Packet analyzer

Protocol analyzer can technically be a broader, more general class that includes packet analyzers/sniffers.

Recording just headers reduces storage requirements, and avoids some privacy legal issues, yet often provides sufficient information to diagnose problems.

[13][14] Protocol analyzers can also be hardware-based, either in probe format or, as is increasingly common, combined with a disk array.

Collecting data from a carrier system without a warrant is illegal due to laws about interception.

By using end-to-end encryption, communications can be kept confidential from telecommunication carriers and legal authorities.