|
LinuxDig.Com : Free, Network Packet Analyzer for Linux / Apple OS X , from Ethereal with Love
Author: HumanX | Wednesday December 15, 2004
Having trouble connecting to your Windows network? Is your Apple Internet Server receiving suspicious traffic? Then let Ethereal, the friendly command line / GUI packet analyzer come to the rescue.
One of the favored tools in a network administrator’s toolbox is the packet analyzer (Often called a “Packet Sniffer”). This type of tool allows you to get a complete live snapshot of what is happening on your network in real time.
A good packet analyzer can quickly help you decipher common protocol activity on the network such as SMB, HTTP, SMTP, POP, IMAP, FTP and DNS. Knowing this type of information can help you find network bottlenecks or help you meet the needs of your visitors. A more advanced administer can spot network abusers, file sharers, flush out hackers and / or diagnose network issues.
In real time mode, Ethereal displays a connection and common protocol usage list boxes which gives you a live snap shot of your network. For the paranoid, you can set ethereal to capture all activity and store it in a file or database. Either of the above options then allows you to filter through the data on any aspect of the saved packets, such as incoming / outgoing ports and ip addresses, packet payload, packet type, protocol and more. Ethereal also comes with a set of form utilities which also helps you build generalized views of the data found on your network.
So if you need commercial grade packet analytical software with a 0 price tag, then hop on over to Ethereal’s web site and enjoy the offerings of the open source community.
Most Linux users should find Ethereal on the CD of packages that came with your distribution.
OS X users will need to download and install XDarwin (X11 for OS X) and XCode. After that, the best way to install ethereal is to install the Fink package manager for OS X and finally install Ethereal. You can compile ethereal on your own if you like, but fink has made it easy for you.
For more information on Fink, Read:
LinuxDig.com : Installing Linux Applications in Apple OS X the Easy Way with Fink
Ethereal: http://www.ethereal.com/
|
