Full programming access to all monitoring session aspects, including multiple devices, source configuration, capture filters and visualizers and their configuration is provided. Scripts may be written in TypeScript language (superset of JavaScript), which gives better syntax and error checking. VBScript support has been discontinued.

Monitoring session initialization script may be automatically generated from the New Session window.

Built-in script editor

Device Monitoring Studio now has a built-in script file editor, which supports syntax highlighting and marking of error locations.

Line parameters visualization

Serial Monitor now automatically determines the line parameters applied by monitored application and displays them in Sessions Tool Window. Previously, you had to manually analyze control packets to get this information.

Improved performance for polling scenarios

Serial Monitor is now much more responsive when monitoring a polling session (that is, when monitored application issues hundreds of thousands empty read requests continuously). This affects Request View, Data View and other visualizers.

Several bugs fixed

Several reported bugs have been fixed, including application crashes.

Crash on session stop

Device Monitoring Studio crashes after session with configured data logging is stopped.

Various playback bugs

Several bugs and inconsistencies in Playback module have been fixed.

Improved support for IOCTL_SERIAL_IMMEDIATE_CHAR

Data sent using TransmitCommChar Windows API call (aka IOCTL_SERIAL_IMMEDIATE_CHAR I/O control request) is now treated like written data by Data View, Raw Data View and Console View data visualizers.

Log file format change

Due to fixing a bug in USB Monitor Playback, the format of log files has been changed. Old log files are still supported, but new log files will not be playable in previous versions of Device Monitoring Studio.

Playback improvements

The performance and stability of Playback on high speeds have been improved.

Coloring page fixed

Changing font size on the Coloring page has an effect now (Tools » Settings).

Protocol List window fixed

Delete now works correctly in Protocol List window.

Playback of sub-range

Playback of the portion of log file in USB Monitor has been fixed. Note that this release changes the format of log file.

Configurable auto-hide tool windows timeouts

User may now configure timeouts to open and hide auto-hide tool windows.

operator[] for strings

Operator [] now works with string value types.

New pre-installed protocols

Definition for the following protocols has been added: BACnet, LLC, SNAP, PPTP, GRE.

Improved multi-monitor support

If a floating tool window is positioned on a secondary monitor which is later disconnected, Device Monitoring Studio automatically moves the tool window in sight next time the application is launched.

Social plugin changes

Social module does not require authentication to read contents anymore and provides notifications for updates. It is also now supported on Windows XP.

Wrong tooltip after window drag

If you changed the position of opened windows using mouse, window title tooltips remained at the old position.

Compiler error visualization

Visualizers now correctly display packet binding errors.

MODBUS Send bug

MODBUS Send module bug which prevented from correctly sending values starting with 'f' has been fixed.

Crash on non-standard parity

Serial Monitor could crash if non-standard parity was used in a monitoring session. Serial Monitor now also displays custom parity values.

Crash in Packet Builder

Packet Builder could crash after packet was removed from the queue.

Built-in protocol definition editor

This release introduces the built-in protocol definition editor. Now you may modify any built-in protocol definition or define your custom protocol directly inside Device Monitoring Studio. Automatic re-compilation and rich error reporting are provided by the DMS.

Context menu not working in Devices window

You could not invoke a context menu in Devices tool window using keyboard. Only right mouse click worked.

Unable to playback Serial Bridge sessions

There was an error playing back recorded serial bridge monitoring sessions.

Monitoring stopped on jumbo frame

Network Monitor stopped capturing packets when it encountered a jumbo frame.

Minor bug fixes

This release fixes a number of discovered and reported errors, including application crashes.

Crash on sleep/hibernate

A system crash could occur when computer (running Windows Vista or later) was put into sleep, stand by or hibernate states.

SerialPayload protocol

This release adds SerialPayload protocol. When used in data visualizers, binds to the monitored data directly, skipping IOCTL packets, connect/disconnect packets and other utility information. This is now a default root protocol for Raw Data View visualizer. PPP packet is now embedded in SerialPayload packet, instead of Serial packet.

DMS 6 Log Converter Beta

Device Monitoring Studio 6.xx Log Converter Beta added. This console utility may be used to convert log files from DMS 6.xx format to DMS 7.xx format.

UsbPayload protocol

This release adds UsbPayload protocol. When used in data visualizers, binds to the monitored data directly, skipping packet headers and control pipe transfers. This is now a default root protocol for Raw Data View visualizer.

PPPoE protocol definition added

This release adds the PPPoE protocol definition.

Windows 8.1 Preview Unsupported!

IMPORTANT! Network Monitor 7.06 (and all previous versions) does not correctly work on Windows 8.1 Preview! This version's installer detects Windows 8.1 Preview and prohibits you from installing Network Monitor component on this OS.

