ThousandEyes Documentation
  • ThousandEyes Documentation
  • What's New
    • Changelog
    • Naming and Navigation Menu Changes - Summary List
  • Product Documentation
    • Getting Started
      • Getting Started with Account Setup
      • Getting Started with Cloud and Enterprise Agents
      • Getting Started with Cloud and Enterprise Agent Tests
      • Getting Started with Endpoint Agents
      • Getting Started with Transactions
      • Getting Started with Dashboards
      • Getting Started with Alerts
      • Getting Started with Internet Insights
      • Getting Started with the ThousandEyes API
      • Getting Started with API Tests
      • Getting Support from ThousandEyes
      • Notification of Upgrades, Maintenance and Outages
      • New User FAQ
      • ThousandEyes Glossary
    • Global Vantage Points
      • Cloud Agents
        • Where Are Cloud Agents Available?
        • Webex Cloud Agents
        • AWS Wavelength Cloud Agents
        • Cloud Agent with Local Problems
      • Enterprise Agents
        • Getting Started
          • Where Can I Get the Account Group Token?
        • Installing
          • Enterprise Agent System Requirements
            • Enterprise Agent Support Lifecycle
          • Appliances
            • How to Set Up the Virtual Appliance
            • Enterprise Agents: Hypervisor Installation
            • Installing Enterprise Agent on VirtualBox
            • Enterprise Agent Deployment Using ThousandEyes Virtual Appliance (Hyper-V)
            • Enterprise Agent Deployment Using ThousandEyes Virtual Appliance (OVA)
            • Custom Virtual Appliances
            • Installing a Physical Appliance
            • Installing an Enterprise Agent on a Raspberry Pi Device
          • Cisco Devices
            • Catalyst Switching
            • Catalyst Routing
            • Nexus Switching
            • Service Routing
            • Meraki MX Appliances
            • Cisco Enterprise NFV Infrastructure Software
            • Installation Methods
              • Installing Enterprise Agents on Cisco Nexus Switches with Application Hosting
              • Installing Enterprise Agents on Cisco Nexus Switches with Guestshell
              • Installing Enterprise Agents on Cisco Routers using SD-WAN Manager Feature Templates
              • Installing Enterprise Agents on Cisco Routers using the SD-WAN Manager ThousandEyes Workflow
              • Installing Enterprise Agents on Cisco Switches with Docker
              • Installing Enterprise Agents on Cisco Routers with Docker
              • Installing Enterprise Agents on Cisco Switches with the DNA Center
          • Linux Packages
            • Enterprise Agent Deployment Using Linux Package Method
            • Installing the Enterprise Agent with BrowserBot on Oracle Linux Server 7
          • Docker Agents
            • Installing Enterprise Agents with Docker
          • Cloud Templates
            • Installing Enterprise Agents with Microsoft Azure
          • Docker Agent Configuration Options
          • Missing Dependencies for Enterprise Agent on Redhat Enterprise Linux RHEL 7 Installation
          • Migrating ThousandEyes Appliance or Package-Based Enterprise Agent to Docker
        • Configuring
          • Password Reset on the Virtual Appliance
          • Configuring rDNS Lookups for Enterprise Agents
          • Connecting to the ThousandEyes Virtual Appliance Using SSH (Mac/Linux)
          • Connecting to the ThousandEyes Virtual Appliance Using SSH (Windows)
          • Static IP Addresses for ThousandEyes Repositories
          • Firewall Configuration for Enterprise Agents
          • Enterprise Agent Port Forwarding
          • Security Policy and Public NTP Servers on Enterprise Agents
          • Secure Access to ThousandEyes Appliances
          • Disabling the Web Server of a Virtual Appliance
          • NAT Traversal for Agent-to-Agent Tests
          • Enterprise Agent on Docker Advanced Networking
        • Managing
          • Cisco Devices
            • Disable, Restart, or Uninstall the Enterprise Agent via DCNM
          • Docker Agents
            • Add/Remove BrowserBot from Existing Docker Enterprise Agents
          • Upgrading Operating Systems for Enterprise Agents
          • Backup and Restore Your Enterprise Agent Configuration
          • Upgrade Ubuntu 20.04 Focal-Based ThousandEyes Appliances
          • Crash Reporting for Enterprise Agents
          • Configuring a Local Mirror of the ThousandEyes Package Repository
          • Resetting an Enterprise Agent
          • Working with Enterprise Agent Clusters
          • Replacing an Enterprise Agent Using the Agent Clustering Method
          • Replacing an Enterprise Agent Using Agent Identity Files
          • Unlocking the ThousandEyes Appliance
          • Uninstalling the Enterprise Agent (Linux Package)
        • Proxy Environments
          • Installing Enterprise Agents in Proxy Environments
          • Configuring an Enterprise Agent to Use a Proxy Server
          • Writing and Testing Proxy Auto-Configuration (PAC) Files
        • Troubleshooting
          • How to Generate Packet Captures
