Vietnam National University of Ho Chi Minh City

University of Information Technology

Faculty of Computer networks and Communications
Department of Information Security

1
Lab
FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSE ONLY

Wireshark Getting Started

Networking

3/2024
For Internal Circulation only
< Posting on the internet in any form is strictly prohibited>

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A. GENERAL
1. Objective
▪ Get started with Wireshark software - a packet capture tool, serving research on the operation
of network layers.

2. Environment
▪ Students need to prepare a computer/laptop with an Internet connection and install the
following software:
o Wireshark. (Download the latest version at:
https://www.wireshark.org/download.html)

B. HANDS-ON
1. Introduction
The basic tool for observing the messages exchanged between executing protocol entities is
called a packet sniffer. As the name suggests, a packet sniffer captures (“sniffs”) messages
being sent/received from/by your computer; it will also typically store and/or display the
contents of the various protocol fields in these captured messages. A packet sniffer itself is
passive. It observes messages being sent and received by applications and protocols running on
your computer, but never sends packets itself. Similarly, received packets are never explicitly
addressed to the packet sniffer. Instead, a packet sniffer receives a copy of packets that are
sent/received from/by application and protocols executing on your machine.

Figure 1 shows the structure of a packet sniffer. At the right of Figure 1 are the protocols (in
this case, Internet protocols) and applications (such as a web browser or ftp client) that
normally run on your computer. The packet sniffer, shown within the dashed rectangle in
Figure 1 is an addition to the usual software in your computer, and consists of two parts. The
packet capture library receives a copy of every link-layer frame that is sent from or received
by your computer. Recall from the discussion from section 1.5 in the text (Figure 1.241) that
messages exchanged by higher layer protocols such as HTTP, FTP, TCP, UDP, DNS, or IP all
are eventually encapsulated in link-layer frames that are transmitted over physical media such
as an Ethernet cable. In Figure 1, the assumed physical media is an Ethernet, and so all upper-
layer protocols are eventually encapsulated within an Ethernet frame. Capturing all link-layer
frames thus gives you all messages sent/received from/by all protocols and applications
executing in your computer.

1
References to figures and sections are for the 7th edition of our text, Computer Networks, A Top-down Approach, 7th
ed., J.F. Kurose and K.W. Ross, Addison-Wesley/Pearson, 2016.

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packet sniffer

packet application (e.g., www

application
analyzer browser, ftp client)

operating
system Transport (TCP/UDP)
packet Network (IP)
capture copy of all Ethernet
frames sent/received
Link (Ethernet)
(pcap)
Physical

to/from network to/from network

Figure 1: Packet sniffer structure

The second component of a packet sniffer is the packet analyzer, which displays the contents
of all fields within a protocol message. In order to do so, the packet analyzer must
“understand” the structure of all messages exchanged by protocols. For example, suppose we
are interested in displaying the various fields in messages exchanged by the HTTP protocol in
Figure 1. The packet analyzer understands the format of Ethernet frames, and so can identify
the IP datagram within an Ethernet frame. It also understands the IP datagram format, so that
it can extract the TCP segment within the IP datagram. Finally, it understands the TCP
segment structure, so it can extract the HTTP message contained in the TCP segment. Finally,
it understands the HTTP protocol and so, for example, knows that the first bytes of an HTTP
message will contain the string “GET,” “POST,” or “HEAD,” as shown in Figure 2.8 in the
text.

We will be using the Wireshark packet sniffer [http://www.wireshark.org/] for these labs,
allowing us to display the contents of messages being sent/received from/by protocols at
different levels of the protocol stack. (Technically speaking, Wireshark is a packet analyzer
that uses a packet capture library in your computer). Wireshark is a free network protocol
analyzer that runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux/Unix computer. It’s an ideal packet analyzer
for our labs – it is stable, has a large user base and well-documented support that includes a
user-guide (http://www.wireshark.org/docs/wsug_html_chunked/), man pages
(http://www.wireshark.org/docs/man-pages/), and a detailed FAQ
(http://www.wireshark.org/faq.html), rich functionality that includes the capability to analyze
hundreds of protocols, and a well-designed user interface. It operates in computers using
Ethernet, serial (PPP and SLIP), 802.11 wireless LANs, and many other link-layer technologies
(if the OS on which it's running allows Wireshark to do so).