Crash on session change

Device Monitoring Studio crashed when you changed the root protocol on newly added visualizer on a running session.

Error saving Data View into workspace

When a workspace with a monitoring session with Data View visualizer was saved, it later loaded as Request View.

Error in Serial protocol definition

Serial protocol definition used incorrect byte ordering.

Filtering worked incorrectly in Serial Data View and Request View

Configured filtering could incorrectly remove or duplicate monitored packets.

Data visualizers did not work in Playback sessions

HID View, Audio View and Video View did not show any data during USB log playback.

USB Monitor did not properly support composite devices

This resulted in decrease of the number of discovered devices compared to DMS 6.xx.

Multi-source Monitoring

Device Monitoring Studio supports joining monitored data from multiple sources of the same type into a single monitoring session. It is possible to monitor two or more serial ports, USB devices or network adapters. Device Monitoring Studio makes sure packets are correctly sorted and presented through a number of supported data visualizers. Data logging also supports multi-source sessions.

Remote Monitoring

DMS 7 supports monitoring USB and serial devices connected to remote servers. A single client may monitor several servers and a single server may be monitored by multiple clients. A separate server installation is provided. It includes a server access module, serial and usb monitoring modules, administration and management module and documentation. A server is managed using the MMC Snap-In or from Windows Scripting Host or PowerShell.

Windows 8 Support

DMS 7 officially supports Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012.

USB 3.0 Support

USB Monitor introduces support for USB 3.0 host controllers and devices.

Built-In and Custom Protocol Parsing

DMS 7 extends protocol parsing support for all monitoring modules: network, USB and serial. In addition, this version has new implementation of protocol parsing, which is more flexible and greatly improves performance.

New Data Processing Category

New processing category is introduced: data exporters. These are components that process monitored data in some way, but do not produce any visible output on the screen. Data recording module now belongs to this category. Other data exporters are Raw Data Exporter and Text Exporter. Both these exporters are capable of using built-in or custom protocol definitions to parse monitoring data before exporting.

Parallel Processing

New version of Device Monitoring Studio utilizes multiple cores for more responsive monitoring session operation. It basically allows the user to still perform real-time monitoring of 1 Gb network transfer without packet loss and slowdowns while having such "heavy" processing like Capture Filter and Display Filter configured for a monitoring session.

Device Tool Window

New tool window that displays all devices the user can monitor in a single customizable view. For each supported device, its image, type and current state are displayed. The user may start, stop and configure monitoring sessions, view device properties, restart and rename devices.

Sessions Tool Window

New tool window lists all currently running sessions and their properties. It allows you to close data visualizers, add new data processing modules, pause, resume or stop sessions. It also allows you to quickly change data processing modules configuration. For example, for data recording, the current log file size is displayed. By clicking "End Stream", the user ends the current stream and starts a new one.

Protocol-Based Data Visualizers

Structure View and Raw Data View data visualizers for USB, Serial and Network with additional filtering (Display Filter) and ability to specify root protocol.

Automatic Layout Loading

DMS 7 automatically loads separate tool window and command layout when monitoring session is started. Thus, until a session is started, a layout which simplifies device discovery and information retrieval is used. After the session is started, another layout is automatically loaded streamlining monitoring session usage. Both layouts may be customized by the user.

Global Configuration Switch

Device Monitoring Studio provides you with a global switch to quickly turn it into Serial Monitor, USB Monitor or Network Monitor. This switch may be used in combi installations to temporary hide unneeded components.

Session Configuration Window

New Session Configuration window greatly simplifies session creation and modification. There is a list of configured sources at the top of the window. Below are optional device configuration settings, buttons to add more devices and remove existing ones.

Depending on the type and number of configured sources, a list of available processing modules is populated. It is divided into two main categories: visualizers and exporters.

Double-click on the processing module to add it to the current session. Some of modules support configuration. Customized processing modules may be saved for future use.

Finally, the user specifies a capture filter, a generic (protocol-based) conditional expression used to filter out specific monitored packets.

Crash when using capture filter

Network Monitor may crash if capture filter is configured.

Console View rendering bug

Console View incorrectly displays lines with several carriage return characters in them.

Corrupt log file handling

Device Monitoring Studio may crash when it encounters corrupted log file.

Installation problem

Installer may fail with 0x8007000a error code in HHD Setup Log File.txt.

Installation bug

If you install DMS 7 Beta 2 and later decide to re-install Network Monitor 6.xx or Device Monitoring Studio 6.xx, the installation will fail.

