Lab - Use Wireshark to Examine Ethernet Frames Topology

Objectives
Part 1: Examine the Header Fields in an Ethernet II Frame
Part 2: Use Wireshark to Capture and Analyze Ethernet Frames

Background / Scenario
When upper layer protocols communicate with each other, data flows down the Open Systems
Interconnection (OSI) layers and is encapsulated into a Layer 2 frame. The frame composition is dependent
on the media access type. For example, if the upper layer protocols are TCP and IP and the media access is
Ethernet, then the Layer 2 frame encapsulation will be Ethernet II. This is typical for a LAN environment.
When learning about Layer 2 concepts, it is helpful to analyze frame header information. In the first part of this
lab, you will review the fields contained in an Ethernet II frame. In Part 2, you will use Wireshark to capture
and analyze Ethernet II frame header fields for local and remote traffic.

Required Resources
• 1 PC (Windows with internet access and with Wireshark installed)

Instructions

Part 1: Examine the Header Fields in an Ethernet II Frame

In Part 1, you will examine the header fields and content in an Ethernet II frame. A Wireshark capture will be
used to examine the contents in those fields.

Step 1: Review the Ethernet II header field descriptions and lengths.

Destination Source Frame

Preamble Address Address Type Data FCS

8 Bytes 6 Bytes 6 Bytes 2 Bytes 46 – 1500 Bytes 4 Bytes

Step 2: Examine the network configuration of the PC.

In this example, this PC host IP address is 192.168.1.147 and the default gateway has an IP address of
192.168.1.1.
C:\> ipconfig /all

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Lab - Use Wireshark to Examine Ethernet Frames

Ethernet adapter Ethernet:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :

Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel(R) 82579LM Gigabit Network Connection
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : F0-1F-AF-50-FD-C8
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::58c5:45f2:7e5e:29c2%11(Preferred)
IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.147(Preferred)
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Friday, September 6, 2019 11:08:36 AM
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Saturday, September 7, 2019 11:08:36 AM
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
<output omitted>

Step 3: Examine Ethernet frames in a Wireshark capture.

The screenshots of the Wireshark capture below shows the packets generated by a ping being issued from a
PC host to its default gateway. A filter has been applied to Wireshark to view the ARP and ICMP protocols
only. ARP stands for address resolution protocol. ARP is a communication protocol that is used for
determining the MAC address that is associated with the IP address. The session begins with an ARP query
and reply for the MAC address of the gateway router, followed by four ping requests and replies.
This screenshot highlights the frame details for an ARP request.

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Lab - Use Wireshark to Examine Ethernet Frames

This screenshot highlights the frame details for an ARP reply.

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Lab - Use Wireshark to Examine Ethernet Frames

Step 4: Examine the Ethernet II header contents of an ARP request.

The following table takes the first frame in the Wireshark capture and displays the data in the Ethernet II
header fields.

Field Value Description

Preamble Not shown in capture This field contains synchronizing bits, processed by the
NIC hardware.
Destination Address Broadcast (ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff) Layer 2 addresses for the frame. Each address is 48 bits
long, or 6 octets, expressed as 12 hexadecimal digits, 0-
9,A-F.
A common format is 12:34:56:78:9A:BC.
The first six hex numbers indicate the manufacturer of the
Source Address Dell_50:fd:c8
network interface card (NIC), the last six hex numbers are
(f0:1f:af:50:fd:c8)
the serial number of the NIC.
The destination address may be a broadcast, which
contains all ones, or a unicast. The source address is
always unicast.
Frame Type 0x0806 For Ethernet II frames, this field contains a hexadecimal
value that is used to indicate the type of upper-layer
protocol in the data field. There are numerous upper-layer
protocols supported by Ethernet II. Two common frame
types are these:
Value Description
0x0800 IPv4 Protocol
0x0806 Address Resolution Protocol (ARP)

Data ARP Contains the encapsulated upper-level protocol. The data

field is between 46 – 1,500 bytes.
FCS Not shown in capture Frame Check Sequence, used by the NIC to identify errors
during transmission. The value is computed by the sending
device, encompassing frame addresses, type, and data
field. It is verified by the receiver.

What is significant about the contents of the destination address field?

All hosts on the LAN will receive this broadcast frame. The host with the IP address of 192.168.1.1 (default
gateway) will send a unicast reply to the source (PC host). This reply contains the MAC address of the NIC of the
Type your
default answers here.
gateway

Why does the PC send out a broadcast ARP prior to sending the first ping request?

The PC cannot send a ping request to a host until it determines the destination
MAC address, so that it can build the frame header for that ping request. The ARP
Type your answers
broadcast is used tohere.
request the MAC address of the host with the IP address
contained in the ARP.

What is the MAC address of the source in the first frame?

Type your answers here.
It varies; in my case it is b4:2e:99:42:5d:9f from the source address

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Lab - Use Wireshark to Examine Ethernet Frames

What is the Vendor ID (OUI) of the Source NIC in the ARP reply?
It varies,
Type your in my case
answers its FiberhomeTel.
here.
What portion of the MAC address is the OUI?
Theyour
Type first 3answers
octets ofhere.
the MAC address indicate the OUI in my case its b4:2e:99
What is the NIC serial number of the source?
Type your answers here.
It may vary, in my case its 42:5d:9f.
Part 2: Use Wireshark to Capture and Analyze Ethernet Frames
In Part 2, you will use Wireshark to capture local and remote Ethernet frames. You will then examine the
information that is contained in the frame header fields.

