Ethereal-users: Re: [Ethereal-users] IPX

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From: Guy Harris <gharris@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 22 Mar 2001 00:48:21 -0800
On Tue, Mar 20, 2001 at 03:08:42PM +0100, Benjamin HOELLINGER wrote:
> I want to use NetXray 3.0.3 on a LAN to identify (source and
> destination) IPX packets that are send by PC pluged on a switch. I've
> tried to analyse packets but all destination adress are "Broadcast".

I suspect that "plugged into a switch" explains that - if a machine is
plugged into a switch, and the switch port isn't set to "mirror" traffic
on other ports of the switch, then a packet capture program, whether
it's Ethereal, tcpdump, snoop, Microsoft Network Monitor, NetXRay,
Sniffer, etc., will only be able to see:

	packets sent to the machine on which it's running;

	packets sent from the machine on which it's running;

	broadcast packets;

	multicast packets sent to a multicast group of which the machine
	on which the packet capture program is running is a member;

because other packets on the network *simply won't be sent to the switch
port into which the machine is plugged*.