          • Troubleshooting Automatic-Update Problems on Enterprise Agents
          • Troubleshooting Time Synchronization on Enterprise Agents
          • Installing CA Certificates on Enterprise Agents
          • Agent Unable to Trace Path to Destination?
          • BrowserBot Installation Fails on Red Hat or CentOS in Amazon EC2
          • What to Do If te-agent Stops Running Due to a VACUUM Error
        • Enterprise Agents: What Information Do We Collect?
        • What Is BrowserBot?
        • Upgrading to BrowserBot 2
        • Upgrading to BrowserBot 2.6+ (Chromium 97)
        • Enterprise Agent Utilization
        • Network Utilization from Enterprise Agent Test Traffic
        • Enterprise Agent Interface Selection
        • ThousandEyes Product Lifecycle Policy
      • Endpoint Agents
        • Installing
          • System Requirements
          • Download the Endpoint Agent Installer
          • Install the Endpoint Agent
          • Reinstall the Endpoint Agent
          • Install the Endpoint Agent Browser Extension
          • Install Endpoint Agents for Windows via Group Policy
          • Installing Browser Extensions for Windows via Group Policy
          • Guidance for Windows Software Deployment Teams
          • Install Endpoint Agents for macOS using Munki and the Managed Software Center
          • Deploy an MSI package to Intune for Windows Devices
          • Endpoint Agent Installation on Cisco Webex Devices (RoomOS)
          • Endpoint Agent Installation on Cisco Phone Devices (PhoneOS)
          • Uninstall or Delete an Endpoint Agent
          • Endpoint Agent Installation Reference
          • NPCAP Driver Upgrade Management
        • Configuring
          • Configure Endpoint Agent Labels
          • Endpoint Agent Proxy Configuration for Scheduled Tests
        • Managing
          • Manage Endpoint Agent Settings
        • How Does the Endpoint Agent Work
        • Cisco Secure Client ThousandEyes Endpoint Agent Module
        • Endpoint Agent Licensing
        • Assigning tests to an Endpoint Agent
        • Data Collected by Endpoint Agent
        • Reporting on data collected by Endpoint Agent
        • Endpoint Agent VPN Support
        • Endpoint Agent TCP Support
        • Endpoint Agent End-user Experience
        • Endpoint Agent FAQ
      • Working with Agent Settings
      • Obtaining a list of ThousandEyes Agent IP Addresses with te-iplist
    • Tests
      • HTTP Server Tests
        • Collecting Proxy Metrics
        • POSIX Extended Regular Expression Syntax (Quick Reference)
        • POSIX Extended Regular Expression Syntax
        • Custom User-Agent Strings in a Web Test
        • Two-Step HTTP Testing (OAuth)
      • Web-Layer Tests
      • Network Tests
        • Network Tests Explained
        • Agent-to-Agent Test Overview
        • DSCP Options in Network Tests
      • DNS Tests
      • Voice Tests
        • SIP Server Test Settings
        • RTP Stream Test Settings
        • Using the SIP Server View
        • Using the RTP Stream View
      • BGP Tests
        • Inside-Out BGP Visibility
        • Using the BGP Route Visualization View
        • Using the BGP Updates Table
        • Working with Raw BGP Data
        • Reasons for Failure of Private Peering with ThousandEyes
        • RPKI
      • API Tests
        • Using the API Test Step Builder
      • Templates
        • User-defined Templates
      • Recommendations
        • Associated Service Recommendations
        • AWS Test Recommendations
      • ThousandEyes Metrics: What Do Your Results Mean?
      • Sharing Test Data
      • Working with Test Settings
      • Scheduled Versus Instant Tests
      • Working with Instant Tests
      • Working with Labels for Agent and Test Groups
      • Multi-Service Views
      • Identifying Traffic from ThousandEyes Agents
      • Excluding ThousandEyes Agents from Google Analytics
    • Internet and WAN Monitoring
      • Path Visualization
        • How Path Trace Works
        • MPLS Tunnel Inference Using Deep Path Analysis
        • Troubleshooting
          • Reasons for Missing Information on the Visualization View
          • Virtual Machine with NAT Breaks Path Visualization
          • Cisco ASA Breaks Path Visualization
          • Path Visualization: Edge Firewall Incorrectly Shows a Single Hop to the Destination
          • Network Overview Shows Packet Loss That Does Not Appear in Path Visualization
      • Views
        • Using the Network Overview
        • Using the FTP Server View
        • Using the HTTP Server View
        • Using the DNS Server View
        • Using the DNS Domain Trace View
        • Using the DNSSEC Trace View
        • Using the API Test Views
      • Troubleshooting
        • CLI Network Troubleshooting Utilities
        • HTTP Server Test Fails with SSL Error
        • HTTP Server Test Fails with SSL Error: OpenSSL SSL_connect: SSL_ERROR_SYSCALL
        • HTTP Server Test Error "dh Key Too Small"
    • Browser Synthetics
      • Browser Synthetics Test Types
      • Browser Synthetics Disambiguation
      • Test Settings for Page Load and Transaction Tests
      • Navigating Waterfall Charts for Page Load and Transaction Tests
