How to Install Wireshark on CentOS 6.3

Wireshark is a popular network protocol analyzer that can be used to monitor and analyze network traffic. In this guide, we will show you how to install Wireshark on CentOS 6.3.

Step 1: Add the Wireshark Repository

The first step is to add the Wireshark repository to your CentOS system. Run the following command in your terminal:

sudo rpm -ivh https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/epel-release-latest-6.noarch.rpm

This command will add the EPEL (Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux) repository, which contains the Wireshark package.

Step 2: Install Wireshark

Next, you need to install the Wireshark package. Run the following command:

sudo yum install wireshark

This command will install Wireshark and any dependencies that are required.

[root@centos63 ~]# yum install wireshark -y
Loaded plugins: fastestmirror, presto
Loading mirror speeds from cached hostfile
 * base: mirrors.hostemo.com
 * extras: mirrors.hostemo.com
 * updates: mirrors.hostemo.com
CentOS6.3-Repository                                                         | 4.0 kB     00:00 ...
base                                                                         | 3.7 kB     00:00
extras                                                                       | 3.0 kB     00:00
updates                                                                      | 3.5 kB     00:00
Setting up Install Process
Resolving Dependencies
--> Running transaction check
---> Package wireshark.i686 0:1.2.15-2.el6_2.1 will be installed
--> Processing Dependency: libsmi.so.2 for package: wireshark-1.2.15-2.el6_2.1.i686
--> Processing Dependency: libpcap.so.1 for package: wireshark-1.2.15-2.el6_2.1.i686
--> Processing Dependency: libgnutls.so.26(GNUTLS_1_4) for package: wireshark-1.2.15-2.el6_2.1.i686
--> Processing Dependency: libgnutls.so.26 for package: wireshark-1.2.15-2.el6_2.1.i686
--> Running transaction check
---> Package gnutls.i686 0:2.8.5-4.el6_2.2 will be installed
--> Processing Dependency: libtasn1.so.3(LIBTASN1_0_3) for package: gnutls-2.8.5-4.el6_2.2.i686
--> Processing Dependency: libtasn1.so.3 for package: gnutls-2.8.5-4.el6_2.2.i686
---> Package libpcap.i686 14:1.0.0-6.20091201git117cb5.el6 will be installed
---> Package libsmi.i686 0:0.4.8-4.el6 will be installed
--> Running transaction check
---> Package libtasn1.i686 0:2.3-3.el6_2.1 will be installed
--> Finished Dependency Resolution

Dependencies Resolved

====================================================================================================
 Package         Arch       Version                                Repository                  Size
====================================================================================================
Installing:
 wireshark       i686       1.2.15-2.el6_2.1                       CentOS6.3-Repository       9.9 M
Installing for dependencies:
 gnutls          i686       2.8.5-4.el6_2.2                        CentOS6.3-Repository       336 k
 libpcap         i686       14:1.0.0-6.20091201git117cb5.el6       CentOS6.3-Repository       125 k
 libsmi          i686       0.4.8-4.el6                            CentOS6.3-Repository       2.4 M
 libtasn1        i686       2.3-3.el6_2.1                          CentOS6.3-Repository       239 k

Transaction Summary
====================================================================================================
Install       5 Package(s)

Total download size: 13 M
Installed size: 64 M
Downloading Packages:
Setting up and reading Presto delta metadata
Processing delta metadata
Package(s) data still to download: 13 M
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total                                                                12 MB/s |  13 MB     00:01
Running rpm_check_debug
Running Transaction Test
Transaction Test Succeeded
Running Transaction
  Installing : libtasn1-2.3-3.el6_2.1.i686                                                      1/5
  Installing : gnutls-2.8.5-4.el6_2.2.i686                                                      2/5
  Installing : libsmi-0.4.8-4.el6.i686                                                          3/5
  Installing : 14:libpcap-1.0.0-6.20091201git117cb5.el6.i686                                    4/5
  Installing : wireshark-1.2.15-2.el6_2.1.i686                                                  5/5
  Verifying  : 14:libpcap-1.0.0-6.20091201git117cb5.el6.i686                                    1/5
  Verifying  : libsmi-0.4.8-4.el6.i686                                                          2/5
  Verifying  : gnutls-2.8.5-4.el6_2.2.i686                                                      3/5
  Verifying  : libtasn1-2.3-3.el6_2.1.i686                                                      4/5
  Verifying  : wireshark-1.2.15-2.el6_2.1.i686                                                  5/5

Installed:
  wireshark.i686 0:1.2.15-2.el6_2.1

Dependency Installed:
  gnutls.i686 0:2.8.5-4.el6_2.2            libpcap.i686 14:1.0.0-6.20091201git117cb5.el6
  libsmi.i686 0:0.4.8-4.el6                libtasn1.i686 0:2.3-3.el6_2.1

Complete!

Step 3: Configure User Access

By default, Wireshark can only be run by the root user. To allow non-root users to run Wireshark, you need to add them to the wireshark group. Run the following command:

sudo usermod -a -G wireshark USERNAME

Replace USERNAME with the username of the user you want to add to the wireshark group.

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Step 4: Run Wireshark

Now that Wireshark is installed, you can run it by typing the following command in your terminal:

wireshark

If you are running Wireshark as a non-root user, you may need to run it with elevated privileges by using the following command:

gksu wireshark

This command will prompt you for your password and then launch Wireshark with root privileges.

Commands Mentioned:

  • sudo rpm -ivh https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/epel-release-latest-6.noarch.rpm – Add the EPEL repository
  • sudo yum install wireshark – Install the Wireshark package
  • sudo usermod -a -G wireshark USERNAME – Add a user to the wireshark group
  • wireshark – Run Wireshark
  • gksu wireshark – Run Wireshark with elevated privileges
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Conclusion

In this guide, we have shown you how to install Wireshark on CentOS 6.3. By adding the EPEL repository and installing the Wireshark package, you can easily monitor and analyze network traffic. We also showed you how to configure user access so that non-root users can run Wireshark, and how to launch Wireshark with elevated privileges if necessary. We hope this guide has been helpful to you. If you have any comments or suggestions for improvements, please feel free to share them below.

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