Ethereal-dev: Re: [Ethereal-dev] [Fwd: ClearSight Analyzer's use of Ethereal decodeengine]

Note: This archive is from the project's previous web site, ethereal.com. This list is no longer active.

From: Gerald Combs <gerald@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Wed, 03 Mar 2004 15:56:44 -0600
I've been in contact with Bill Berkman, the Chairman and CEO of ClearSight, as well as someone on their staff. Here's the timeline of our interaction so far:

January 7, 2004:
  I sent email to info@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, sales@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, and
  sales@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx concerning the violation.  I also left
  voicemail with their automated attendant system.

January 8:
  Bill Berkman contacted me by telephone.  I expressed my concerns about
  the license.  He said they would prepare a formal response.

January 27:
  I called Bill Berkman again.  He said they were still working on the
  response.

February 26:
  Someone on ClearSight's staff (who wishes to remain private) contacted
  me about the situation.  We spoke on the phone at length.  I detailed
  my concerns and followed up with an email.

March 1:
  I received a postal letter from Bill Berkman explaining their
  position, which matches what's on their web site:  That by
  encapsulating Ethereal in a DLL, they are not bound by section 2
  of the GPL.

March 2:
  I sent a postal letter to Bill Berkman disagreeing, and asking that
  they cease distribution of ClearSight Analyzer until the issue is
  resolved.  I'd be happy to forward a PDF copy to anyone interested.

It's been almost 60 days since ClearSight was first contacted. They've certainly taken their time addressing this issue, considering the risk they're taking with the Analzyer source code base.


Devin Heitmueller wrote:

Is there any new info on this?  Have you heard back from ClearSight at all?

Devin

-----Original Message-----
From:	Gerald Combs [mailto:gerald@xxxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent:	Wed 1/7/2004 6:10 PM
To:	Ethereal-Dev
Cc:	
Subject:	[Ethereal-dev] [Fwd: ClearSight Analyzer's use of Ethereal decodeengine]

I received this email earlier today. After downloading a demo of ClearSight Anayzer, it's clear that they've DLL-ified Ethereal and call it directly from their application. A copy of the default decode engine (DecodeEngine.dll) resides in "DecodeEngines\Ethereal\". A string analysis of the DLL indicates that it contains Ethereal's dissector code plus epan, and possibly more of Ethereal's components.

I sent an email to ClearSight, and am waiting for a response.

-------- Original Message --------

In the process of evaluating network analyzers, I recently came across a
product called ClearSight Analyzer from
http://www.clearsightnetworks.com.  ClearSight clearly uses the Ethereal
decode engine in their commercial product.  They acknowledge this fact
and don't try to hide it.  Their product is not GPL'd, so isn't this in
violation of Ethereal's GPL?


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