Last week's Packet Capture Innovators event

Today, we're featuring something a little different.  What follows is the transcript of the Packet Capture Innovators Twitter Party/Interview that we did last Tuesday, May 24.  Thank you to everyone who has asked us to post it, and to everyone who took part. LauraChappell Getting ready to check out Twitter interview with Gerald Combs - creator of #Wireshark! Filter #packetcap to follow! 5/24/11 11:50 AM

Riverbed Pull up a chair; we'll be starting the #packetcap event in another 5 minutes... 5/24/11 11:55 AM

Riverbed Welcome to #Riverbed's first-ever Twitter Party! We'll hear the story of Packet Capture from the guys who created it! #packetcap 5/24/11 12:00 PM

Riverbed That'd be #Riverbed CTO & co-founder Steve McCanne (SM) & CACE Technologies founders Loris Degioanni (LD) & Gerald Combs (GC). #packetcap 5/24/11 12:00 PM

Riverbed We're calling them (and the event) The Packet Capture Innovators. #packetcap 5/24/11 12:01 PM

Riverbed Steve created #tcpdump & #libpcap back in 1986, Loris wrote the Windows versions #WinDump & #WinPcap in late the 90s. #packetcap 5/24/11 12:01 PM

LauraChappell Loris Degioanni - creator of #WinPcap on Twitter interview - filter on #packetcap! 5/24/11 12:02 PM

Riverbed And Gerald wrote #Wireshark (originally called #Ethereal) in 1998. #packetcap 5/24/11 12:02 PM

Riverbed Today we're going to tweet their story and they'll field questions from everyone who is following us. #packetcap 5/24/11 12:02 PM

Riverbed So start sending your questions for Steve, Loris & Gerald with our hashtag #packetcap, and we'll answer them at the end. 5/24/11 12:03 PM

Riverbed RT it and tell your friends! And be sure to use our hashtag #packetcap! And please follow @riverbed 5/24/11 12:03 PM

Riverbed Let's get this party started! #packetcap 5/24/11 12:04 PM

Riverbed Steve McCanne: In 1988 I was an undergrad at UCBerkeley & took a summer job with Van Jacobson at Lawrence #Berkeley Labs. #packetcap 5/24/11 12:04 PM

Riverbed SM: Van had been working on the congestion collapse problems in the #ARPANET and added congestion ctrl to TCP. #packetcap 5/24/11 12:05 PM

Riverbed SM: Traffic analysis overwhelmed the LAN and system doing the watching. I suggested a filtering model to limit the traffic flow #packetcap 5/24/11 12:05 PM

Riverbed Remember to send your questions for Steve, Loris and Gerald to us at @riverbed with the hashtag #PacketCap! We'll answer them at the end 5/24/11 12:06 PM

Riverbed SM: The filter lets user pick the traffic to look at. The kernel driver would keep what user wants, and junk the rest. #packetcap 5/24/11 12:06 PM

Riverbed SM: I combined the filter with a compiler so users could filter with a high-level language. #packetcap 5/24/11 12:07 PM

Riverbed SM: I combined the filter with a compiler so users could filter with a high-level language. #packetcap 5/24/11 12:07 PM

Riverbed SM: We took the 2 parts, added a tool to run it, and released it to #OpenSource community as #tcpdump. #packetcap 5/24/11 12:07 PM

Riverbed SM: Designed for #Unix-like systems. The project developed a broad following right away. #packetcap 5/24/11 12:08 PM

FOSSwiki SM: We took the 2 parts, added a tool to run it, and released it to #OpenSource community as #tcpdump. #packetcap http://bit.ly/kjEEbs 5/24/11 12:08 PM

Riverbed SM: I wanted to write other packet capture apps, so we turned #tcpdump components into #LibPcap, a library & the pcap file format #packetcap 5/24/11 12:08 PM

Riverbed SM: It became the de facto standard for building packet capture and network analysis apps. But it was hard to use… #packetcap 5/24/11 12:09 PM

