Network Security Tools

Name

pcap_stats — Prototype: int pcap_stats(pcap_t *p, struct pcap_stat *ps)

Synopsis

Purpose: pcap_stats is used to return capture statistics for all packets captured since the start of the capture. pcap_stats is relevant only for live captures because statistics are not stored in saved files. The pcap_stat structure returned contains the members ps_recv (number of packets received), ps_drop (number of packets dropped), ps_ifdrop (number of packets dropped by the interface; this is not supported on all platforms), and, on Windows platforms, bs_capt (number of packets reaching the application). Exactly what is measured for packets received and dropped depends on the platform. For example, when using BPF filters, some platforms count all packets received, while others count only the packets passing the filter. pcap_stats returns -1 on error or when statistics are not supported and it returns 0 on success.