Before you get started
This short tutorial explains how to do a packet capture. To keep it simple, we use a Mac computer that has a built-in WiFi adapter. This method produces a Wireshark-formatted capture file that you can upload to Context By Signal.
Requirements
- Mac computer. Most Mac computers satisfy the basic requirement for a host with a wireless adapter that can be put into monitor mode. If you're not sure your Mac has a built-in adapter, see [link].
- Airtool 2. A capture application that disconnects the built-in adapter from the wireless network and puts it into monitor mode. When the adapter is in monitor mode, it passes all the frames it receives to Airtool. Normally, the adapter only accepts packets addressed to the host computer.
The process of packet capture is both complex and imperfect. The tools you select for your captures vary based on hardware, software, and network protocol. The results you get vary based not only on the combination of tools and settings you select, but on factors that extend to the site of the capture and ambient conditions.
If you're already acquainted with the in's and out's of wireless capture and have a few captures on hand, go ahead and create a job on the Analyze page. To learn more about the hardware and software that is used to collect wireless network information on different generations of WiFi networks, see Observation constraints.
Make a frame capture
The best way to get a capture file to analyze is to make it yourself. When you do your own captures, you know the hardware and software that was used to make the capture and the environment where the capture was made. This means that the observation summary you get from the analysis will make more sense.
You can also try creating captures in different environments across different versions of WiFi and use CBS to compare the observation records. Soon you'll be able to create batch jobs and aggregate your analysis across capture files to create site fingerprints and understand the wireless context of your site.