      • Using Round Robin Test Scheduling
      • What Information Is Transmitted in a Page Load or Transaction Test?
      • Transaction Test SSO Support
        • Implementing SSO in Transaction Scripts
        • Caveats for NTLM/Kerberos Authentication
        • TOTP Examples for SSO
      • Page Load Tests
        • When to Use a Page Load Test
        • Creating a Page Load Test
        • Using the Page Load View
        • How to Generate a HAR File
        • Migrating to Single Interval for Page Load Tests
        • Creating a Page Load Test that Uses SSO
      • Transaction Tests
        • Getting Started With Transaction Tests
          • When to Use a Transaction Test
          • Transaction Tests Compared With Other Test Types
          • ThousandEyes Recorder
          • ThousandEyes Recorder Permissions
          • Working With Web Development Tools
          • Working With Secure Credentials
          • Transaction Test Table Tab View
          • Transaction Metrics on Alerts and Dashboards
          • Screenshots in Transaction Test Views
        • Transaction Test Development Guide
          • Creating Robust Transaction Scripts
            • Optimizing and Troubleshooting Transaction Scripts
            • Transaction Scripting Tips and Tricks
          • Transactions – Executing Custom JavaScript Code
        • Use Cases | Code Examples
          • Uploading or Downloading Files in a Script
            • Transaction Scripting Examples for File Downloads
          • Include API Calls in a Transaction Test
            • Using the node-fetch module
            • Using the net module
            • Using the tls module
        • Transaction Scripting Reference
      • Dual Chromium Option
        • Why Are Regular Chromium Upgrades Needed?
        • Configuring Dual Chromium
        • Working With Dual Chromium
        • Chromium Update History
        • Chromium Upgrade Known Issues
    • Endpoint Experience
      • Test Settings
        • Monitoring an Application using Synthetic Tests
        • Configuration Options for Synthetic Tests
        • Managing Synthetic Tests
        • Real User Tests
      • Viewing Data
        • Endpoint Agent Scheduled Tests View
        • Endpoint Agent Real User Tests View
        • Endpoint Agent Local Networks View
        • Endpoint Agent Dynamic Tests View
        • Endpoint Agent Views
        • Endpoint Views Reference
      • Troubleshooting
        • Step-by-Step Guide to Troubleshooting Endpoint Agent Problems
        • Troubleshooting Endpoint Agent Issues
    • Connected Devices
      • Connected Devices Tests
        • Routing
          • Traceroute
        • Network
          • Speed Tests
          • Latency, Loss, Disconnections, and Jitter Tests
          • Responsiveness (Latency under Load) Tests
        • DNS
          • DNS Resolution Tests
        • Web
          • Web Browsing Lite Tests
          • Generic Streaming (HLS/DASH) Tests
        • Voice
        • Dynamic Application Test Suites
          • Gameplay Test Suite
          • Video Conferencing Test Suite
          • Social Media Test Suite
          • Game Store Test Suite
          • Video Streaming Test Suite
            • Netflix Streaming Tests
            • YouTube Streaming Tests
            • BBC iPlayer Streaming Tests
          • Content Delivery Network (CDN) Test Suite
        • Local Network Information
          • Data Usage
      • Test Management
        • Test Triggers
          • Scheduled Tests
          • Instant Tests
        • Testing Thresholds
        • Test Targets
          • Test Server Methodology
        • Automatic Test Configuration Retrieval
      • Device Agents
        • Router Agents
          • Router Agent Device Support
        • Connected Devices Agent Release Versions
      • Usage Guides
        • Viewing Charts
        • Configuring Charts
        • Using Maps
        • Exporting Data
        • Importing Metadata
        • Managing Metadata
        • Creating Reports
        • Viewing Agents
        • Using Test Schedules
        • Accessing Your APIs
        • Using ConstantCare
      • Cisco Real Speed
    • Cloud Insights
      • Integrations
      • Views
      • Settings
    • WAN Insights
      • WAN Insights Quick Start
        • How to Activate ThousandEyes WAN Insights
        • WAN Insights Introductory Tour, Part 1
        • WAN Insights Introductory Tour, Part 2
        • WAN Insights Introductory Tour, Part 3
      • Introducing WAN Insights
        • What Is WAN Insights?
        • WAN Insights Value-Add
        • Why Use WAN Insights?
        • Using WAN Insights Together With ThousandEyes Network Assurance
        • Using WAN Insights Together with vAnalytics and vManage
        • WAN Insights Key Components
        • Enabling WAN Insights
        • Getting Support for WAN Insights
      • WAN Insights Terminology and Reference
      • WAN Insights Technical Overview
        • Application Categories
        • Sites, Routers, Paths, and Interfaces
        • Application Traffic Types
        • Estimating User Counts
        • Estimating Throughput
        • Capacity Planning
        • Understanding Quality
