forked from osmocom/wireshark
611 lines
19 KiB
XML
611 lines
19 KiB
XML
<!-- WSUG Appendix Files -->
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<!-- $Id$ -->
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<appendix id="AppFiles">
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<title>Files and Folders</title>
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<section id="ChAppFilesCaptureFilesSection"><title>Capture Files</title>
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<para>
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To understand which information will remain available after
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the captured packets are saved to a capture file,
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it's helpful to know a bit about the capture file contents.
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</para>
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<para>
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Wireshark uses the libpcap file format as the default format to save
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captured packets, this format exists for a long time and it's pretty simple.
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However, it has some drawbacks: it's not extensible and lacks some
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information that would be really helpful (e.g. being able to add a comment
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to a packet "the problems start here" would be really nice).
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</para>
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<para>
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In addition to the libpcap format, Wireshark supports several different
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capture file formats. However, the problems described above also applies
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for these formats too.
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</para>
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<para>
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A new capture file format "PCAP Next Generation Dump File Format"
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is currently under development, which will fix these drawbacks.
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However, it still might take a while until the new file format is ready
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and Wireshark can use it.
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</para>
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<section id="ChIOFileContentSection"><title>Libpcap File Contents</title>
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<para>
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At the start of each libpcap capture file some basic information is stored
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like a magic number to identify the libpcap file format.
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The most interesting information of this file start is the link layer type
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(Ethernet, Token Ring, ...).
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</para>
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<para>
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The following data is saved for each packet:
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<itemizedlist>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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the timestamp with millisecond resolution
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</para>
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</listitem>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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the packet length as it was "on the wire"
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</para>
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</listitem>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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the packet length as it's saved in the file
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</para>
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</listitem>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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the packet's raw bytes
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</para>
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</listitem>
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</itemizedlist>
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A detailed description of the libpcap file format can be found at:
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<ulink url="http://wiki.wireshark.org/Development/LibpcapFileFormat"/>
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</para>
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</section>
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<section id="ChIOFileNotContentSection"><title>Not Saved in the Capture File</title>
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<para>
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Probably even more interesting for the everyday Wireshark usage is to know
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the things that are <command>not saved</command> in the capture file:
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<itemizedlist>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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current selections (selected packet, ...)
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</para>
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</listitem>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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name resolution information, see <xref
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linkend="ChAdvNameResolutionSection"/> for details
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<warning><title>Warning!</title>
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<para>
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The name resolution information is rebuild each time Wireshark is
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restarted so this information even might change when the capture file
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is reopened on the same machine later!
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</para>
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</warning>
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</para>
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</listitem>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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the number of packets dropped while capturing
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</para>
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</listitem>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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packet marks set with "Edit/Mark Packet"
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</para>
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</listitem>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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time references set with "Edit/Time Reference"
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</para>
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</listitem>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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the current display filter
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</para>
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</listitem>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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...
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</para>
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</listitem>
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</itemizedlist>
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</para>
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</section>
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</section>
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<section id="ChAppFilesConfigurationSection"><title>Configuration Files and Folders</title>
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<para>
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Wireshark uses a number of files and folders while it is running. Some
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of these reside in the personal configuration folder and are used to
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maintain information between runs of Wireshark, while some of them are
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maintained in system areas.
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</para>
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<tip><title>Tip</title>
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<para>A list of the folders Wireshark actually uses can be found under the
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<command>Folders</command> tab in the dialog box coming up, when you select
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<command>About Wireshark</command> from the <command>Help</command> menu.
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</para>
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</tip>
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<para>
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The content format of the configuration files is the same on all platforms.
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However, to match the different policies for Unix and windows platforms,
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different folders for these files are used.
