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    Install Wireshark on 2.3.1

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    • JKnottJ
      JKnott
      last edited by

      That is what I'm trying to figure out how to do.  As I mentioned, I'm quite familiar with Linux, but not FreeBSD and it appears some of the tools one might use are not included with pfsense.  That's why i'm asking for help on how to do this.  If I already knew, I wouldn't be asking.

      PfSense running on Qotom mini PC
      i5 CPU, 4 GB memory, 32 GB SSD & 4 Intel Gb Ethernet ports.
      UniFi AC-Lite access point

      I haven't lost my mind. It's around here...somewhere...

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      • DerelictD
        Derelict LAYER 8 Netgate
        last edited by

        Downloading packet captures from your firewall to view in Wireshark on your management workstation is not sufficient?

        Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA
        A comprehensive network diagram is worth 10,000 words and 15 conference calls.
        DO NOT set a source address/port in a port forward or firewall rule unless you KNOW you need it!
        Do Not Chat For Help! NO_WAN_EGRESS(TM)

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        • JKnottJ
          JKnott
          last edited by

          Some times I want to see at the firewall.  Also, some devices cannot run Wireshark.  My firewall had been running openSUSE Linux for years and it was no problem to install Wireshark & run on it.  The only reason I switched to pfsense is openSUSE doesn't yet support dhcpv6-pd, which is necessary to get an IPv6 prefix, from my ISP, on my network.

          BTW, this is the article I found to install Wireshark on an earlier version of pfsense but, as I mentioned, the instructions don't work on 2.3.1.
          https://turbofuture.com/computers/How-to-Run-Wireshark-on-pfSense-Using-X11-Forwarding-Over-SSH

          I'd like to find something similar for 2.3.1.

          PfSense running on Qotom mini PC
          i5 CPU, 4 GB memory, 32 GB SSD & 4 Intel Gb Ethernet ports.
          UniFi AC-Lite access point

          I haven't lost my mind. It's around here...somewhere...

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          • H
            heper
            last edited by

            i agree with derelict on just sending the captures towards a remote client, but if you insist you could try below AT YOUR OWN RISK:

            64bit

            pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/freebsd:10:x86:64/release_3/All/wireshark-2.0.2.txz
            

            32bit

            pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/freebsd:10:x86:32/release_3/All/wireshark-2.0.2.txz
            

            i have not tried this, chances are you'll be missing dependencies that you'd need to add manually

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            • N
              NOYB
              last edited by

              Why install all that.  Can't the same thing be accomplished with an ssh tunnel and netcat or plink, or other ssh tools at the client end?

              pfSense already has tcpdump and ssh.  Nothing more should be needed on the pfSense end.

              All that really should be needed is to establish an ssh tunnel, run a remote tcpdump command and pipe it to wireshark or whatever tool is being used on the client.

              Remote Packet Capture
              https://forum.pfsense.org/index.php?topic=89917.msg497700

              Long term traffic capture with tcpdump over netcat
              https://forum.pfsense.org/index.php?topic=108668.msg607063#msg607063

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              • JKnottJ
                JKnott
                last edited by

                I have found this site that contains both wireshark and xauth.  Hopefully they'll do the trick.  They so seem a bit old though.

                http://ftpmirror.your.org/pub/FreeBSD-Unofficial-Packages/100amd64-default/All/

                PfSense running on Qotom mini PC
                i5 CPU, 4 GB memory, 32 GB SSD & 4 Intel Gb Ethernet ports.
                UniFi AC-Lite access point

                I haven't lost my mind. It's around here...somewhere...

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                • JKnottJ
                  JKnott
                  last edited by

                  i have not tried this, chances are you'll be missing dependencies that you'd need to add manually

                  I found one already for xauth, gdk-pixbuf2.

                  PfSense running on Qotom mini PC
                  i5 CPU, 4 GB memory, 32 GB SSD & 4 Intel Gb Ethernet ports.
                  UniFi AC-Lite access point

                  I haven't lost my mind. It's around here...somewhere...

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                  • jimpJ
                    jimp Rebel Alliance Developer Netgate
                    last edited by

                    Do not install wireshark (or anything that needs/wants X11) anywhere near a firewall. Horrible idea.

                    You can pipe tcpdump data to wireshark over SSH, which is much better than attempting to put X11 binaries on the firewall. IIRC you could maybe use tshark to do similar (or more) things, like shown on https://www.howtoforge.com/wireshark-remote-capturing or with something like:

                    # wireshark -k -i <(ssh root@192.168.1.1 tcpdump -i  igb1 -U -w - not tcp port 22)
                    

                    You'll need ssh setup to use key-based auth so you don't get a password prompt, and ssh-agent so you don't get an interactive prompt for the key.

                    Remember: Upvote with the 👍 button for any user/post you find to be helpful, informative, or deserving of recognition!

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                    • C
                      cmb
                      last edited by

                      Yes, what jimp said. The dependencies required to get Wireshark running are absurdly long and you'll almost certainly break something. tcpdump is there, and all you need on that system.

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                      • 2
                        2chemlud Banned
                        last edited by

                        Good time to share this absolutely cool post by Grünsfröschli:

                        https://forum.pfsense.org/index.php?topic=107605.0

                        :-D

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