How To do packet capture for NetExtender/Mobile Connect connections for troubleshooting

The firmware packet capture utility has been provided on the SonicWall SRA appliances for facilitate troubleshooting.With the packet capture utility, the SRA can capture the traffic for NetExtender/Mobile Connect connection and provide option to download Pcap file which can be analyzed using the Wireshark packet Analyzer tool.

The article explains how can it be configured and used.

Note: This option should be used only for troubleshooting purposes as it can adversely affect the performance of the Box. Packet capture should be turned off once the capture is obtained. SRA gives a warning when it is enabled .

Step 1: Browse to Services | Settings.
Step 2: Check the "Enable Packet Capture" option under NetExtender/Mobile Connect Services Settings .

There are multiple options about the type of Capture. Only one of the option can be selected based the requirement:

• Per User: Saves a unique Pcap file for each user while the capture is on.
• Per NetExtender Client IP: Saves a unique Pcap file for each remote IP assigned by SRA.
• Per User Session: Saves a unique Pcap file for each user session.
• Per Client IP: Saves a unique Pcap file for each client IP which initiated connection.

The SRA generates a ZIP file containing the Pcap capture file.