Several bugs in Structure View and Raw Data View

Several bugs in Serial Monitor Structure View and Raw Data View data visualizers were fixed.

Raw Data View settings were not saved to workspace

Serial Monitor Raw Data View data visualizer settings were not saved to the workspace file. Fixed.

Several bugs in MODBUS View visualizer

A number of bugs have been fixed in MODBUS View data visualizer.

Several bugs in Structure View, Raw Data View and URB View

Several bugs in USB Monitor Structure View, Raw Data View and URB View data visualizers were fixed.

Video descriptors rendering bug

Some USB video class descriptors (Configuration Descriptor tool window) were parsed and displayed incorrectly. Fixed.

BSOD on Windows 8

Network Monitor may cause the computer to crash after returning from sleep on Windows 8. Fixed.

Large network adapter count bug

Network Monitor may fail to list the available network adapters if there are many of them on a computer.

New data visualizer: Structure View (USB)

New data visualizer has been added to USB Monitor. It parses monitored data according to a set of loaded protocol definition files and displays the parsed data in tree view and raw binary view.

Capture filter (USB)

It is now possible to define a capture filter — an expression which is evaluated against each monitored packet. If expression's result is false, the packet is discarded, otherwise, it is sent for further processing.

Display filter and root protocol (USB)

Each opened Structure View window may additionally have its own "display filter" to further filter incoming data. In addition, each window may use its own "root" protocol for each monitored packet.

Custom protocol (USB)

In addition to a set of pre-defined protocols, a user may now create his own protocol definition files and have USB Monitor automatically parse monitored data according to them. Capture and display filters are also capable of using these new protocol definitions in their expressions.

Bugs in Packet View

Several reported and discovered bugs fixed in Packet View.

Bug in Hex Editor Neo integration

DMS could not find Hex Editor Neo if it was installed for all users. Fixed.

"Join consequent packets" option added

A long awaited "Join consequent packets" option has been added to the Serial Monitor. When enabled, it automatically joins consequent write or read requests. Applicable to Request View and Data View visualizers.

Process packet data with Hex Editor Neo

New "Process with Hex Editor Neo" command has been added to Raw Data View visualizer. It copies the selected packet data and opens it in installed copy of Hex Editor Neo.

Serial Bridge visualizers coloring fixed

Serial Bridge's Request View and Data View visualizers used assigned coloring settings incorrectly. Fixed.

New component: Packet Builder

Packet Builder component allows you to create network packets and send them to the network. Packets may be created manually (two editors — raw and protocol structure-based are available) or copied from existing monitored packets.

Network: Next Connected Device

Network Monitor can now automatically attach to next connected network interface.

Process name resolving

Network Monitor now displays the sending or receiving process name, in addition to its ID.

Root protocol selection

Network Monitor now supports changing the root protocol in packet visualizer. For example, this lets you to focus on a single high-level protocol such as HTTP or FTP.

Multiple packet selection in Packet View

It is now possible to select multiple packets in a data visualizer for copying and exporting.

Improved setup speed

Speed of Device Monitoring Studio setup application has been greatly improved. Installer now needs to update less files and system settings and operates much quicker.

Improved application start-up time

We have improved the application start-up time by reducing time required by various components to initialize and allowing several components to initialize in parallel.

Improved performance

This release has improved performance thanks to optimization of various core components and the use of new compiler.

License update

Registered users: A license update is required!

A new license may be downloaded from the My Account.

Updated address format

Network Monitor now uses another display format for network addresses, such as IP or MAC, better adhering to standard address representation.

Protocol definition files fixes and updates

This release introduces updates and fixes to protocol definition files, notably the DNS protocol.

Several reported bugs fixed

This release fixes several reported bugs, including application crashes.

Data View Filtering

This release adds filtering support for Data View visualizer.

Failed installation

Device Monitoring Studio may fail to install on systems where the network filter limit is reached.

Field highlighting (Network Monitor)

An entire field is now highlighted in Raw Data View when it is selected in Packet View.

BSOD (Network Monitor)

A computer may crash when an network adapter is plugged in/out or change its power state. Fixed.

Integration of Serial, USB and Network Monitoring Modules

Application now combines together Serial Monitor, USB Monitor and Network Monitor.

Major Release

Network Monitor has been completely redesigned and rewritten.

Support for Modern Operating Systems

Network Monitor now fully supports 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 2003 Server and Windows 2008 Server (both including R2 versions).

Device Monitoring Studio Integration

Network Monitor now fully integrates into the Device Monitoring Studio project.

Custom Network Protocol Creation

Network Monitor now allows you to create custom network protocol definition and add it to list of supported protocols.

Performance Improvements

Major performance improvements towards nearly real-time network monitoring and logging.