Network security engineers also use Wireshark to dig into security issues, and verify the expected operation of network applications. Wireshark lets you track network traffic in real-time and helps you diagnose and resolve problems within your network. Wireshark’s functionality has made it an indispensable resource for system administrators. Wireshark is free to modify, re-share, and use. Wireshark is essentially a freely licensed GPL open source. Wireshark runs on many platforms including most Linux distributions, Windows, OpenBSD, OS X, FreeBSD, and NetBSD. In truth, Wireshark is known by the cognoscenti to really be the leading network protocol analyzer available today. Over time, Wireshark has spread in use across a worldwide community, which continues to provide patches and strong support.

Wireshark was invented by Gerald Combs back in 1998 – you might remember it as being initially called Ethereal. Wireshark is a very capable tool that requires a strong background and detailed knowledge about the TCP / IP stack, routing, forwarding, and DHCP functionality. Wireshark is regularly used to assist in the analysis of problems involving latency, dropped packets, and malicious and/or anomalous network activities. Wireshark is an open-source packet analyzer which is used for network troubleshooting, analysis, communications protocol development, software development, and often education.

What is wireshark protocol analyzer