Ethereal-users: RE: [Ethereal-users] XBOX live packet analyzer?

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From: "Steve DeLaney" <steve.delaney@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 5 Feb 2004 16:26:01 -0800
I think you hit the nail on the head.  The Linksys WAP/router is a switch.  the xbox live traffic is switched between xbox and cable modem, and not broadcast to ethereal machine.

I was thinking to cascade using a 2nd switch, but I'm afraid this won't achieve the intended results.   

unfortunately I've replaced my hubs with switches long ago, so I'll have to scrounge up a hub!


-steve



-----Original Message-----
From: Guy Harris [mailto:guy@xxxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Thursday, February 05, 2004 4:15 PM
To: Ethereal user support
Subject: Re: [Ethereal-users] XBOX live packet analyzer?



On Feb 5, 2004, at 4:01 PM, Steve DeLaney wrote:

> My home network looks like this:
>  
>  
>  
>                                                                         
> cable
>                                                                         
> modem
>                                                                         
>   ^
>                                                                         
>   |
>                                                                         
>   v
> xbox <-> 802.11b game adaptor  <-> Linksys 802.11b WAP/nat router <->  
> wired 10/100 network
>  ^                                                                      
>   ^
>  |                                                                      
>   |
>  v                                                                      
>   v
> voice                                                                 e 
> thereal
> headset                                                                 
>  on
> and                                                                   w 
> indows
> game
> controls

What does the "wired 10/100 network" consist of?

I.e., is there some Ethernet box of some sort into which the Windows  
machine running Ethereal, and the cable modem, are both plugged?

If so, then:

> the "tap point" for ethereal is my laptop on the wired 10/100  
> network.  Since every packet must pass through the cable modem, I  
> believe this configuration should let me capture packets for xbox.

...your belief would be correct only if all packets going to the cable  
modem had to pass through that Ethernet box in a fashion that would  
allow the machine running Ethereal to capture them.

However, if the Ethernet box is a switch (which includes "switching  
hubs" - apparently many cheap "hubs" these days are actually "switching  
hubs", which are switches, not passive hubs - and many "broadband  
routers", which have switches built into them), that's not the case - a  
switch won't pass all traffic through it to all ports.

And if the box is a 10/100 dual-speed hub, those behave as if they had  
a 10 Mb hub and a 100Mb hub connected together by a switch, meaning  
that 10Mb traffic won't be seen on 100Mb ports unless

	the traffic is being unicast to a machine on a 100Mb port;

	the traffic is broadcast or multicast;

and vice versa.

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