        • Life of a Recommendation
        • Understanding Recommendations
        • WAN Insights and ThousandEyes Alerts
      • WAN Insights User Interface
        • Logging In for the First Time
        • WAN Insights Screens and Workflows
        • Recommendations Screen
        • Recommendation Cards, Explained
        • Recommendation Details Modal
        • Endpoint-Pair Quality Comparison
        • Site Details Screen
        • Capacity Planning Screen
        • Capacity Detail Modal
        • Enter or Upload Bandwidth Data
      • Common Tasks
        • Adding Business-Critical Applications to WAN Insights
        • Email Notifications
        • Adding and Managing WAN Insights Users
        • Applying WAN Insights Recommendations
    • Internet Insights
      • Internet Insights Terminology
      • Limited Outage Map
      • Internet Insights Screens
        • Overview Screen
        • Internet Insights Service Views Screen
        • Application Outages
        • Network Outages
        • Catalog Settings Screen
      • Saving and Sharing from Internet Insights
      • Configuring Internet Insights
      • Provider Labels
      • Using Alerts and Dashboards With Internet Insights
        • My Affected Tests
        • Setting Up Alert Rules for Internet Insights
        • Using the Internet Insights Built-In Dashboard
    • Event Detection
    • Alerts
      • Creating and Editing Alert Rules
        • Global and Location Alert Conditions
        • Alert Rule Severity
        • Adaptive Alert Detection
        • Dynamic Baselines
        • Transport Layer Security (TLS) Alerts
        • Alert Rules for Devices
        • Alert Metrics Reference
      • Default Alert Rules
      • Viewing Alerts
      • Alert Clearing
        • Alert Suppression Windows
      • Alert Notifications
      • Standard Notification Methods
        • Alert Notifications via Email
        • Alert Notifications via SMS
        • Classic Webhooks for Alert Notifications
    • Dashboards
      • Using the Dashboard
      • Customizing Your Dashboard
      • Using the Dashboard Templates
      • Dashboard Widgets
      • Embedding Dashboard Widgets in External Web Sites
      • Excluding Periods of Data From a Dashboard
      • Dashboard Sharing and Snapshots
      • Dashboard Labels
      • Troubleshooting with Dashboard Drill Down
      • Tailoring Dashboards with Dashboard Filters
    • Device Layer
      • Discovering Device-Layer Devices
      • Device Discovery Results
      • Using the Device Layer View
    • Account Management
      • User Registration
        • SAML JIT Provisioning
        • ThousandEyes Support for SCIM
          • How to Configure SCIM with Azure Active Directory
          • How to Configure SCIM with Okta
      • Authorization
        • Role-Based Access Control
          • Role-Based Access, Explained
          • Built-In Roles and Permissions
        • Account Groups
          • What is an Account Group?
          • Working with Account Settings
          • Users in Multiple Organizations
          • Changing Ownership of a Test
          • Working with Time Zone Settings
        • OAuth 2.0 with ThousandEyes
          • Integrations with OAuth 2.0
        • Adding a Profile Image with Gravatar
      • Authentication
        • Logging In
        • How to Configure Single Sign-On
      • User Activity
        • Working with the Activity Log
        • ThousandEyes User Session Timeouts and Terminations
        • How Long is my Data Accessible via ThousandEyes?
        • Retaining Data Beyond the 90-Day Limit
        • Multi-Region Cloud Support
      • Usage-Based Billing
        • About Our Consumption Model
          • Device Agent Consumption Model
        • About Units
        • Test Type Layers and Units
        • Setting Quotas
        • Calculating Units
        • FAQs: Usage
      • Customer Security and Privacy Responsibilities
    • Integrations
      • Custom Webhooks
        • Using OAuth 2.0 Authentication for Your Custom Webhook
        • Webhook Variables
      • Custom Webhook Examples
        • Microsoft Teams for Alert Notifications
        • Cisco Webex for Alert Notifications
        • Google Chat for Alert Notifications
        • Event-Driven Ansible for Alert Notifications
        • Splunk Alert Notification
      • Custom-Built Integrations
        • PagerDuty for Alert Notifications
        • ServiceNow for Alert Notifications
          • Incident Management
        • Slack for Alert Notifications
        • AppDynamics for Alert Notifications
        • AppDynamics for Test Recommendations
        • AWS for Test Recommendations
        • AWS for Cloud Insights
          • AWS for Cloud Insights Using CLI
        • Meraki for Data Enrichment
        • Webex Control Hub Integration
        • Microsoft Teams Integration
        • ThousandEyes for OpenTelemetry
          • Configuring ThousandEyes for OpenTelemetry
            • Configuring ThousandEyes for OpenTelemetry Using the API
            • Configuring ThousandEyes for OpenTelemetry Using the UI
          • Configuring ThousandEyes for Splunk Cloud or Enterprise
            • Configuring ThousandEyes for Splunk Cloud or Enterprise using the API
