what to capture wireshark packet sniffer

How to Capture Packets with Wireshark Packet Sniffer on a MikroTik Box

In this tutorial, we will explore how to capture packets using Wireshark packet sniffer on a MikroTik box. Capturing packets can be an essential step in troubleshooting network issues or analyzing network behavior.

To get started, you need to launch Wireshark and start a capture on the interface connected to your MikroTik box. This could be either a wired or wireless interface.

In my case, I used Windows 7 (64-bit) with Wireshark version 1.12.6 on a Thinkpad X220 laptop. I connected it to the MikroTik box using the onboard gigabit ethernet port and Intel 6205 802.11n card.

The good news is that promiscuous/monitor mode is not necessary for this setup, as everything works fine even on Windows 7. The MikroTik wiki and forums have some information about this process, but it can be a bit overwhelming at times.

In my testing, I used RouterOS v6.27 (mipsbe) and v6.28 (smips), but the process should work similarly elsewhere. If you are new to Wireshark or MikroTik, it may take some time to get everything set up correctly.

I decided to share this quick tutorial as a way to help others who may be having trouble getting live packet captures working with their MikroTik box and Wireshark. With these simple steps, you should be able to start capturing packets in no time.

Remember that the key is to launch Wireshark and start a capture on the correct interface connected to your MikroTik box. This will give you valuable insights into network traffic and help you troubleshoot any issues you may encounter.

What to capture wireshark packet sniffer