Riverbed Remember to send your questions for Steve, Loris and Gerald to us at @riverbed with the hashtag #PacketCap! We'll answer them at the end! 5/24/11 12:10 PM

vmlemon Wondering if the WinPCap folks plan to migrate to NDIS6, so that Windows Vista/7 users can finally capture 802.11 traffic. #packetcap 5/24/11 12:10 PM

Riverbed Loris Degioanni: Late 90s I was a student at Politecnico di Torino in Turin, Italy. #packetcap 5/24/11 12:10 PM

Riverbed LG: Assigned a project to build a network analyzer for students to use in #Windows. #packetcap 5/24/11 12:10 PM

Riverbed LG: I didn't know where to start. Some online research led me to a paper by SM and Van. #packetcap 5/24/11 12:11 PM

Riverbed LG: The paper let me port #libpcap to Windows (#WinPcap) and I followed their lead and made it available in #OpenSource #packetcap 5/24/11 12:11 PM

Riverbed LG: Later I ported #tcpdump to Windows just to see if it would work. It did. #packetcap 5/24/11 12:12 PM

Riverbed LG: We put it on the school's web site, and it got tens of thousands of downloads. But it was not user-friendly… #packetcap 5/24/11 12:12 PM

Riverbed Gerald Combs: I was working for an ISP in Kansas City using #tcpdump and #snoop all the time. #packetcap 5/24/11 12:13 PM

Riverbed GC: But I needed something more interactive that would let me browse packet traffic. #packetcap 5/24/11 12:13 PM

Riverbed GC: So I started working on a weekend project that, um, got out of hand. In 1998 I released the first version of Ethereal. #packetcap 5/24/11 12:14 PM

Riverbed GC: Ethereal was #Linux and #Solaris only. I had no interest in writing #Windows software at the time. #packetcap 5/24/11 12:14 PM

Riverbed GC: #Windows is by far our most popular platform. #WinPcap has been essential to our success. #packetcap 5/24/11 12:15 PM

Riverbed Remember to send your questions for Steve, Loris and Gerald to us at @riverbed with the hashtag #packetcap! We'll answer them at the end 5/24/11 12:15 PM

Riverbed GC: We renamed #Ethereal to #Wireshark in May 2006 when I joined CACE. #packetcap 5/24/11 12:16 PM

Riverbed GC: My previous employer owned the #Ethereal name and when I left, we had to change it. #packetcap 5/24/11 12:16 PM

Riverbed GC: One of the names we considered was Ether Weasel. But that was overruled. #packetcap 5/24/11 12:17 PM

Riverbed GC: In the end, #Wireshark was chosen by our Official Style Consultant (my wife). #packetcap 5/24/11 12:17 PM

LauraChappell @riverbed THANK GOODNESS! Ether Weasel sounds like a porn project! #packetcap 5/24/11 12:18 PM

Riverbed GC: 2 communities (Users and Developers) quickly formed, and they've continued to grow to this day. #packetcap 5/24/11 12:18 PM

Riverbed GC: In 2006, I realized that people needed to capture and analyze wireless packets, something that #Wireshark was not good at. #packetcap 5/24/11 12:18 PM

tedsseveredhead Loris, how has the WinPCap library changed from the early days to now? #packetcap 5/24/11 12:19 PM

dances_w_vowels Steve McCanne, what was the first computer you ran TCPDUMP on? #packetcap 5/24/11 12:19 PM

Riverbed GC: So I reached out to Loris and we teamed up. #packetcap 5/24/11 12:19 PM

Riverbed Remember to send your questions for Steve, Loris and Gerald to us at @riverbed with the hashtag #packetcap! We'll answer them at the end!! 5/24/11 12:19 PM

Iceklube Can you tell us what the future looks like for #WinPcap? And do you have a few spare Airpcap Nx USB adapters you can send my way #packetcap 5/24/11 12:20 PM

Riverbed LG: And that's basically how #CACE Technologies started. We did consulting for a year, and then moved into products #packetcap 5/24/11 12:20 PM