2. Getting Wireshark
In order to run Wireshark, you will need to have access to a computer that supports both
Wireshark and the libpcap or WinPCap packet capture library. The libpcap software will be

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installed for you, if it is not installed within your operating system, when you install
Wireshark. See http://www.wireshark.org/download.html for a list of supported operating
systems and download sites

Download and install the Wireshark software:

• Go to http://www.wireshark.org/download.html and download and install the
Wireshark binary for your computer.
The Wireshark FAQ has a number of helpful hints and interesting tidbits of information,
particularly if you have trouble installing or running Wireshark.
3. Running Wireshark
When you run the Wireshark program, you’ll get a startup screen that looks something like
the screen below. Different versions of Wireshark will have different startup screens – so don’t
panic if yours doesn’t look exactly like the screen below! The Wireshark documentation states
“As Wireshark runs on many different platforms with many different window managers,
different styles applied and there are different versions of the underlying GUI toolkit used,
your screen might look different from the provided screenshots. But as there are no real
differences in functionality these screenshots should still be well understandable.” Well said.

Figure 2: Initial Wireshark Screen

There’s not much interesting on this screen. But note that under the Capture section, there is
a list of so-called interfaces. The computer we’re taking these screenshots from has just one
real interface – “Wi-Fi en0,” which is the interface for Wi-Fi access. All packets to/from this

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computer will pass through the Wi-Fi interface, so it’s here where we want to capture packets.
On a Mac, double click on this interface (or on another computer locate the interface on
startup page through which you are getting Internet connectivity, e.g., mostly likely a WiFi or
Ethernet interface, and select that interface.

Let’s take Wireshark out for a spin! If you click on one of these interfaces to start packet
capture (i.e., for Wireshark to begin capturing all packets being sent to/from that interface), a
screen like the one below will be displayed, showing information about the packets being
captured. Once you start packet capture, you can stop it by using the Capture pull down
menu and selecting Stop.

command
menus

display filter
specification

listing of
captured
packets

details of
selected
packet
header

packet content
in hexadecimal
and ASCII

Figure 3: Wireshark Graphical User Interface, during packet capture and analysis

This looks more interesting! The Wireshark interface has five major components:
• The command menus are standard pulldown menus located at the top of the window.
Of interest to us now are the File and Capture menus. The File menu allows you to
save captured packet data or open a file containing previously captured packet data,
and exit the Wireshark application. The Capture menu allows you to begin packet
capture.
• The packet-listing window displays a one-line summary for each packet captured,
including the packet number (assigned by Wireshark; this is not a packet number
contained in any protocol’s header), the time at which the packet was captured, the

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packet’s source and destination addresses, the protocol type, and protocol-specific
information contained in the packet. The packet listing can be sorted according to any
of these categories by clicking on a column name. The protocol type field lists the
highest-level protocol that sent or received this packet, i.e., the protocol that is the
source or ultimate sink for this packet.
• The packet-header details window provides details about the packet selected
(highlighted) in the packet-listing window. (To select a packet in the packet-listing
window, place the cursor over the packet’s one-line summary in the packet-listing
window and click with the left mouse button.). These details include information
about the Ethernet frame (assuming the packet was sent/received over an Ethernet
interface) and IP datagram that contains this packet. The amount of Ethernet and IP-
layer detail displayed can be expanded or minimized by clicking on the plus minus
boxes to the left of the Ethernet frame or IP datagram line in the packet details
window. If the packet has been carried over TCP or UDP, TCP or UDP details will
also be displayed, which can similarly be expanded or minimized. Finally, details
about the highest-level protocol that sent or received this packet are also provided.
• The packet-contents window displays the entire contents of the captured frame, in
both ASCII and hexadecimal format.
• Towards the top of the Wireshark graphical user interface, is the packet display filter
field, into which a protocol name or other information can be entered in order to filter
the information displayed in the packet-listing window (and hence the packet-header
and packet-contents windows). In the example below, we’ll use the packet-display filter
field to have Wireshark hide (not display) packets except those that correspond to
HTTP messages.
4. Taking Wireshark for a Test Run
The best way to learn about any new piece of software is to try it out! We’ll assume that your
computer is connected to the Internet via a wired Ethernet interface. Indeed, I recommend
that you do this first lab on a computer that has a wired Ethernet connection, rather than just
a wireless connection.
Task 1: Do the following (Take screenshots to answer the question in task 2)
1. Start up your favorite web browser, which will display your selected homepage.
2. Start up the Wireshark software. You will initially see a window similar to that shown
in Figure 2. Wireshark has not yet begun capturing packets.
3. To begin packet capture, select the Capture pull down menu and select Interfaces. This
will cause the “Wireshark: Capture Interfaces” window to be displayed, as shown in
Figure 4.