            • Configuring ThousandEyes for Splunk Cloud or Enterprise using the UI
          • ThousandEyes for OpenTelemetry Data Model
            • ThousandEyes for OpenTelemetry Data Model v1
              • OpenTelemetry Collector Data v1 Example
            • ThousandEyes for OpenTelemetry Data Model v2
              • ThousandEyes for OpenTelemetry Data Model v2 - Metrics
                • OpenTelemetry Collector Data v2 Metrics Example
                • ThousandEyes for OpenTelemetry Data Model Metrics - Migration from v1 to v2
              • ThousandEyes for OpenTelemetry Data Model v2 - Traces
                • OpenTelemetry Collector Data v2 Traces Example
          • OpenTelemetry Collector Configuration
          • Automatic Disabling of Failing Streaming Integrations
        • Cisco ThousandEyes App for Splunk
          • Configuration
          • Inputs
          • Dashboards
          • Troubleshooting
    • Best-Practices Guides
      • Choosing the Right Test Protocol for Network & App Synthetics Tests
      • Optimizing SYN vs SACK Probing Methods to Avoid Unexplainable Packet Loss
      • Using Dashboards to Tell a Story
      • Best Practices for Implementing Account Groups
      • Monitoring Microsoft 365
      • Monitoring Microsoft Teams
      • Monitoring Salesforce
      • Monitoring Slack
      • Monitoring Webex Meetings with Endpoint Agents
      • Monitoring Webex Calling
      • Monitoring Webex Meetings with Cloud and Enterprise Agents
      • Monitoring Zoom
    • API
      • Create/Update/Delete Tests Using the ThousandEyes API
      • Obtaining a List of ThousandEyes Agent IP Addresses
      • Writing JSON to API Produces HTTP 406 Response Code
    • Privacy-Related
      • Authorized Subprocessors for ThousandEyes Network Intelligence Platform
    • Archived Documentation
      • Archived - Displaying and Alerting for Unit Consumption
      • Archived - Dependency Tree for ThousandEyes Enterprise Agent Software
      • Archived - Getting Started with ThousandEyes
      • Archived - Sending ThousandEyes Alerts to AppDynamics
      • Archived - ThousandEyes Infrastructure Changes
      • Archived - Using the Transactions (Classic) View
      • Archived - Transaction Test Migration Workflow
      • Archived - Instructions for Mitigating Meltdown and Spectre on Enterprise Agents
      • Archived - Bash (ShellShock) Security Notice
      • Archived - Endpoint Installation using Customized Installers
      • Archived - Configuring Endpoint Agent Setup
      • Archived - Creating Scheduled Tests on Endpoint Agents
      • Archived - Managing the Endpoint Agent
      • Archived - Enterprise Agent Installation on Juniper NFX Routers
      • Archived - Installing and Removing ThousandEyes X Virtual Framebuffer on Enterprise Agents
      • Archived - Permitted Content Types for Page Load Tests
  • Archived Release Notes
    • 2024
      • Release Notes: January 2024
      • Release Notes: February 2024
      • Release Notes: March 2024
      • Release Notes: April 2024
      • Release Notes: May 2024
      • Release Notes: June 2024
      • Release Notes: July 2024
      • Release Notes: August 2024
    • 2023
      • Release Notes: January 2023
      • Release Notes: February 2023
      • Release Notes: March 2023
      • Release Notes: April 2023
      • Release Notes: May 2023
      • Release Notes: June 2023
      • Release Notes: July 2023
      • Release Notes: August 2023
      • Release Notes: September 2023
      • Release Notes: October 2023
      • Release Notes: November 2023
      • Release Notes: December 2023
    • 2022
      • Release Notes: January 2022
      • Release Notes: February 2022
      • Release Notes: March 2022
      • Release Notes: April 2022
      • Release Notes: May 2022
      • Release Notes: June 2022
      • Release Notes: July 2022
      • Release Notes: August 2022
      • Release Notes: September 2022
      • Release Notes: October 2022
      • Release Notes: November 2022
      • Release Notes: December 2022
    • 2021
      • Release Notes: January 2021
      • Release Notes: February 2021
      • Release Notes: March 2021
      • Release Notes: April 2021
      • Release Notes: May 2021
      • Release Notes: June 2021
      • Release Notes: July 2021
      • Release Notes: August 2021
      • Release Notes: September 2021
      • Release Notes: October 2021
      • Release Notes: November 2021
      • Release Notes: December 2021
    • 2020
      • Release Notes: January 2020
      • Release Notes: February 2020
      • Release Notes: March 2020
      • Release Notes: April 2020
      • Release Notes: May 2020
      • Release Notes: June 2020
      • Release Notes: July 2020
      • Release Notes: August 2020
      • Release Notes: September 2020
      • Release Notes: October 2020
      • Release Notes: November 2020
      • Release Notes: December 2020
    • 2019
      • Release Notes: 2019-01-08
      • Release Notes: 2019-02-06
      • Release Notes: 2019-02-20
      • Release Notes: 2019-03-06
      • Release Notes: 2019-03-19
      • Release Notes: 2019-04-02
      • Release Notes: 2019-04-30