Riverbed LG: One of our first products was #AirPcap, a wireless version of the #WinPcap library #packetcap 5/24/11 12:20 PM

LauraChappell #packetcap Do you have a Sharkfest Discount Code for twinterview followers? 5/24/11 12:21 PM

Riverbed LG: After a few years, companies came sniffing around looking to buy us. #packetcap 5/24/11 12:21 PM

Riverbed LG: We weren't that interested. Business was good and we were having fun. #packetcap 5/24/11 12:21 PM

LauraChappell #packetcap Bet folks want to know about #Wireshark on an iPhone/iPad... 5/24/11 12:22 PM

Riverbed LG: #Riverbed called and we met with them. We were very impressed: lots of smart people and a clear vision. #packetcap 5/24/11 12:22 PM

INSPIRIT_BRASIL PERFOMANCE DE TI: LG: After a few years, companies came sniffing around looking to buy us. #packetcap 5/24/11 12:22 PM

Riverbed LG: In the 1st meeting (May 2010) there were all engineers, and one guy sitting quietly in the corner. Named Steve McCanne. #packetcap 5/24/11 12:22 PM

adownie Loris, What resource do you recommend to learn more about WinPCap? #packetcap 5/24/11 12:23 PM

kimogoree Gerald, What is your favorite Wireshark book? #packetcap 5/24/11 12:23 PM

Riverbed LG: I didn't realize it at first, but it was the same Steve McCanne! We began exchanging notes and emails. #packetcap 5/24/11 12:23 PM

RobWilen Loris, now that @Riverbed is sponsoring #Wireshark, are there plans to charge for it? #packetcap 5/24/11 12:23 PM

Riverbed LG: And in the end, #Riverbed acquired #CACE in October 2010. #packetcap 5/24/11 12:23 PM

drapps RT @LauraChappell: #packetcap Bet folks want to know about #Wireshark on an iPhone/iPad... |WHOA 5/24/11 12:24 PM

Riverbed So the story ends happily. So between the #Cascade team, Steve, Loris, and Gerald, #Riverbed really does know packet capture. #packetcap 5/24/11 12:24 PM

Riverbed That brings us to the end of the story. Now it's time to take questions from the audience. #packetcap 5/24/11 12:24 PM

BillRingle Loris, what is the difference between #WinPcap and #WinPcap pro? #packetcap 5/24/11 12:25 PM

darylgoard RT @LauraChappell: #packetcap Bet folks want to know about #Wireshark on an iPhone/iPad. \\YES YES! 5/24/11 12:25 PM

hfriedma Loris, can you provide a peek at what the future holds for #WinPcap? #packetcap 5/24/11 12:25 PM

jamesjmoore @riverbed "sniffing" around, you say? :) #packetcap 5/24/11 12:25 PM

revolutionwifi RT @laurachappell: #packetcap Bet folks want to know about #Wireshark on an iPhone/iPad... --> YES! 5/24/11 12:26 PM

Riverbed @jamesjmoore Yes. We choose our words carefully! :) #packetcap 5/24/11 12:26 PM

Riverbed @vmlemon LD: We are not aware of any active development in this area. Would love to work with the #packetcap community. 5/24/11 12:26 PM

rrognlie Gerald, was the original Wireshark really developed during a summer? #packetcap 5/24/11 12:27 PM

Riverbed @tedsseveredhead LG: More OS support. dropped Win95 support #packetcap 5/24/11 12:27 PM

Riverbed @tedsseveredhead LG: More OS support. dropped Win95 support #packetcap 5/24/11 12:27 PM

Riverbed @dances_w_vowels SM: Sun 3/50 #packetcap 5/24/11 12:27 PM

jamesjmoore @riverbed you did. I'm and expert on Expert and not on Wireshark. Do I want to learn yours? Laura? #packetcap 5/24/11 12:27 PM

dhmspector Steve, What was your biggest take-away from your #TCPDUMP dev experience? #packetcap 5/24/11 12:27 PM

