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Great Open Source Software to Resolve Network Issues via Packet Sniffing
July 27, 2021

Great Open Source Software to Resolve Network Issues via Packet Sniffing

Albert Chen | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with Wireshark

Wireshark is used at the IT department of our company and those with a lot of development and IT experience. It's being used to troubleshoot when software or script communication fails and troubleshoot network-related issues. It's also being used when we suspect there may be a security flaw and need to analyze packets for potential problems.
  • Inspect Network Packets
  • Troubleshoot Software Issues
  • Solve Router and Switch Problems
  • Not for the Novice User
  • Trouble Reading Some Types Encrypted Traffic
  • Interface Could Use an Update
  • Analyzing a Wide Variety of Protocols Across the Network
  • Open Source and Free to Access
  • Debugs Network and Script Problems
  • Save Time Solving Network Issues In-House
  • Prevented Potential Script and Software Issues
  • Beefed Up Security at our Business by Analyzing Packets made by Rouge Software
We tried Savvius Omnipeek, it has a better interface than Wireshark and a much less intense learning curve due to the improved UI it offers. It has better analyzing capability than Wireshark and the triggers are a nice feature it offers. However, it is not free and open-source software. Therefore updates are subject to the company and potential issues may arise.

Netcat is frequently used by us due to its wide adoption, command-line based, and very ease of use. However, it has an even more steep learning curve compared to Wireshark and UI is non-existent.

Do you think Wireshark delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Wireshark's feature set?

Yes

Did Wireshark live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Wireshark go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Wireshark again?

Yes

Wireshark is excellent for analyzing traffic across your computer or network. When there are communication issues between software, scripts, router, and switches, Wireshark will help troubleshoot the issue at hand. Wireshark is great at analyzing a wide variety of protocols and packets that are transferred. However, there is a really steep learning curve bunched up with an interface that could be modernized.