Ethereal-users: Re: [Ethereal-users] ethereal saving as dat file

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From: Guy Harris <gharris@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Wed, 13 Apr 2005 11:47:36 -0700
Ankur Aggarwal wrote:

I am also trying to do a similar exercise. Instead of the ethereal dumping a binary .apc file,

Ethereal can't save files in Airopeek format; it doesn't have any code to do so.

I would like it to publish a .csv file. (this is already supported in aeropeek)

1) Where do I make changes so that I can get it?

I don't know whether 0.10.10 has this, but the current source in the development tree supports "as CSV" as a submenu item under the "Export" menu item in the "File" menu.

2) how can I fix the definition of each of the field?

I.e., how do you control what values are written out?

It writes out the columns that are displayed in the packet list; it doesn't support writing arbitrary data values, just those that can be displayed there, such as source and destination addresses.

I have been using aeropeek for the wireless captures and have been trying recently to migrate to ethereal.

If you want to migrate from Airopeek to Ethereal for *capturing* wireless traffic, you might want to think about migrating from Windows to an operating system that isn't quite as unfriendly towards applications whose developers don't have the resources to write their own wireless card drivers, as Ethereal is such an application - we don't do our own wireless card drivers, and I doubt we ever will.

I.e., if you want to capture non-data 802.11 frames such as management or control frames, or you want to capture traffic for a BSS other than the one with which you're associated - or, depending on the type of wireless card you have, even if you just want to capture traffic other than traffic your machine receives or sends - you would have to switch to Linux or one of the free-software BSDs.

This is one of the major stumbling block which I am facing. Apart from that, How do I interface atheroes or some other wireless card to this software.

By either

1) writing your own driver for the card, complete with support for monitor mode, and writing utilities to put the card into monitor mode (and modifying WinPcap and Ethereal as necessary to use it, including support for getting 802.11 rather than fake Ethernet headers and getting radio information if you're interested);

2) abandoning all hope of capturing non-data packets, of getting any "radio" information (signal strength, etc.) per packet, or of getting the raw 802.11 headers rather than fake Ethernet headers, and not capturing in monitor mode;

	3) abandoning Windows and using Linux or one of the free-software BSDs.

(Yes, "abandon all hope" is part of the translation of "Lasciate ogni speranza, voi ch'entracte". There are those who would argue that, if you start trying to capture wireless traffic on Windows with an application that doesn't come with its own wireless driver, you are entering the location famed for having "Lasciate ogni speranza, voi ch'entracte" above its gates....) (No pun intended with "gates", although that does bring to mind

	http://www.fourmilab.ch/documents/top10.html

.)

See

	http://wiki.ethereal.com/CaptureSetup_2fWLAN

for information on 802.11 captures on various OSes.