
In either case, you will need to use a display filter to narrow the traffic down. Even when you have a capture filter, it may be too generic. You may not know what to focus on when you capture packets, resulting in no capture filter. A display filter is configured after you have captured your packets. A capture filter is configured prior to starting your capture and affects what packets are captured.

Note that in Wireshark, display and capture filter syntax are completely different.


In this video, I review the two most common filters in Wireshark. One of the keys to being an effective network troubleshooter when using a protocol analyzer is the ability to see patterns, which is where filters come into play.