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</para>
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<table id="AppFilesTabFolders" frame="none">
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<title>Configuration files and folders overview</title>
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<tgroup cols="4">
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<colspec colnum="1" colwidth="72pt"/>
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<colspec colnum="2" colwidth="80pt"/>
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<colspec colnum="3" colwidth="80pt"/>
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<thead>
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<row>
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<entry>File/Folder</entry>
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<entry>Description</entry>
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<entry>Unix/Linux folders</entry>
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<entry>Windows folders</entry>
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</row>
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</thead>
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<tbody>
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<row>
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<entry><command>preferences</command></entry>
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<entry>Settings from the Preferences dialog box.</entry>
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<entry>/etc/wireshark.conf, $HOME/.wireshark/preferences</entry>
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<entry>%WIRESHARK%\wireshark.conf, %APPDATA%\Wireshark\preferences</entry>
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</row>
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<row>
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<entry><command>recent</command></entry>
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<entry>Recent GUI settings (e.g. recent files lists).</entry>
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<entry>$HOME/.wireshark/recent</entry>
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<entry>%APPDATA%\Wireshark\recent</entry>
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</row>
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<row>
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<entry><command>cfilters</command></entry>
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<entry>Capture filters.</entry>
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<entry>$HOME/.wireshark/cfilters</entry>
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<entry>%WIRESHARK%\cfilters, %APPDATA%\Wireshark\cfilters</entry>
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</row>
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<row>
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<entry><command>dfilters</command></entry>
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<entry>Display filters.</entry>
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<entry>$HOME/.wireshark/dfilters</entry>
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<entry>%WIRESHARK%\dfilters, %APPDATA%\Wireshark\dfilters</entry>
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</row>
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<row>
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<entry><command>colorfilters</command></entry>
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<entry>Coloring rules.</entry>
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<entry>$HOME/.wireshark/colorfilters</entry>
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<entry>%WIRESHARK%\colorfilters, %APPDATA%\Wireshark\colorfilters</entry>
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</row>
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<row>
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<entry><command>disabled_protos</command></entry>
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<entry>Disabled protocols.</entry>
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<entry>$HOME/.wireshark/disabled_protos</entry>
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<entry>%WIRESHARK%\disabled_protos, %APPDATA%\Wireshark\disabled_protos</entry>
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</row>
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<row>
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<entry><command>ethers</command></entry>
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<entry>Ethernet name resolution.</entry>
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<entry>/etc/ethers, $HOME/.wireshark/ethers</entry>
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<entry>%WIRESHARK%\ethers, %APPDATA%\Wireshark\ethers</entry>
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</row>
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<row>
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<entry><command>manuf</command></entry>
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<entry>Ethernet name resolution.</entry>
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<entry>/etc/manuf, $HOME/.wireshark/manuf</entry>
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<entry>%WIRESHARK%\manuf, %APPDATA%\Wireshark\manuf</entry>
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</row>
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<row>
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<entry><command>hosts</command></entry>
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<entry>IPv4 and IPv6 name resolution.</entry>
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<entry>/etc/hosts, $HOME/.wireshark/hosts</entry>
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<entry>%WIRESHARK%\hosts, %APPDATA%\Wireshark\hosts</entry>
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</row>
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<row>
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<entry><command>ipxnets</command></entry>
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<entry>IPX name resolution.</entry>
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<entry>/etc/ipxnets, $HOME/.wireshark/ipxnets</entry>
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<entry>%WIRESHARK%\ipxnets, %APPDATA%\Wireshark\ipxnets</entry>
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</row>
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<row>
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<entry><command>plugins</command></entry>
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<entry>Plugin directories.</entry>
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<entry>/usr/share/wireshark/plugins,
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/usr/local/share/wireshark/plugins,
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$HOME/.wireshark/plugins
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</entry>
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<entry>%WIRESHARK%\plugins\<version>,
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%APPDATA%\Wireshark\plugins</entry>
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</row>
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<row>
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<entry><command>temp</command></entry>
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<entry>Temporary files.</entry>
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<entry>Environment: TMPDIR</entry>
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<entry>Environment: TMPDIR or TEMP</entry>
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</row>
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</tbody>
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</tgroup>
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</table>
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<note><title>Windows folders</title>
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<para>
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%APPDATA% points to the personal configuration folder, e.g.:
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<filename>C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data</filename>
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(details can be found at: <xref linkend="ChWindowsProfiles"/>),
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</para>
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<para>
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%WIRESHARK% points to the Wireshark program folder, e.g.:
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<filename>C:\Program Files\Wireshark</filename>
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</para>
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</note>
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<note><title>Unix/Linux folders</title>
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<para>
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The <filename>/etc</filename> folder is the global Wireshark configuration
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folder. The folder actually used on your system
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may vary, maybe something like: <filename>/usr/local/etc</filename>.
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</para>
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<para>
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$HOME is usually something like: <filename>/home/<username></filename>
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</para>
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</note>
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<para>
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<variablelist>
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<varlistentry>
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<term><command>preferences/wireshark.conf</command></term>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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This file contains your Wireshark preferences,
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including defaults for capturing and displaying packets.