Step 1: Determine the IP address of the default gateway on your PC.

Open a Windows command prompt.

Open a command prompt window and issue the ipconfig command.

What is the IP address of the PC default gateway?
Type your answers here.
192.168.1.1
Close a Windows command prompt.

Step 2: Start capturing traffic on your PC NIC.

a. Open Wireshark to start data capture.
b. Observe the traffic that appears in the packet list window.

Step 3: Filter Wireshark to display only ICMP traffic.

You can use the filter in Wireshark to block visibility of unwanted traffic. The filter does not block the capture
of unwanted data; it only filters what you want to display on the screen. For now, only ICMP traffic is to be
displayed.
In the Wireshark Filter box, type icmp. The box should turn green if you typed the filter correctly. If the box is
green, click Apply (the right arrow) to apply the filter.

Step 4: From the command prompt window, ping the default gateway of your PC.
Open a Windows command prompt.

From the command window, ping the default gateway using the IP address that you recorded in Step 1.
Close Windows command prompt.

Step 5: Stop capturing traffic on the NIC.

Click the Stop Capturing Packets icon to stop capturing traffic.

Step 6: Examine the first Echo (ping) request in Wireshark.

The Wireshark main window is divided into three sections: the packet list pane (top), the Packet Details pane
(middle), and the Packet Bytes pane (bottom). If you selected the correct interface for packet capturing
previously, Wireshark should display the ICMP information in the packet list pane of Wireshark.
a. In the packet list pane (top section), click the first frame listed. You should see Echo (ping) request
under the Info heading. The line should now be highlighted.
b. Examine the first line in the packet details pane (middle section). This line displays the length of the
frame.
c. The second line in the packet details pane shows that it is an Ethernet II frame. The source and
destination MAC addresses are also displayed.

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Lab - Use Wireshark to Examine Ethernet Frames

Questions:

What is the MAC address of the PC NIC?

Type
in myyour
caseanswers here.
it is b4:2e:99:42:5d:9f
What is the default gateway’s MAC address?
Type your
in my answers
case here.
it is 6c:a4:d1:cd:72:20
d. You can click the greater than (>) sign at the beginning of the second line to obtain more information
about the Ethernet II frame.
Question:

What type of frame is displayed?

0x0800
Type oranswers
your an IPv4 here.
frame type.
e. The last two lines displayed in the middle section provide information about the data field of the frame.
Notice that the data contains the source and destination IPv4 address information.
Questions:

What is the source IP address?

Type
in myyour
caseanswers here.
it is 192.168.1.19
What is the destination IP address?
Type your answers here.
192.168.1.1
f. You can click any line in the middle section to highlight that part of the frame (hex and ASCII) in the
Packet Bytes pane (bottom section). Click the Internet Control Message Protocol line in the middle
section and examine what is highlighted in the Packet Bytes pane.
Question:

What do the last two highlighted octets spell?

Type
hi your answers here.
g. Click the next frame in the top section and examine an Echo reply frame. Notice that the source and
destination MAC addresses have reversed, because this frame was sent from the default gateway router
as a reply to the first ping.
Question:

What device and MAC address is displayed as the destination address?

Type your answers here.
b4:2e:99:42:5d:9f.

Step 7: Capture packets for a remote host.

a. Click the Start Capture icon to start a new Wireshark capture. You will receive a popup window asking if
you would like to save the previous captured packets to a file before starting a new capture. Click
Continue without Saving.
Open a Windows command prompt.

b. In a command prompt window, ping www.cisco.com.

Close a Windows command prompt.

c. Stop capturing packets.

d. Examine the new data in the packet list pane of Wireshark.
Questions:

In the first echo (ping) request frame, what are the source and destination MAC addresses?
Source:
Type your answers here.
Destination:
Type your answers here.
What are the source and destination IP addresses contained in the data field of the frame?

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Lab - Use Wireshark to Examine Ethernet Frames

Source:
Type your answers here.
b4:2e:99:42:5d:9f.
Destination:
Type your answers here.
6c-a4-d1-cd-72-20
Compare these addresses to the addresses you received in Step 6. The only address that changed is the
destination IP address. Why has the destination IP address changed, while the destination MAC address
remained the same?

Layer 2 frames never leave the LAN. When a ping is issued to a remote host, the source will use the default
gateway MAC address for the frame destination. The default gateway receives the packet, strips the Layer 2
frame
Type information
your answersfrom
here.the packet and then creates a new frame header with the MAC address of the next
hop. This process continues from router to router until the packet reaches its destination IP address.

Reflection Question
Wireshark does not display the preamble field of a frame header. What does the preamble contain?
Type your answers here.
The preamble field contains seven octets of alternating 1010 sequences, and one octet that signals the
End of Document

beginning of the frame, 10101011.

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