What is packet sniffing?
Packet sniffing is the practice of gathering, collecting, and logging some or all packets that pass through a computer network, regardless of how the packet is addressed. In this way, every packet, or a defined subset of packets, may be gathered for further analysis. You as a network administrators can use the collected data for a wide variety of purposes like monitoring bandwidth and traffic.
A packet sniffer, sometimes called a packet analyzer, is composed of two main parts. First, a network adapter that connects the sniffer to the existing network. Second, software that provides a way to log, see, or analyze the data collected by the device.