Initiate precision packet captures to analyze zero window conditions

In the following steps, you will write a trigger that initiates a precision packet capture each time a zero window condition occurs on an HTTP transaction.

1. Log in to the ExtraHop system through https://<extrahop-hostname-or-IP-address>.
2. Click the System Settings icon and then click Triggers.
3. Click Create.
4. Specify the following trigger configuration settings:
   1. Type Zero Window PCAP into the Name field.
   2. In the Assignments field, type HTTP Servers, and then select HTTP Servers.
   3. From the Events list, select FLOW_TICK.
   4. Select the Enable debug log checkbox.
   5. Click Show Advanced Options and type 128 in the Bytes Per Packet to Capture field.

      Tip:	The default value is 0. Keep this value to capture all the bytes in each packet.

5. In the right pane, type the following code to initiate the packet capture when a zero window condition occurs:

   // Check to make sure that this is an HTTP transaction
   if ( Flow.l7proto !== 'HTTP' ){    
       return;
   }
   
   //The packet capture name, which includes the client and server 
   //IP addresses and port numbers
   var pcapName = 'Zero Windows_'  
       + Flow.client.ipaddr + ':' + Flow.client.port  
       + '-'  
       + Flow.server.ipaddr + ':' + Flow.server.port;
   
   //Initiate packet capture each time a zero window occurs on 
   //the client or the server
   if ( Flow.zeroWnd1 > 0 || Flow.zeroWnd2 > 0 ) {  
       var opts = {  
           maxPackets: 30,        // Capture up to 30 packets 
           maxPacketsLookback: 15 // Capture up to 15 lookback packets 
       };  
       Flow.captureStart(pcapName, opts);
       //Show capture activity in debug log  
       debug('Start Zero PCAP: ' + pcapName);    
   }
   

   Copy
6. Click Save.

In the following steps, you will view the trigger debug output to confirm that the trigger is running and capturing packets. After you assign the trigger to your data sources, the system runs the trigger when HTTP traffic occurs, and if any transactions contain a zero window, the system sends debug results to the debug log.

1. Click the System Settings icon , and then click Triggers.
2. Click the Zero Window PCAP trigger you just created.
3. Click Edit Trigger Script.
4. Click the Debug Log tab.
   The debug log displays results similar to the following figure:

In the following steps, you will download packet captures.

1. Log in to the ExtraHop system through https://<extrahop-hostname-or-IP-address>.
2. From the top menu, click Records.
3. Click View Records.
4. From the Record Type drop-down list, select Packet Capture.
5. After the records associated with your packet capture appear, click the Packets icon , and then click Download PCAP.

1. Click the System Settings icon , and then click All Administration.
2. From the Packet Captures section, click View and Download Packet Captures.
   The Packet Capture List displays results similar to the following figure:
   Each packet capture in the list represents a flow of data between devices, and provides information about the devices, ports, and time range to help you narrow down which captures to download.
3. Select any capture named Zero Windows_ and click Download Selected Captures.
   The capture is saved to your local machine with the .pcap file extension.
4. Open the capture file with a packet analyzer, such as Wireshark.
   The output will look similar to the following figure:
5. Open packets that indicate a zero window occurrence.
   You will see details such as TCP flags, when zero window conditions occurred, the length of each occurrence, and which devices were involved.

   Look for patterns in the data and investigate the state of the client and server devices to help you narrow down and resolve the cause.