Fortinet black logo

Handbook

Starting a packet capture test

Copy Link
Copy Doc ID 6a43e9d7-b060-11ea-8b7d-00505692583a:2132
Download PDF

Starting a packet capture test

The packet capture test captures packets received from the network adapter.

To start a packet capture test:
  1. Go to Cases > Performance Testing > Packet Capture > Packet Capture to display the test case summary page.
  2. Click Add to display the Case Options dialog box.
  3. In the popup dialog, for the Network Config option, select the network template you have created in Cases > Security Testing > Objects > Networks. Then the network related options will automatically be filled. See Using network configuration templates for how to create a network template.
  4. Select a Certificate Group if applicable.
  5. Click OK to continue.
  6. Configure the test case options as described in Packet Capture Test Case configuration.
  7. Click Start to run the test case.

FortiTester saves the configuration automatically so you can run the test again later. You can also click Save to save the test case without running it.

Tip: You can also copy an existing case, and change its settings to create a new case. In the case list, click Clone to clone the configuration. Only the case name is different from the original case.
To start /stop a packet capture test while another test is running:

From the run page of the other test, follow the steps below.

  1. Go to Capture > Client.
  2. Click Restart, under status.
  3. Configure the desired settings.
  4. Click Start to run the packet capture test.

Packet Capture Test Case configuration

Settings Guidelines
Basic Information
Name Specify the case name, or just use the default. The name appears in the list of test cases.
Duration Specify the test duration. The default is 10 minutes. The test stops automatically after the duration you specify.
Number of Samples Select the number of samples. The default is 20, which means the web UI will show the last 20 sample data (about 20 seconds) in the test case running page. You can select 20, 60, or 120.
Network Settings
Client Ports
The graphic depicts the test ports for client-side connections. The client ports simulate the behavior of clients.

You must select at least one client port. After you select a port for client, a (check mark) is displayed on the port icon, and a tab for the port is added below the graphic. Use the tabs to toggle the Capture Packets controls for each port.
Capture Packets
Capture Packets Set packet capture options if you want to capture the traffic of this port. You can capture all packets or specify a number. You can set packet capture filters for host IP/port and protocol.

Note: The system allocates temporary disk space for packet captures. The limit is 6,000,000 packets. The packets are saved to a temporary file that you can download from the running test case page. The filename indicates whether it is client or server communication and the interface port number. For example, client_port1.pcap. When a subsequent test case with packet capture enabled uses the same interface port as a previous one, the previous file is overwritten.
Load
Packet Analysis Select Yes to analyze bandwidth percentage for each protocol.

Network
Network MTU Maximum Transmission Unit for a data packet. FortiTester does not send out data packets larger than this value. Most DUTs have a limit for packet size. The default is 1500. Not configurable.

Starting a packet capture test

The packet capture test captures packets received from the network adapter.

To start a packet capture test:
  1. Go to Cases > Performance Testing > Packet Capture > Packet Capture to display the test case summary page.
  2. Click Add to display the Case Options dialog box.
  3. In the popup dialog, for the Network Config option, select the network template you have created in Cases > Security Testing > Objects > Networks. Then the network related options will automatically be filled. See Using network configuration templates for how to create a network template.
  4. Select a Certificate Group if applicable.
  5. Click OK to continue.
  6. Configure the test case options as described in Packet Capture Test Case configuration.
  7. Click Start to run the test case.

FortiTester saves the configuration automatically so you can run the test again later. You can also click Save to save the test case without running it.

Tip: You can also copy an existing case, and change its settings to create a new case. In the case list, click Clone to clone the configuration. Only the case name is different from the original case.
To start /stop a packet capture test while another test is running:

From the run page of the other test, follow the steps below.

  1. Go to Capture > Client.
  2. Click Restart, under status.
  3. Configure the desired settings.
  4. Click Start to run the packet capture test.

Packet Capture Test Case configuration

Settings Guidelines
Basic Information
Name Specify the case name, or just use the default. The name appears in the list of test cases.
Duration Specify the test duration. The default is 10 minutes. The test stops automatically after the duration you specify.
Number of Samples Select the number of samples. The default is 20, which means the web UI will show the last 20 sample data (about 20 seconds) in the test case running page. You can select 20, 60, or 120.
Network Settings
Client Ports
The graphic depicts the test ports for client-side connections. The client ports simulate the behavior of clients.

You must select at least one client port. After you select a port for client, a (check mark) is displayed on the port icon, and a tab for the port is added below the graphic. Use the tabs to toggle the Capture Packets controls for each port.
Capture Packets
Capture Packets Set packet capture options if you want to capture the traffic of this port. You can capture all packets or specify a number. You can set packet capture filters for host IP/port and protocol.

Note: The system allocates temporary disk space for packet captures. The limit is 6,000,000 packets. The packets are saved to a temporary file that you can download from the running test case page. The filename indicates whether it is client or server communication and the interface port number. For example, client_port1.pcap. When a subsequent test case with packet capture enabled uses the same interface port as a previous one, the previous file is overwritten.
Load
Packet Analysis Select Yes to analyze bandwidth percentage for each protocol.

Network
Network MTU Maximum Transmission Unit for a data packet. FortiTester does not send out data packets larger than this value. Most DUTs have a limit for packet size. The default is 1500. Not configurable.