Riverbed @iceklube LG: Performance enhancements and more platforms #packetcap 5/24/11 12:28 PM

Riverbed @LauraChappell LG: discount code to be tweeted this afternoon #packetcap 5/24/11 12:28 PM

Riverbed @BillRingle: LG: Pro is commercial and embeddable #packetcap 5/24/11 12:29 PM

netscantools WinPcap is an integral part of NetScanTools Pro 11.02. Thanks Loris! -Kirk #packetcap 5/24/11 12:29 PM

fillmoremillard What do you see as the next big thing for Wireshark? #packetcap 5/24/11 12:30 PM

LauraChappell Live Twinterview going on with creators of Wireshark, WinPcap, tcpdump - use #packetcap 5/24/11 12:30 PM

Riverbed @rrognlie GC: After prep, coding was done over a long summer #packetcap 5/24/11 12:31 PM

Riverbed @dhmspector SM: Its easy to make things hard. Its hard to make things easy. #packetcap 5/24/11 12:31 PM

cloyd101 steve, what was your biggest challenge developing #tcpdump? #packetcap 5/24/11 12:32 PM

Riverbed @fillmoremillard GC: More intelligence in capture data, annotation, etc. #packetcap 5/24/11 12:33 PM

aragonesb Steve, How long did it take you to develop your first working TCPDUMP application? #packetcap 5/24/11 12:33 PM

Riverbed @aragonesb SM: A couple of months #packetcap 5/24/11 12:34 PM

Riverbed @aragonesb SM: A couple of months #packetcap 5/24/11 12:34 PM

Riverbed Don’t forget: SHARKFEST is June 13-16 at Stanford U. Details are at http://www.sharkfest.org #packetcap 5/24/11 12:35 PM

Riverbed #packetcap $100 discount for #SHARKFEST by using "SPONSREF" 5/24/11 12:36 PM

Riverbed Thank you for joining us; more answers are coming. While you're waiting, please remember to follow @riverbed #packetcap 5/24/11 12:36 PM

revolutionwifi I love Wi-Fi Pilot. What is the roadmap for continuing to expand wireless capabilities? @riverbed #packetcap 5/24/11 12:36 PM

wiredwiz @darylgoard I second that, I would love to be able to run wireshark on my ipad #packetcap #Wireshark 5/24/11 12:37 PM

Riverbed @MutTuja #packetcap You should be able to export to pcap then run wireshark/tcpdump 5/24/11 12:38 PM

yesthattom Gerald, what devices can #Wireshark use to capture packets? #packetcap 5/24/11 12:38 PM

Riverbed Keep those questions coming; Steve Loris and Gerald are here to answer them live. Use the #packetcap hashtag 5/24/11 12:40 PM

Riverbed @yesthattom GC: Anything running winpcap or libpcap #packetcap. Obviously Riverbed products 5/24/11 12:40 PM

netscantools Any chance WInPcap Pro can be made *not* to require admin privs? #packetcap 5/24/11 12:41 PM

Riverbed @netscantools #packetcap Windows requires admin privilege to install driver 5/24/11 12:42 PM

netscantools What about WinPcap support for sending packets out of things like cell modems? #packetcap 5/24/11 12:42 PM

JackKnoff #packetcap Who's bright idea was it to set this up as a twitter event? 5/24/11 12:43 PM

Riverbed @netscantools #packetcap OS limitation requiring a longer answer than what Twitter provides 5/24/11 12:44 PM

netscantools yup, I know the mechanism used to installing driver, just wondering if there was any change. thx. Kirk #packetcap 5/24/11 12:44 PM

netscantools Loris can send me a >140 char email about OS limit and register his S/W while he's at it. #packetcap :) 5/24/11 12:46 PM

Riverbed @netscantools #packetcap LG: Lets chat at #SHARKFEST 5/24/11 12:47 PM

netscantools OK - sure - just 3 weeks away! I'm ready. #packetcap 5/24/11 12:48 PM

rvbdusergroup Ask packet capture innovators questions live by using hashtag #packetcap on twitter 5/24/11 12:49 PM

