In this article, we will explore the usage of the Start-NetEventSession cmdlet in PowerShell and its importance in the Windows environment. Start-NetEventSession is a powerful cmdlet that allows us to start a network event session, which enables us to capture network events and analyze network traffic for troubleshooting and monitoring purposes. This cmdlet is especially useful for network administrators and security professionals who need to investigate network issues and identify potential security threats.

Examples:

Example 1: Starting a basic network event session

Start-NetEventSession -Name "BasicSession" -CaptureMode SaveToFile -FilePath "C:\NetworkLogs\BasicSession.etl" -MaxFileSize 100MB -MaxBufferSize 10MB

In this example, we start a basic network event session named "BasicSession" and configure it to save the captured events to a file located at "C:\NetworkLogs\BasicSession.etl". We also set the maximum file size to 100MB and the maximum buffer size to 10MB.

Example 2: Starting a network event session with filters

Start-NetEventSession -Name "FilteredSession" -CaptureMode SaveToFile -FilePath "C:\NetworkLogs\FilteredSession.etl" -MaxFileSize 100MB -MaxBufferSize 10MB -ProviderName "Microsoft-Windows-WinINet" -Level Informational

In this example, we start a network event session named "FilteredSession" with the same configurations as before. However, we also specify a provider name ("Microsoft-Windows-WinINet") and a logging level (Informational) to filter the captured events. This allows us to focus on specific network events related to the WinINet component.

Example 3: Starting a network event session with a circular buffer

Start-NetEventSession -Name "CircularSession" -CaptureMode Circular -BufferSize 100MB -MaxBufferSize 1GB -MaxFileCount 5

In this example, we start a network event session named "CircularSession" with a circular capture mode. This means that when the buffer is full, the oldest events will be overwritten to make space for new events. We set the buffer size to 100MB, the maximum buffer size to 1GB, and the maximum file count to 5. This configuration ensures that we have a continuous capture of network events without running out of disk space.