It allows you to look at what is happening on the network and really can be useful for troubleshooting many types of issues including issues that aren't due to network communications. The command tcpdump is used to create “dumps” or “traces” of network traffic. I am sure I will most likely leave out some cool commands so if you want to add anything please feel free to drop it into the comments section.īefore we get too far into the weeds, it is probably best to cover what tcpdump is used for. I will cover the basics as well as some of the more advanced usage. The reason for this is because tcpdump is a pretty advanced command and it is pretty easy to get into the depths of how networking works when using it.įor today's article I wanted to create a quick but practical reference for tcpdump.

When it comes to tcpdump most admins fall into two categories they either know tcpdump and all of its flags like the back of their hand, or they kind of know it but need to use a reference for anything outside of the basic usage.

Tcpdump wireshark tutorial