      • Release Notes: 2019-05-14
      • Release Notes: 2019-05-30
      • Release Notes: 2019-06-11
      • Release Notes: 2019-07-23
      • Release Notes: 2019-08-06
      • Release Notes: 2019-08-20
      • Release Notes: 2019-09-03
      • Release Notes: 2019-09-17
      • Release Notes: 2019-10-03
      • Release Notes: 2019-10-15
      • Release Notes: 2019-10-29
      • Release Notes: 2019-11-12
      • Release Notes: 2019-11-26
      • Release Notes: 2019-12-10
    • 2018
      • Release Notes: 2018-01-10
      • Release Notes: 2018-01-17
      • Release Notes: 2018-01-31
      • Release Notes: 2018-02-14
      • Release Notes: 2018-03-07
      • Release Notes: 2018-03-14
      • Release Notes: 2018-03-28
      • Release Notes: 2018-04-11
      • Release Notes: 2018-04-25
      • Release Notes: 2018-05-09
      • Release Notes: 2018-05-23
      • Release Notes: 2018-06-06
      • Release Notes: 2018-06-20
      • Release Notes: 2018-07-03
      • Release Notes: 2018-07-18
      • Release Notes: 2018-08-01
      • Release Notes: 2018-08-15
      • Release Notes: 2018-08-29
      • Release Notes: 2018-09-12
      • Release Notes: 2018-09-26
      • Release Notes: 2018-10-10
      • Release Notes: 2018-10-23
      • Release Notes: 2018-11-13
      • Release Notes: 2018-11-27
      • Release Notes: 2018-12-18
    • 2017
      • Release Notes: 2017-01-04
      • Release Notes: 2017-01-18
      • Release Notes: 2017-02-01
      • Release Notes: 2017-02-16
      • Release Notes: 2017-03-02
      • Release Notes: 2017-03-15
      • Release Notes: 2017-03-29
      • Release Notes: 2017-04-12
      • Release Notes: 2017-04-26
      • Release Notes: 2017-05-10
      • Release Notes: 2017-05-24
      • Release Notes: 2017-06-06
      • Release Notes: 2017-06-21
      • Release Notes: 2017-07-07
      • Release Notes: 2017-07-19
      • Release Notes: 2017-08-02
      • Release Notes: 2017-08-16
      • Release Notes: 2017-08-30
      • Release Notes: 2017-09-13
      • Release Notes: 2017-09-27
      • Release Notes: 2017-10-12
      • Release Notes: 2017-10-25
      • Release Notes: 2017-11-08
      • Release Notes: 2017-11-29
      • Release Notes: 2017-12-13
    • 2016
      • Release Notes: 2016-01-06
      • Release Notes: 2016-01-20
      • Release Notes: 2016-02-03
      • Release Notes: 2016-02-17
      • Release Notes: 2016-03-02
      • Release Notes: 2016-03-16
      • Release Notes: 2016-03-30
      • Release Notes: 2016-04-13
      • Release Notes: 2016-04-27
      • Release Notes: 2016-05-11
      • Release Notes: 2016-05-25
      • Release Notes: 2016-06-08
      • Release Notes: 2016-06-22
      • Release Notes: 2016-07-06
      • Release Notes: 2016-07-20
      • Release Notes: 2016-08-03
      • Release Notes: 2016-08-17
      • Release Notes: 2016-08-31
      • Release Notes: 2016-09-14
      • Release Notes: 2016-09-28
      • Release Notes: 2016-10-12
      • Release Notes: 2016-10-26
      • Release Notes: 2016-11-09
      • Release Notes: 2016-11-23
      • Release Notes: 2016-12-07
      • Release Notes: 2016-12-21
    • 2015
      • Release Notes: 2015-01-07
      • Release Notes: 2015-01-21
      • Release Notes: 2015-02-04
      • Release Notes: 2015-02-18
      • Release Notes: 2015-03-04
      • Release Notes: 2015-04-01
      • Release Notes: 2015-04-15
      • Release Notes: 2015-04-29
      • Release Notes: 2015-05-13
      • Release Notes: 2015-05-27
      • Release Notes: 2015-06-10
      • Release Notes: 2015-06-24
      • Release Notes: 2015-07-08
      • Release Notes: 2015-07-22
      • Release Notes: 2015-08-05
      • Release Notes: 2015-08-19
      • Release Notes: 2015-09-16
      • Release Notes: 2015-09-30
      • Release Notes: 2015-10-14
      • Release Notes: 2015-10-28
      • Release Notes: 2015-11-11
      • Release Notes: 2015-12-02
      • Release Notes: 2015-12-16
    • 2014
      • Release Notes: 2014-01-09
      • Release Notes: 2014-01-22
      • Release Notes: 2014-02-05
      • Release Notes: 2014-03-05
      • Release Notes: 2014-03-19
      • Release Notes: 2014-04-09
      • Release Notes: 2014-04-30
      • Release Notes: 2014-06-04
      • Release Notes: 2014-06-11
      • Release Notes: 2014-06-26
      • Release Notes: 2014-07-09
      • Release Notes: 2014-07-23
      • Release Notes: 2014-08-20
      • Release Notes: 2014-09-04
      • Release Notes: 2014-09-17
      • Release Notes: 2014-10-01
      • Release Notes: 2014-10-15
      • Release Notes: 2014-10-29
      • Release Notes: 2014-11-12
    • 2013
      • Release Notes: 2013-01-08
      • Release Notes: 2013-02-27
      • Release Notes: 2013-03-20
      • Release Notes: 2013-04-02
      • Release Notes: 2013-04-17
      • Release Notes: 2013-05-01
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On this page
  • Determine Which Network Interface to Capture
  • Restricting Capture to a Specific Host or Port
  • Writing Output to a File
  • Running the Capture
  • Compress the Capture
  • Running a Packet Capture from Windows Using Wireshark
  • Using SCP to Transfer the Output
  1. Product Documentation
  2. Global Vantage Points
  3. Enterprise Agents
  4. Troubleshooting

