Using Wireshark to Analyze Layers 1-5 of TCP/IP Protocol

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Review
Wireshark refers to a software application packet sniffer or protocol analyzer deployed for network
troubleshooting, analysis education and protocol development.
A protocol analyzer also known as packet sniffer or network analyzer is a computing software which can
cut off and log the data traffic flow going via a network. During data go back and out over a network,
protocol analyzer captures every PDU. The packet sniffer is able to decode and scrutinize its components
with respect to the suitable RFC together with supplementary specifications (Baxter, 2014).
Wireshark is decoded to distinguish structures of diverse network protocols. This gives it the capability to
present encapsulation and fields of the PDUs and give an interpretation of their meaning (Combs, 2019).
It should be noted that Wireshark is an imperative tool for anybody working with networks and can
deploy it in labs of CCNA courses for troubleshooting and analysis of data.
In this assignment, we are going to use the Wireshark tool to show the contents of layer 1,2,3,4 and 5
PDUs of a network.
In the steps below, we are going to perform packet capture and analysis.
Note that we are using 3.0.0 version of Wireshark.
When Wireshark application is executed, the below screen shot is presented.
To begin data capture, it is required to go to “Capture” menu and click the options. This menu dialogue
offers a number of input media that we are using. Select one of the medium. For instance, we selected

Wi-Fi as the medium that we will be using in this exercise. Click on “Start”, to begin the capture process.
Once the capture have been taken, click on “Stop”, to terminate the capture process.
The screenshot below displays the main screen capture from Wireshark. The window displays Wireshark
window with three window panes named as container list pane, container details pane and packet bytes
pane.
The packet list pane in the diagram below gives a summary of every packet captured. When you click
inside this pane, dictates on what will be displayed on the two lower packet panes.
The second packet pane also known as packet details pane displays the packet chosen in the packet list
pane detailed form. In our assignment, we will be concentrating on this pane analyzing layers 1, 2, 3, 4
and 5 of TCP/IP protocol.
The bytes packet pane, which is the last pane, shows the real data in hexadecimal form from the chosen
packet in the packet list pane. It highlights field chosen in packet details pane.