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Figure 4: Wireshark Capture Interface Window

4. You’ll see a list of the interfaces on your computer as well as a count of the packets that
have been observed on that interface so far. Click on Start for the interface on which
you want to begin packet capture (in the case, the Gigabit network Connection).
Packet capture will now begin - Wireshark is now capturing all packets being
sent/received from/by your computer!
5. Once you begin packet capture, a window similar to that shown in Figure 3 will
appear. This window shows the packets being captured. By selecting Capture
pulldown menu and selecting Stop, you can stop packet capture. But don’t stop packet
capture yet. Let’s capture some interesting packets first. To do so, we’ll need to
generate some network traffic. Let’s do so using a web browser, which will use the
HTTP protocol that we will study in detail in class to download content from a
website.
6. While Wireshark is running, enter the URL:
http://gaia.cs.umass.edu/wireshark-labs/INTRO-wireshark-file1.html
and have that page displayed in your browser. In order to display this page, your
browser will contact the HTTP server at gaia.cs.umass.edu and exchange HTTP
messages with the server in order to download this page, as discussed in section 2.2 of
the text. The Ethernet frames containing these HTTP messages (as well as all other
frames passing through your Ethernet adapter) will be captured by Wireshark.
7. After your browser has displayed the INTRO-wireshark-file1.html page (it is a simple
one line of congratulations), stop Wireshark packet capture by selecting stop in the
Wireshark capture window. The main Wireshark window should now look similar to
Figure 3. You now have live packet data that contains all protocol messages exchanged
between your computer and other network entities! The HTTP message exchanges
with the gaia.cs.umass.edu web server should appear somewhere in the listing of
packets captured. But there will be many other types of packets displayed as well (see,
e.g., the many different protocol types shown in the Protocol column in Figure 3). Even
though the only action you took was to download a web page, there were evidently
many other protocols running on your computer that are unseen by the user. We’ll
learn much more about these protocols as we progress through the text! For now, you
should just be aware that there is often much more going on than “meet’s the eye”!

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8. Type in “http” (without the quotes, and in lower case – all protocol names are in lower
case in Wireshark) into the display filter specification window at the top of the main
Wireshark window. Then select Apply (to the right of where you entered “http”). This
will cause only HTTP message to be displayed in the packet-listing window.
9. Find the HTTP GET message that was sent from your computer to the
gaia.cs.umass.edu HTTP server. (Look for an HTTP GET message in the “listing of
captured packets” portion of the Wireshark window (see Figure 3) that shows “GET”
followed by the gaia.cs.umass.edu URL that you entered. When you select the HTTP
GET message, the Ethernet frame, IP datagram, TCP segment, and HTTP message
header information will be displayed in the packet-header window2. By clicking on ‘+’
and ‘-‘ right-pointing and down-pointing arrowheads to the left side of the packet
details window, minimize the amount of Frame, Ethernet, Internet Protocol, and
Transmission Control Protocol information displayed. Maximize the amount
information displayed about the HTTP protocol. Your Wireshark display should now
look roughly as shown in Figure 5. (Note, in particular, the minimized amount of
protocol information for all protocols except HTTP, and the maximized amount of
protocol information for HTTP in the packet-header window).
10. Exit Wireshark

Figure 5: Wireshark window after step 9

2
Recall that the HTTP GET message that is sent to the gaia.cs.umass.edu web server is contained within a TCP
segment, which is contained (encapsulated) in an IP datagram, which is encapsulated in an Ethernet frame. If this
process of encapsulation isn’t quite clear yet, review section 1.5 in the text

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5. What to hand in
The goal of this first lab was primarily to introduce you to Wireshark. The following questions
will demonstrate that you’ve been able to get Wireshark up and running, and have explored
some of its capabilities.
Task 2: Answer the following questions, based on your Wireshark experimentation (with
screenshots taken in Task 1):

1. List 3 different protocols that appear in the protocol column in the unfiltered packet-
listing window in step 7 above.
2. How long did it take from when the HTTP GET message was sent until the HTTP OK
reply was received? (By default, the value of the Time column in the packet-listing
window is the amount of time, in seconds, since Wireshark tracing began. To display
the Time field in time-of-day format, select the Wireshark View pull down menu, then
select Time Display Format, then select Time-of-day.)
3. What is the Internet address of the gaia.cs.umass.edu (also known as www-
net.cs.umass.edu)? What is the Internet address of your computer?
4. Print the two HTTP messages (GET and OK) referred to in question 2 above. To do so,
select Print from the Wireshark File command menu, and select the “Selected Packet
Only” and “Print as displayed” radial buttons, and then click OK.

C. REQUIREMENTS & ASSESSMENTS

▪ Students learn and practice according to instructions, in registered groups.
▪ Report content includes answers, explanations, code, screenshots, or video demos.
▪ Report file:
o File .PDF.
o File name format: [Classcode]-LabX_StudentID1_StudentID2.
o For example: [CS4283. O21.CTTT.1]-Lab1_1852xxxx_1852yyyy.
o Do not copy.

D. REFERENCES
The lab is based on Wireshark Lab: Getting Started - Supplement to Computer Networking: A
Top-Down Approach, 7th ed., J.F Kurose and K.W Ross.

END!

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