How to Generate Packet Captures

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Last updated 1 year ago

When a test is reporting loss from a location that is difficult to trace, and doesn't appear on the path visualization associated with a specific node, the ThousandEyes team might request a packet capture in order to attempt to isolate the loss.

Depending on your operating system, there are several options to run a packet capture. On linux distributions the relevant command to start capture is “tcpdump”. On Windows distributions you can run “netsh”. Packet captures can also be run using the network packet analyzer called “Wireshark” which has versions that work on all major platforms. For additional reference the following links are available for these and other options:

  • Ubuntu Manpage:

  • Netsh Command Syntax:

  • Wincap:

  • Wireshark:

Basically what happens, is you bind the capture to a specific interface, and capture packets passing through that interface. The capture is run over a specific duration to get the required data. Typically, the ThousandEyes team will request a capture over a period of approximately 30 minutes, in order to capture all relevant information. Generating a packet capture on UNIX based systems is achieved running the command "tcpdump". This document will provide instructions for obtaining packet captures using either tcpdump or Wireshark.

Determine Which Network Interface to Capture

To start, you need to first identify which ethernet interface is being used to connect the machine to the network. In most cases, this will be eth0, but to check, run ifconfig on the host to identify the correct interface.

dave@vm-dave-dev-1:~$ ifconfig
eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 08:00:27:69:f3:a6 
 inet addr:192.168.1.12 Bcast:192.168.1.255 Mask:255.255.255.0
 inet6 addr: fe80::a00:27ff:fe69:f3a6/64 Scope:Link
 UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
 RX packets:216561 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
 TX packets:44521 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
 collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000 
 RX bytes:127096906 (127.0 MB) TX bytes:3891185 (3.8 MB)

lo Link encap:Local Loopback 
 inet addr:127.0.0.1 Mask:255.0.0.0
 inet6 addr: ::1/128 Scope:Host
 UP LOOPBACK RUNNING MTU:16436 Metric:1
 RX packets:905 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
 TX packets:905 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
 collisions:0 txqueuelen:0 
 RX bytes:84115 (84.1 KB) TX bytes:84115 (84.1 KB)
dave@vm-dave-dev-1:~$

