With Wireshark you use display filters to choose which packets you monitor from your network and use them to help your troubleshooting process. While all of this sounds quite complicated it is actually quite simple in practice. Once this packet information has been pulled from the network it can be used to create graphs and charts to develop a clear perspective of activity across the network. This data allows the user to generate insights into what processes are happening within packets in real-time or historically. Wireshark takes data from packet transfers across your network and displays it in a format that you can read. Wireshark is first and foremost a network analyzer that is used to conduct deep packet analysis. What is Wireshark?īefore we break down how to monitor network traffic we’re going to look at what Wireshark is. In this article we’re going to look at how you can use WireShark to monitor network traffic.

Network administrators in SMEs and large organizations have been using WireShark to troubleshoot network faults and access for unauthorized programs. Wireshark has developed a reputation as a trusty packet analysis tool that is lightweight and easy to use. If you were to ask network administrators about the most famous network analyzer in the world, you’d be hard pressed to find a professional who wouldn’t say Wireshark.

Install wireshark on mac