Book Review: Practical Packet Analysis, 2nd Edition — Using Wireshark to Solve Real-World Network Problems

The 2nd edition of “Practical Packet Analysis” by Chris Sanders provides a thorough  introduction to the subject of reviewing and protecting traffic on your network.  It shows how to analyze your own network traffic and in the process demonstrates how a malicious attacker might try to snoop on your network, thus enabling you to proactively protect it.

The first few chapters cover the basics of packet analysis and show that it is not easy for someone to spy on your network, even a wireless network.  However, “security through obscurity” is not a valid data protection method, so read on to learn more of what is possible.

The next few chapters introduce you to the open source Wireshark software and give the basics of how to install, configure and use it to analyze data traffic on your network.  The explanations are clear, and while technical, they are not too complicated to follow.  The best way to learn is to follow the instructions and install Wireshark on a machine attached to your own network and have a go yourself.

Chapters 6 and 7 go into more detail about network protocols and you might consider these informational or optional depending on how deep you want to delve into the subject.

The remaining chapters provide practical scenarios where you might use packet analysis to solve real world problems such as a slow network or analyzing the effects of social media traffic .  Chapter 10 focuses on the beginning steps of using packet analysis to help improve the security of your network.

Overall the book is written in a very readable style and is certainly informative in a very practical way.  Be warned, in some parts it does assume professional experience with network concepts and operations.

Need help with your network?  Call New Signature today–we can help you design, build or improve your network, or troubleshoot those pesky network problems.