Riverbed Don't forget to follow @Riverbed #packetcap 5/24/11 12:49 PM

Riverbed @wiredwiz #packetcap #Wireshark iPad support would be great. Apple makes it hard. 5/24/11 12:52 PM

Riverbed Keep those questions coming; Steve Loris and Gerald are here to answer them live. Use the #packetcap hashtag. 5/24/11 12:53 PM

Riverbed Thank you to everyone who joined us for the Packet Capture Innovators event. #packetcap 5/24/11 12:58 PM

Riverbed Special thanks, of course, to our special guests: Steve McCanne, Gerald Combs, and Loris Degioanni. #packetcap 5/24/11 12:59 PM

netscantools I have too many questions for 140 chars. Thanks for doing this. I didn't get to meet Steve in Bellevue, maybe at Sharkfest. #packetcap 5/24/11 12:59 PM

Riverbed Please follow us at @riverbed and come to #SHARKFEST June 13-16. #packetcap 5/24/11 1:00 PM

Riverbed And check out our blog at http://blogs.riverbed.com. #packetcap 5/24/11 1:00 PM

Riverbed Thank you and goodbye. #packetcap 5/24/11 1:00 PM

LauraChappell Thanks folks! #packetcap 5/24/11 1:14 PM

vaxen_var RT @Riverbed: And check out our blog at http://bit.ly/mNRTdR/ #packetcap 5/24/11 1:28 PM

da_BiGKahuna RT @LauraChappell: Getting ready to check out Twitter interview with Gerald Combs - creator of #Wireshark! Filter #packetcap to follow! 5/24/11 1:33 PM

da_BiGKahuna RT @LauraChappell: #packetcap Bet folks want to know about #Wireshark on an iPhone/iPad... <- Gotta check dis out ;) 5/24/11 1:35 PM

da_BiGKahuna RT @netscantools: WinPcap is an integral part of NetScanTools Pro 11.02. Thanks Loris! -Kirk #packetcap 5/24/11 1:35 PM

netcooper10 Steve, as co-founder and CTO of #Riverbed, do you still get to write code? Do you still enjoy it? #packetcap 5/24/11 1:37 PM

cloudshark Want to view your capture files on an iPad or iPhone? Check us out! http://t.co/76UkKOD #packetcap 5/24/11 2:24 PM

wiredwiz @riverbed That should almost be a programming slogan with #Apple, "Apple makes it hard" #packetcap #Wireshark 5/24/11 2:31 PM

MatrixSCIT cloudshark: Want to view your capture files on an iPad or iPhone? Check us out! http://t.co/76UkKOD #packetcap: ... http://bit.ly/mympQ8 5/24/11 2:43 PM

Riverbed @netcooper10 #packetcap Occasionally I write small, experimental prototypes, but I wish I had more time to work on larger coding projects. 5/24/11 2:52 PM

wescotttech riverbed: @netcooper10 #packetcap Occasionally I write small, experimental prototypes, but I wish I had more tim... http://bit.ly/jm4ZmA 5/24/11 3:43 PM

TCinstallations RT @LauraChappell: #packetcap Bet folks want to know about #Wireshark on an iPhone/iPad... 5/24/11 3:51 PM

tnagareshwar I will be shortly doing private Q/A with creators of #Wireshark, #Tcpdump, #Winpcap, Do send your questions #packetcap http://bit.ly/mNPuuk 5/25/11 3:28 AM

securityxploded I will be shortly doing private Q/A with creators of #Wireshark, #Tcpdump, #Winpcap, Do send your questions #packetcap http://bit.ly/mNPuuk 5/25/11 3:28 AM

Comments

[Kevan Paul]

A technical discourse on Twitter is a complete waste of time. Group chat with 140 characters in not user friendly or interesting in any way. Technologists need to find a better way to communicate than this.