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It is a simple text file containing statements of the form:
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<programlisting>
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variable: value
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</programlisting>
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The settings from this file are
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read in at program start and written to disk when you press the
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Save button in the "Preferences" dialog box.
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</para>
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</listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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<varlistentry>
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<term><command>recent</command></term>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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This file contains various GUI related settings like the main window
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position and size, the recent files list and such.
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It is a simple text file containing statements of the form:
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<programlisting>
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variable: value
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</programlisting>
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It is read at program start and written at program exit.
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</para>
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</listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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<varlistentry><term><command>cfilters</command></term>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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This file contains all the capture filters that you have defined
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and saved. It consists of one or more lines, where each
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line has the following format:
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<programlisting>
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"<filter name>" <filter string>
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</programlisting>
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The settings from this file are read in at program start and written
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to disk when you press the Save button in the "Capture Filters" dialog
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box.
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</para>
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</listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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<varlistentry><term><command>dfilters</command></term>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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This file contains all the display filters that you have defined
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and saved. It consists of one or more lines, where each
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line has the following format:
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<programlisting>
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"<filter name>" <filter string>
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</programlisting>
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The settings from this file are read in at program start and written
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to disk when you press the Save button in the "Display Filters" dialog
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box.
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</para>
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</listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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<varlistentry>
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<term><command>colorfilters</command></term>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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This file contains all the color filters that you have
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defined and saved. It consists of one or more lines,
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where each line has the following format:
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<programlisting>
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@<filter name>@<filter string>
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@[<bg RGB(16-bit)>][<fg RGB(16-bit)>]
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</programlisting>
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</para>
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<para>
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The settings from this file are read in at program start and written
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to disk when you press the Save button in the "Coloring Rules" dialog
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box.
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</para>
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</listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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<varlistentry>
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<term><command>disabled_protos</command></term>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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Each line in this file specifies a disabled protocol name. The
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following are some examples:
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<programlisting>
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tcp
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udp
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</programlisting>
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</para>
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<para>
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The settings from this file are read in at program start and written
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to disk when you press the Save button in the "Enabled Protocols"
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dialog box.
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</para>
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</listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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<varlistentry>
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<term>
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<command>ethers</command>
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</term>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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When Wireshark is trying to translate Ethernet hardware
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addresses to names, it consults the files listed in
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<xref linkend="AppFilesTabFolders"/>.
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If an address is not found in /etc/ethers,
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Wireshark looks in $HOME/.wireshark/ethers
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</para>
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<para>
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Each line in these files consists of one hardware address and
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name separated by whitespace. The digits of hardware
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addresses are separated by colons (:), dashes (-) or
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periods(.). The following are some examples:
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<programlisting>
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ff-ff-ff-ff-ff-ff Broadcast
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c0-00-ff-ff-ff-ff TR_broadcast
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00.2b.08.93.4b.a1 Freds_machine
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</programlisting>
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The settings from this file are read in at program start and never
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written by Wireshark.
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</para>
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</listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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<varlistentry>
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<term><command>manuf</command></term>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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Wireshark uses the files listed in <xref linkend="AppFilesTabFolders"/>
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to translate the first three bytes of an Ethernet address into a
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manufacturers name. This file has the same format as the ethers
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file, except addresses are three bytes long.
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</para>
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<para>
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An example is:
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<programlisting>
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00:00:01 Xerox # XEROX CORPORATION
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</programlisting>
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</para>
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<para>
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The settings from this file are read in at program start and never
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written by Wireshark.
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</para>
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</listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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<varlistentry>
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<term><command>hosts</command></term>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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Wireshark uses the files listed in <xref linkend="AppFilesTabFolders"/>
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to translate IPv4 and IPv6 addresses into names.
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</para>
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<para>
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This file has the same format as the usual /etc/hosts file in Unix systems.
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</para>
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<para>
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An example is:
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<programlisting>
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# Comments must be prepended by the # sign!
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192.168.0.1 homeserver
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</programlisting>
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</para>
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<para>
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The settings from this file are read in at program start and never
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written by Wireshark.
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</para>
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</listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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<varlistentry>
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<term><command>ipxnets</command></term>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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Wireshark uses the files listed in <xref linkend="AppFilesTabFolders"/>
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to translate IPX network numbers into names.
