Network Analysis Using Wireshark Cookbook

Over 80 recipes to analyze and troubleshoot network problems using Wireshark

Overview

• Place Wireshark in the network and configure it for effective network analysis
• Use Wireshark’s powerful statistical tools and expert system for pinpointing network problems
• Use Wireshark for troubleshooting network performance, applications, and security problems in the network

In Detail

Is your network slow? Are your users complaining? Disconnections? IP Telephony problems? Video freezes? Network analysis is the process of isolating these problems and fixing them, and Wireshark has long been the most popular network analyzer for achieving this goal. Based on hundreds of solved cases, Network Analysis using Wireshark Cookbook provides you with practical recipes for effective Wireshark network analysis to analyze and troubleshoot your network.

“Network analysis using Wireshark Cookbook” highlights the operations of Wireshark as a network analyzer tool. This book provides you with a set of practical recipes to help you solve any problems in your network using a step-by-step approach.

“Network analysis using Wireshark Cookbook” starts by discussing the capabilities of Wireshark, such as the statistical tools and the expert system, capture and display filters, and how to use them. The book then guides you through the details of the main networking protocols, that is, Ethernet, LAN switching, and TCP/IP, and then discusses the details of application protocols and their behavior over the network. Among the application protocols that are discussed in the book are standard Internet protocols like HTTP, mail protocols, FTP, and DNS, along with the behavior of databases, terminal server clients, Citrix, and other applications that are common in the IT environment.

In a bottom-up troubleshooting approach, the book goes up through the layers of the OSI reference model explaining how to resolve networking problems. The book starts from Ethernet and LAN switching, through IP, and then on to TCP/UDP with a focus on TCP performance problems. It also focuses on WLAN security. Then, we go through application behavior issues including HTTP, mail, DNS, and other common protocols. The book finishes with a look at network forensics and how to search and find security problems that might harm the network.

What you will learn from this book

• Configure Wireshark for effective network troubleshooting
• Set up various display and capture filters
• Use basic statistical tools that provide you with “who is talking” tables, conversations, and HTTP statistics
• Master both the standard and advanced features of IO graphs
• Use the expert system to pinpoint various types of events that might influence the behavior of your network
• Learn about Wi-Fi testing and how to resolve problems related to wireless LANs
• Explore performance issues in TCP/IP
• Explore failures due to delays and jitters in the network
• Find and resolve problems due to bandwidth, throughput, and packet loss
• Identify and locate faults in communication applications including HTTP, FTP, mail, and various other applications – Microsoft OS problems, databases, voice, and video over IP
• Identify and locate faults in detecting security failures and security breaches in the network

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Introducing Wireshark
Chapter 2: Using Capture Filters
Chapter 3: Using Display Filters
Chapter 4: Using Basic Statistics Tools
Chapter 5: Using Advanced Statistics Tools
Chapter 6: Using the Expert Infos Window
Chapter 7: Ethernet, LAN Switching, and Wireless LAN
Chapter 8: ARP and IP Analysis
Chapter 9: UDP/TCP Analysis
Chapter 10: HTTP and DNS
Chapter 11: Analyzing Enterprise Applications’ Behavior
Chapter 12: SIP, Multimedia, and IP Telephony
Chapter 13: Troubleshooting Bandwidth and Delay Problems
Chapter 14: Understanding Network Security

Appendix: Links, Tools, and Reading