In this case, I only have one network interface bound, so I'm going to select that interface by appending -i eth0 to the command. This will bind the capture to the eth0 interface, and capture all the traffic requested through that interface.

sudo tcpdump -i eth0

Restricting Capture to a Specific Host or Port

If directed by the ThousandEyes team, you may be requested to reduce the amount of data being captured, by targeting a specific port or host in the request. To restrict based on port, simply append port <portnumber>. To restrict based on host, simply append host <w.x.y.z> to the command. These can be done in tandem, if required; the following commands are all syntactically valid.

sudo tcpdump -i eth0 host 1.2.3.4
sudo tcpdump -i eth0 host port 80

Writing Output to a File

We also don't want to interpret the information in real time, but rather capture it to a file that can be used by the ThousandEyes team, so we'll write to a file. This is accomplished by appending a -w <filename> to the commands.

sudo tcpdump -i eth0 host 1.2.3.4 -w myfilename
sudo tcpdump -i eth0 port 80 -w myfilename

This command will generate a 1000MB file, as soon as the first one reaches limit tcpdump will start writing the second one and the loop continues. This is very helpful if we need to catch some event in packets.

sudo tcpdump -n -s0 -C 1000 -W2 -w file.pcap

Running the Capture

Once you have the required commands, simply start the TCP dump with appropriate parameters. Starting a TCP dump must usually be done in the context of the root user. Running as a root user is not recommended, so the command sudo is often used to run in the context of a super user account. Simply prepend sudo to the command to run a tcpdump with superuser permissions.

sudo tcpdump -i eth0 -w myfilename

The capture will run until cancelled (press ctrl-c to cancel). Once the tcp dump is stopped, the number of packets captured by the request will be shown:

dave@vm-dave-dev-1:~$ sudo tcpdump -i eth0 -w mycapturefile
[sudo] password for dave: 
tcpdump: listening on eth0, link-type EN10MB (Ethernet), capture size 65535 bytes
^C
85 packets captured
85 packets received by filter
0 packets dropped by kernel

Compress the Capture

Once the file has been created, it should be compressed for simplicity of transfer. Simplest method of compression is to use gzip, which is bundled with linux distributions. The syntax is gzip -c uncompressedfile > targetfile.gz, which will create a compressed version of the file for email transmission.

gzip -c mycapturefile > mycompressedfile.gz

Once the compressed file has been created, send it to the ThousandEyes team for analysis by emailing the gzipped version of the file to support@thousandeyes.com.

Running a Packet Capture from Windows Using Wireshark

Since not everyone has a Mac or Linux server to use, you may need to generate a TCP dump using Windows. The easiest and most common approach to this is using Wireshark (using a GUI), documented below.

Once you've downloaded WireShark, install it and launch. The great thing about Wireshark is that everything is controllable from a single interface. Under the Capture menu, select Options.

Select the interface you wish to capture by checking the appropriate box, choose appropriate name resolution options (defaults are fine), and ensure that the option for 'use pcap-ng format' is unchecked. Once you're ready to start capturing packets, click the Start button.

Once you click the start button, WireShark will begin capturing packets, and display them in real time. This will be a very busy, color-coded interface, which is moving fast.

Once you've captured enough data, click the stop button (also found under Capture > Stop)

If you want to filter your capture to be based on a specific target IP address, click the Capture > Capture Filters option. This is a very rich expression builder; to target a specific host and port combination (similar to the example above) create a filter similar to the following:

tcp.dstport == 80 and ip.addr == 1.2.3.4

Once you've applied the filter (if applicable), click File > Save and save the capture file. The save will take the applicable filter into account and will exclude any data not displayed in the filter list. The packet capture file will be large, so always remember to compress the file before sending to ThousandEyes support.

Using SCP to Transfer the Output

Use Secure Copy Protocol (SCP) to transfer the output of the TCP dump from the ThousandEyes agent to your local machine. Run the command from the machine which you are transferring the file to. Specify the file name and location to copy the file to. Thus, you'll need to include the ending space followed by ".":

scp thousandeyes@[IP address of remote agent]:/full/file/path/ .

First, download WireShark. This will install both the WireShark app and winpcap libraries - these are used to bind to a network adapter, and can be used to capture packets. Download WireShark from

http://manpages.ubuntu.com/manpages/cosmic/man8/tcpdump.8.html
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/networking/technologies/netsh/netsh-contexts
https://www.winpcap.org/
https://www.wireshark.org/docs/wsug_html_chunked/ChapterIntroduction.html#ChIntroWhatIs
http://www.wireshark.org