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</para>
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<para>
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An example is:
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<programlisting>
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C0.A8.2C.00 HR
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c0-a8-1c-00 CEO
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00:00:BE:EF IT_Server1
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110f FileServer3
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</programlisting>
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</para>
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<para>
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The settings from this file are read in at program start and never
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written by Wireshark.
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</para>
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</listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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<varlistentry>
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<term><command>plugins</command> folder</term>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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Wireshark searches for plugins in the directories listed in
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<xref linkend="AppFilesTabFolders"/>.
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They are searched in the order listed.
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</para>
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</listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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<varlistentry>
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<term><command>temp</command> folder</term>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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If you start a new capture and don't specify a filename for it,
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Wireshark uses this directory to place that file in, see
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<xref linkend="ChCapCaptureFiles"/>.
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</para>
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</listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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</variablelist>
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</para>
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</section>
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<section id="ChWindowsFolder"><title>Windows folders</title>
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<para>
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Here you will find some details about the folders used in Wireshark
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on different Windows versions.
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</para>
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<para>
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As already mentioned, you can find the currently used folders in the
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<command>About Wireshark</command> dialog.
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</para>
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<section id="ChWindowsProfiles"><title>Windows profiles</title>
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<para>
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Windows uses some special directories to store user configuration files
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in, named the user profile. This can be confusing, as the default directory location
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changed from version to version and might also be different for English
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and internationalized versions of windows.
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</para>
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<note><title>Note!</title>
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<para>
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If you upgraded to a new windows version, your profile might
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be kept in the former location, so the defaults mentioned here might not
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apply.
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</para>
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</note>
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<para>
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The following guides
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you to the right place where to look for Wireshark's profile data.
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</para>
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<para>
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<variablelist>
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<varlistentry>
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<term><command>Vista</command></term>
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<listitem>
|
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<para>
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<filename>C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Wireshark</filename>
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</para>
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</listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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<varlistentry>
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<term><command>XP/2000</command></term>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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<filename>C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data</filename>,
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"Documents and Settings" and "Application Data" might be internationalized.
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</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><command>NT 4 (no longer supported by Wireshark)</command></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
<filename>C:\WINNT\Profiles\<username>\Application Data\Wireshark</filename>
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><command>ME/98 - with enabled user profiles (no longer supported by Wireshark)</command></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
In Windows ME and 98 you can enable separate user profiles. In that case,
|
|
something like:
|
|
<filename>C:\windows\Profiles\<username>\Application Data\Wireshark</filename>
|
|
is used.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><command>ME/98/95 (no longer supported by Wireshark)</command></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
The default in Windows ME/98/95 is: all users work with the same profile,
|
|
which is located at:
|
|
<filename>C:\windows\Application Data\Wireshark</filename>
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
</variablelist>
|
|
</para>
|
|
</section>
|
|
|
|
<section id="ChWindowsRoamingProfiles">
|
|
<title>Windows Vista/XP/2000/NT roaming profiles</title>
|
|
<para>
|
|
The following will only be applicable if you are using roaming profiles.
|
|
This might be the case, if you work in a Windows domain environment
|
|
(used in company networks). The configurations of all
|
|
programs you use won't be saved on the local hard drive of the computer
|
|
you are currently working on, but on the domain server.
|
|
</para>
|
|
<para>
|
|
As Wireshark is using the correct places to store it's profile data,
|
|
your settings will travel with you, if you logon to a different computer
|
|
the next time.
|
|
</para>
|
|
<para>
|
|
There is an exception to this: The "Local Settings" folder in your profile
|
|
data (typically something like:
|
|
<filename>C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Local Settings</filename>)
|
|
will not be transferred to the domain server. This is the default for
|
|
temporary capture files.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</section>
|
|
|
|
<section id="ChWindowsTempFolder">
|
|
<title>Windows temporary folder</title>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Wireshark uses the folder which is set by the TMPDIR or TEMP environment
|
|
variable. This variable will be set by the windows installer.
|
|
</para>
|
|
<para>
|
|
<variablelist>
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><command>Vista</command></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
<filename>XXX - could someone give information about this?</filename>
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><command>XP/2000</command></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
<filename>C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Local Settings\Temp</filename>
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><command>NT 4</command></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
<filename>C:\TEMP</filename>
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
</variablelist>
|
|
</para>
|
|
</section>
|
|
|
|
</section>
|
|
|
|
</appendix>
|
|
<!-- End of WSUG Appendix Files -->
|