Wireshark is a tool that analyzes these network packets to identify their speed of transfer, any repetitive loss of packets that can point to a faulty device, excess traffic that could raise the alarms of an imminent attack, and more. All data within a network is sent through these data packets. The device receiving these packets is responsible for ordering them correctly before responding or displaying as the case may be. The data transmitted between devices is divided into small packets and sent across the network. You might wonder how this process ties in with Wireshark. Though this may seem like a lengthy process, technological advancements have reduced the entire process to about 50 milliseconds, which is less than the time it takes for you to blink! Finally, your browser renders this data and displays it for you. Once the device is identified, it responds with all the information your device had requested, and it passes through routers and gateways and reaches your device. With it, your request for information is routed to that specific device through a series of routers and gateways, depending on the location of the device that requested it and the device that contains it. The URL that you enter is mapped to this IP address. Every device that’s connected to the Internet has a unique IP address. These numbers help identify a specific device on the network.

This server has a table where it maps each URL with its corresponding IP address.Īn IP address is a unique set of numbers and possibly hexadecimal values depending on the version you’re using. Wireshark is a handy tool for analyzing your network traffic and gathering a ton of useful information from it, such as the performance of your network, the health of devices, and possibly even a cyber attack.Įvery time you open your browser and type a URL, what happens is your computer takes the URL to a server called the Domain Naming Server.

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