Ethereal-users: Re: [Ethereal-users] Ethereal 0.9.16 SSL & HPUX IPF

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From: Guy Harris <guy@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Wed, 12 Nov 2003 14:36:51 -0800

On Nov 12, 2003, at 2:21 AM, Durai wrote:

                I built ethereal 0.9.16 with SSL ( --with-ssl=<DIR> ) static library. Also I built without SSL library (static). But  the binaries tethereal, .. has same size in both build. 
 
My question is :
 
1) How to ensure whether SSL is enabled perfectly with ethereal?
 
2) Is there any testing method to test the SSL functionality in ethereal?

The only thing that "--with-ssl" does is link with a crypto library that comes with SSL libraries; it does not affect Ethereal's ability to dissect SSL (i.e., it doesn't make the SSL dissector more capable).

It's a somewhat poorly named option. It exists only to cause Ethereal to be linked with "-lcrypto" in order to make it work with some versions of the UCD SNMP or Net-SNMP libraries; Ethereal uses those libraries only as helpers for reading MIB files and using them to improve the dissection of SNMP, but, as those libraries are full SNMP libraries, they include a lot of functionality that Ethereal doesn't use, and some of that functionality requires encryption support, so, to link with those versions of the SNMP library, you have to link with -lcrypto *even though Ethereal itself uses none of the functions in -lcrypto*.

I think it'd be great if we could make that option not be necessary. The configure script should see whether you can link with the SNMP library without "-lcrypto" and, if not, it should automatically find the crypto library (or let you specify where it is, with a "--with-lcrypto=" option) and arrange to link Ethereal with it, just as it does for some *other* libraries that the SNMP library requires ("-lkstat" on Solaris, "-ldes425" on some versions of Red Hat Linux).