Simplifying Wireless Debug with Silicon Labs Network Analyzer

Debugging wireless networks is often one of the biggest challenges a developer faces. Wireless mesh and multiprotocol systems are powerful, but they can also be unpredictable. Packet loss, retries, or interference often go unnoticed, leading to long debug cycles, frustrated customers, and delayed time-to-market.

Silicon Labs’ Network Analyzer, a protocol-aware debug and visualization tool integrated directly into Simplicity Studio, was developed specifically to address this problem. By working natively with Silicon Labs SoCs and multiprotocol stacks, the Network Analyzer helps teams move beyond raw packet captures to gain end-to-end, stack-aware visibility into their networks.

Network Analyzer: Seeing More Than Packets

Most generic sniffers provide only a snapshot of the raw data flying through the air. Because they lack protocol context, developers can spend hours manually decoding and still miss key details like failed transmissions, missed acknowledgments (ACKs), or application-level events.

The Network Analyzer takes a different approach. Using the Packet Trace Interface (PTI) a hardware peripheral built into Silicon Labs devices every transmitted and received packet is collected directly from the radio’s frame controller along with rich metadata such as RSSI (received signal strength indicator), CRC results, channel, and PHY details. This data is streamed over a dedicated UART or SPI connection to the WSTK (Wireless Starter Kit), which timestamps and packetizes it before sending it to the host PC.

Once the data is captured, the Network Analyzer decodes and organizes it into transactions, events, and application-layer activity. Developers can view a real-time timeline, generate network maps and connectivity diagrams, and even save sessions for later analysis.

This hardware-assisted, stack-aware integration ensures that engineers see the actual conditions experienced by their devices, - not just what an external sniffer overhears.

How Developers Benefit from the Network Analyzer

• Accelerated debugging – Helps capture traffic from multiple nodes or an entire network to create a chronological, lossless “perfect trace,” that makes it easier to analyze complex mesh interactions.
• Boosted reliability – Allows visualization of transactions, events, ACKs, and failures; connectivity maps reveal node-to-node links and potential weak points before deployment.
• Lower cost – Since it’ is fully integrated into Simplicity Studio, the Network Analyzer removes the need for extra third-party sniffers or licenses.
• Future-proof support – Enables debugging seamlessly across Zigbee, Thread, Bluetooth, Wi-SUN, and proprietary protocols as ecosystems evolve.

Network Analyzer: Features That Go Further

Bookmarks

Long capture sessions often generate thousands of events, in which critical anomalies or questions can get buried. The Network Analyzer Bookmarks let developers mark decoded protocol events such as Zigbee ZCL commands or failed ACKs. These bookmarks remain tied to full multi-node traces and can be shared within Simplicity Studio, ensuring developers and FAEs can jump to the same event instantly. Thus, saves hours of log review and improves collaboration.

Event Difference

When two similar packets behave differently, the differences can be subtle and easy to miss in raw hex data. The Event Difference tool highlights protocol-level changes between two decoded packets or transactions (for example, comparing Zigbee ZCL toggle commands). This makes it much easier to spot retries, dropped frames, or mismatched fields, helping teams reach the root cause faster.

Radio Info

Debugging wireless reliability requires knowing what was sent, but also how it was received by the device. The Radio Info view exposes device-level RF metadata such as RSSI, channel, and PHY parameters for both transmitter and receiver. This provides the missing RF context that general sniffers cannot capture especially critical in multiprotocol or channel-hopping systems, - and helps developers understand why a link succeeded or failed.