The first line after our command tells us which IP address we are pinging and how many “bytes of data” are being sent in each packet. In the cmd.exe window, we are given some information about the response back from our pings. We just happen to know in advance that this is Google’s Public DNS server (with that in mind, please don’t spam the server by sending more pings than are necessary for the purposes of this tutorial). The ping does not tell us who 8.8.8.8 is or where it is located or what services it offers. The fact that you received a response to your pings is a confirmation that we have a path from your computer to 8.8.8.8, a path from 8.8.8.8 back to your computer, and that the device that responded is being nice and not ignoring or blocking our pings. Each echo request ping packet is a humble request that the receiving device respond back. A ping is a low level network packet that, among other things, is often used to test basic connectivity to a network device. Now let’s go back to the cmd.exe window so we can discuss our results. Your screen should look pretty much like the window below.Īfter the pings have been sent, minimize cmd.exe, pull Wireshark back up and stop the capture by pressing the red stop button just beside the green shark fin. This command will send 4 ICMP Echo Request (“ping”) packets to the IP address 8.8.8.8. Now type the following command to send 4 ICMP (Internet Control Message Protocol) packets to 8.8.8.8, Google’s public DNS server: ping 8.8.8.8

Once the capture’s going, open up cmd.exe by pressing Windows Key+R, typing “cmd.exe” without the quotes, and pressing enter. If you are using wireless or a different layer 2 wired technology other than Ethernet II (unlikely, but possible), you’ll have a different experience than what is depicted, but feel free to follow along anyway! Go ahead and fire up Wireshark and start a new live capture by choosing your capture interface and clicking the green shark icon.

Also noteworthy is the fact that I’m using a computer plugged into an Ethernet II network. This time we are diving in and analyzing our first packets! I’m using Windows 7 in this tutorial, so following along will be easiest if you are using Windows yourself. Welcome, readers! In the last Wireshark 101 article, we installed Wireshark and got introduced to the interface.

Wireshark capture filter for ping