Dissecting network traffic
wireshark, libpcap, packets, packet sniffer
Building a network flight recorder with Wireshark.
Wireshark [1], the packet sniffer formerly known as Ethereal, is a must-have for system administrators. If you've ever had to troubleshoot a network problem or needed to watch a transaction with a server, then this is the tool for you. Like most (all?) network data capture programs for Linux, Wireshark relies on libpcap, which provides a system-independent interface for capturing packets; therefore, you do not need to write custom routines for every packet sniffer (tcpdump, Snort, Wireshark, etc.). As long as your OS (e.g., Linux, *BSD, HP-UX, Solaris, Windows, etc.) and software support libpcap, you can sniff packets to your heart's content.
Installing libpcap and Wireshark
Libpcap comes with most operating systems, and Wireshark is almost always included (at least on Linux and BSD). Wireshark is sometimes split into two separate packages: one consisting of the back-end utilities like tshark and mergecap, and the other consisting of the graphical user interface (GUI). On Fedora and most related systems, you can simply run yum:
yum install libpcap yum install wireshark-gnome
[...]
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
TUXEDO has unveiled a new InfinityBook Pro with an AMD Ryzen AI 300
This new notebook offers serious power that is ready for your business, development, or entertainment needs.
-
Is This the Year of Linux?
Another major organization has decided to kick Windows and Office to the curb, in favor of Linux.
-
Linux Mint 20 Reaches EOL
With Linux Mint 20 at its end of life, the time has arrived to upgrade to Linux Mint 22.
-
TuxCare Announces Support for AlmaLinux 9.2
Thanks to TuxCare, AlmaLinux 9.2 (and soon version 9.6) now enjoys years of ongoing patching and compliance.
-
Go-Based Botnet Attacking IoT Devices
Using an SSH credential brute-force attack, the Go-based PumaBot is exploiting IoT devices everywhere.
-
Plasma 6.5 Promises Better Memory Optimization
With the stable Plasma 6.4 on the horizon, KDE has a few new tricks up its sleeve for Plasma 6.5.
-
KaOS 2025.05 Officially Qt5 Free
If you're a fan of independent Linux distributions, the team behind KaOS is proud to announce the latest iteration that includes kernel 6.14 and KDE's Plasma 6.3.5.
-
Linux Kernel 6.15 Now Available
The latest Linux kernel is now available with several new features/improvements and the usual bug fixes.
-
Microsoft Makes Surprising WSL Announcement
In a move that might surprise some users, Microsoft has made Windows Subsystem for Linux open source.
-
Red Hat Releases RHEL 10 Early
Red Hat quietly rolled out the official release of RHEL 10.0 a bit early.