Ethereal-users: Re: [Ethereal-users] Interface names in Windows

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From: Guy Harris <gharris@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Mon, 08 Aug 2005 09:52:12 -0700
Dave Pollak wrote:
I'm trying to run Ethereal from a batch file in Windows. Using the -i flag, in Linux, I can refer to the interface by it's number (eth0). It doesn't work that way in Windows, apparently.

Correct, at least in Windows 2000 and later. Interfaces are given, by Windows, names that include a GUID for the interface; those names are not as user-friendly as the names given to interfaces on UN*X systems.

If you run "tethereal -D", it'll list the interfaces, and give numbers for them. *Those* numbers can be used as arguments to the "-i" flag, e.g.:

	$ tethereal -D
	1. en0
	2. en1
	3. ppp0
	4. lo0
	$ tethereal -i en1
	Capturing on Airport

(Yes, that's OS X, not Windows, but "-D", and the numbers, work on UN*Xes as well.)

The way it knew to call it "Airport" is that, in Ethereal, I'd done Edit -> Preferences, selected "Capture" and, in that pane of the Preferences dialog, clicked the "Edit" button next to the "Interfaces:" label, selected "en1" in that dialog box, set the "Comment:" field to "Airport", clicked "OK", and then clicked "Save" and "OK" in the Preferences dialog. You can do that in Windows, although, in Windows, you might have a better chance of the OS giving the adapter a descriptive title.

You can also set the default interface in that dialog box.