Using TCP Monitor to Debug Web Service Calls

TCP Monitor is a great tool when it comes to debugging Web Service calls. It acts as a proxy between your client and the actual service, hence it helps you to have a look at the wire message and figure out whats going on. It comes as an IDEA and Eclipse plugin as well.

Here is how you configure the TCP/IP Monitor Plugin in IDEA.

1. Goto File->Settings->Plugins
2. Search for TCP and you will find Axis TCP Monitor Plugin
3. Right click->Download and Install
4. Restart IDEA
5. You will see TCPMON appear on the right panel. You could also access it at Window->Tool Windows->TCPMON
6. Set Listen port # to 8080, Target HostName (The place where the service is at, if its running locally localhost), Target Port # (the port which the service is running on)
7. Click add
8. Configure your client to send the request to the TCP monitor instead of the actual service (for e.g localhost:8080) and the TCP monitor will forward it to the actual service. You will see the message on the TCP monitor.

Here is how you configure the TCP/IP Monitor Plugin in Eclipse.

1. Goto window->show view->other
2. Search for TCP and you will find TCP/IP Monitor
3. Right click->properties
4. click add
5. Set local monitoring port to 8080, host name (The place where the service is at, if its running locally localhost), port (the port which the service is running on)
6. Configure your client to send the request to the TCP monitor instead of the actual service (for e.g localhost:8080) and the TCP monitor will forward it to the actual service. You will see the message on the TCP monitor.