5 Full Packet Capture and Analysis Tools for Small to Big Network

Packet capture and analysis are extremely useful for examining network interactions and identifying inefficient transmissions and malicious network threats.

Packet capture refers to intercepting and collecting data packets as they travel through a network connection. Data packets are logged and inspected to identify and manage network issues, such as high latency and dropouts. The information obtained from packet analysis is used to help the network administrator to troubleshoot and fix network errors in a shorter period of time.

Packet analysis is used for some of the following tasks.

Detect security risks
DNS Troubleshooting
Identify and resolve network connectivity issues.
Detect network problems
Detect and fix packet leaks
Detect and prevent malware

It is possible to capture the entire data packet or specific segments of the packet. A complete data packet consists of two parts: payload and header. The payload segment contains the actual content of the packet, while the header segment contains information such as the source and destination addresses of the packet.

We have compiled a list of some applications to perform complete packet capture and analysis.

Begin.

colasoft capsa

Capsa is a real-time mobile network analysis, monitoring and diagnostic tool for wired and wireless networks. Data plan tests can be scheduled to run at a specific time, such as periodically or monthly. Regular scanning ensures that you don’t miss any performance issues that arise. If you miss something, email and audio alerts will notify you whenever a networking session takes place that you’re asked to join.

Capsa keeps users up to date on vulnerabilities and threats that can lead to service interruptions. All important VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) metrics such as call codec type and event delivery are tracked well with this tool. This is a great tool for people who want to get into packet inspection and learn how to detect network problems and improve network security.

Presented:

Free built-in utilities to generate and replay packets, as well as scan and ping IP addresses.
Automatically diagnose network problems and suggest solutions.
Supports VoIP and TCP flow analysis, which can be used to diagnose network problems such as slow response times and CRM (customer relationship management) transactions.
It can detect DDoS attacks, ARP attacks, and TCP port scanning, and allows users to detect technical problems on the network.
This tool supports over 1,800 protocols, making it easy to check the protocols on the network and understand what’s going on.
Collects all data packets and displays full packet disposition information in hexadecimal and ASCII format. (In-depth packet decoding)
Information about network traffic and performance can be displayed in graphical format.

Colasoft offers other tools such as the Network Performance Analysis System (nChronos) and the Unified Performance Management Solution (Colasoft UPM). It offers a 30-day free trial to test features before you buy.

tcp dump

TCPDump is a powerful open source command line packet analysis tool that captures protocols such as TCP, UDP and ICMP (Internet Control Message Protocol). This tool comes pre-installed on all Unix-like operating systems. TCPDump is released under the BSD license. You can easily check TCP/IP packet headers with tcpdump. It displays information for each data transfer and the script will run until you end it with the Ctrl+C option.

Tcpdump is very simple to configure, and if you learn how to use the tool, flags, and arguments, you can use them to troubleshoot network security and connection problems. The recorded data packets will be saved to a file for later analysis with tcpdump. It saves the file in the PCAP extension format, which can be easily verified with tcpdump or Wireshark by reading PCAP (short for Packet Capture) format files.

Presented:

Captured packets can be filtered by source, destination, and protocol.
Free and open source

Here is an article on how to capture and analyze network traffic with tcpdump.

PRTG. passenger car

One of the most popular network monitoring and traffic analysis tools is Paessler PRTG Network Monitor. This tool provides important information about your network infrastructure and its performance.

It is compatible with Windows. It includes many monitoring options, including bandwidth monitoring and traffic analysis. There is a free version of Paessler PRTG available. To report network performance metrics, it uses a combination of packet sniffers, WMI, and SNMP.

Presented:

Flexible Alerts – PRTG has more than ten technologies designed, including SMS, push notifications, email, HTTP request triggers, etc.
Multiple user interfaces: AJAX-based with strong security requirements, high performance thanks to Single Page Application (SPA) technology,
Cluster Failover Solution – To form a slightly advanced monitoring solution.
Maps and Dashboards – Use real-time maps with live, current information to visualize your network.
Distributed Monitoring – With Mobile Interceptors, you can monitor multiple networks in multiple locations and multiple networks within your organization.
Detailed reports in the form of numbers, statistics and graphs

The tool supports multiple alert methods, including SMS, email, and third-party connections to platforms like Slack. PRTG is available as an unlimited version for 30 days. After the free period, it will return to the free form.

shark

Wireshark is a free and open source packet analysis tool that allows you to inspect network data transmission in real time. This tool allows network administrators to probe the network at the micro level to identify the source of traffic problems and errors. It’s a great tool that requires a solid understanding of networking concepts.

Presented:

It works with virtually any operating system, including Windows, Linux distributions, Mac OS X, etc.
Generate reports based on current statistical data.
Output filtering can be done with various options such as timers and filters.
Visualize network packets with graphs and I/O tables.
You can also log USB traffic.
It offers multiple uses, including fingerprinting of unauthorized traffic, configuring packet filtering, etc.
Color coding rules can be applied to identify types of traffic.
Detailed study of VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol).

Lost packets, network latency issues, application dependent factors, and inefficient window sizes are common troubleshooting challenges that Wireshark can help with. This tool allows you to monitor network traffic and provides mechanisms to find and identify the source of problems.

Unicast (connectionless) traffic that is not sent out the network’s MAC address interface can also be monitored with the Wireshark tool.

Visit this article on troubleshooting network latency with Wireshark.

arkime

Arkime works with existing security systems to collect and index network traffic and transmit data in standard PCAP format.

All recorded data packets are stored and exported in the normal PCAP format, allowing you to use your favorite PCAP import tools, such as Wireshark or tcpdump, in your analysis workflow.

PCAP retention is determined by the available space on the sensor disk, while API retention is determined by the size of the Elasticsearch cluster. Both parameters can be changed at any time.

Arkime is designed to work on various systems and scales to handle tens of gigabits per second of throughput. All PCAP format files saved on Arkime sensors can be installed and can only be accessed via the Arkime API or web interface. PCAP files can be encrypted at rest with Arkime.

Presented:

It provides an easy-to-use web interface to inspect, search, and extract PCAP files.
Free and open source
Allows other PCAP import tools to check saved PCAP files.

PCAP data and transaction data in JSON format can be directly accessed through the API. See the full Arkime API documentation here.