Wireshark-dev: Re: [Wireshark-dev] Wireshark and real-time network issue detection?

From: Lars Ruoff <Lars.Ruoff@xxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Mon, 30 Oct 2006 15:32:02 +0100

Hi,

frederic heem wrote:
> Hi,
> Did you have a look at www.snort.org ? It may be what you are looking for.

I had a look at it (although a short one i admit).
From what i can see from a first glance,
- snort provides nearly no means of decoding (and thus creating rules for) higher level protocols beyond transport layer? - snort's features for having user-defined decoding extensions are very limited? - i can't make rules that track conversations and do conversation-statefull statistics ?
Wireshark provides all these features.
Also, it is easy to add a new dissector to Wireshark in case i would like to detect issues on a proprietary protocol for example. Also, keep in mind that i want to save the *entire* network traffic that was going on at the time i had the problem, not only the packets i use for detection of the problem.
But i don't want to log *all* network traffic over all time.

Think of my RTP lost packets example again. If there is an easy way to do that with snort, i'd love to learn it.

Lars


frederic heem wrote:
Hi,
Did you have a look at www.snort.org ? It may be what you are looking for.
Frederic Heem.


Alle 15:03, lunedì 30 ottobre 2006, Lars Ruoff ha scritto:
Hi list,

I wonder if Wireshark could be extended to provide real-time network
issue detection and if there was any interest in the community to
implement this feature.

Let me explain.
What i would like to have is the following:
Wireshark (tshark to be precise) would be run from another application
(let's call it the Monitor application). There would be a form of
interprocess communication between Wireshark and the latter.
Wireshark would capture packets, decode them and run certain analysis
modules (console style "tap-listeners", as can be activated via the -z
option).
The analysis modules would be designed to detect alarm conditions that
correspond to a certain network troubleshooting issue, for example,
think of a module that monitors RTP voice conversations and reports
whenever there is consecutive packet loss exceeding some threshold.
Whenever an alarm condition is met, Wireshark would notify the Monitor
application, and the latter would save the coresponding capture files.
Wireshark would be run in multiple files option, but the Monitor would
erase every written file after a while if no alarm condition has been
met during that time. Only the capture files containing alarm conditions
would be saved.
The goal is to have the whole thing running over several days/weeks
without filling up the HDD with unnecessary files.

In fact i already have implemented an application that does just that!
It was back on Ethereal 0.10.3 and i had to modify Ethereal in a few ways:
- Include a form of interprocess communication with the calling Monitor.
(was done using Windows IPC, certainly not a good choice, but it was the
fastest possible way for me to do), including an ABI for the monitoring
taps to use it.
- Make Ethereal report whenever it switched to a new capture file.
(- Mayeb other things i don't remember any more)

Problems i had to cope with:
- Ethereal was leaking memory which caused problems when running for
several days. My workaround was to have Monitor relaunch Ethereal every
now and then.

Obviously, keeping up with Wireshark's release frequency is difficult
for me.
That is why i'm asking wether there would be interest in redesigning,
adding and maintaining the Wireshark related part to the Wireshark
source tree?

best regards,
Lars Ruoff
_______________________________________________
Wireshark-dev mailing list
Wireshark-dev@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.wireshark.org/mailman/listinfo/wireshark-dev


______________________________________________________________________________

--- NOTICE ---

CONFIDENTIALITY - This  email  and  any  attachments  are confidential and are
intended  for  the  addressee  only.   If  you  have  received this message by
mistake,  please  contact us immediately and then delete the message from your
system.  You  must  not copy, distribute, disclose or act upon the contents of
this email. Thank you.

PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION  (Law  by  Decree  30.06.2003  n. 196) - Personal and
corporate  data  submitted  will  be used in a correct, transparent and lawful
manner. The data collected will be processed in paper or computerized form for
the performance of contractual  and  lawful  obligations  as  well  as for the
effective management of business relationship. Data may be disclosed, in Italy
or abroad, for the purpose above mentioned to third  parties  which  cooperate
with Telsey, agents, banks, factoring companies,  credit recovering companies,
credit  insurance  companies,  professional  and  consultants,  and   shipping
companies. In relation to the same purposes, data  may  be  processed  by  the
following  classes  of  executors  or  processors:  management; administration
department; logistics  and  purchase  department; sales department; post sales
department quality department; R&D department; IT department; legal department.
The  data  processor  is  Telsey S.p.A.  The data subject may exercise all the
rights set forth in art. 7 of Law by Decree 30.06.2003  n. 196 as reported  in
in the following link http://www.telsey.it/privacy.jsp.
______________________________________________________________________________
798t8RfNa6Dl8Ilf
_______________________________________________
Wireshark-dev mailing list
Wireshark-dev@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.wireshark.org/mailman/listinfo/wireshark-dev