Wireshark Packet Analysis: Packet Rate and Protocol Hierarchy Review for RUCKUS AP Packet Captures

Summary

This article explains how to use Wireshark to perform a quick analysis of packet captures collected from a mirrored switch port connected to a RUCKUS Access Point (AP). It describes how to determine packets per second (PPS) and review protocol distribution using Wireshark statistics tools.

Question

How can I use Wireshark to determine packets per second (PPS) and analyze protocol distributio

Customer Environment

RUCKUS Access Point (AP) Switch port mirroring (SPAN) Wireshark packet captures Wired or wireless traffic analysis

Resolution

Use Wireshark statistics to obtain a quick overview of traffic volume and protocol composition observed by the RUCKUS AP.

Review Packet Rate

Navigate to: Statistics > Capture File Properties

The Summary window displays key capture statistics, including:

Total packets captured
Time span
Average packets per second (PPS)

Review the Average pps value to understand the packet rate observed during the capture period.

Analyze Protocol Distribution

Navigate to: Statistics > Protocol Hierarchy

The Protocol Hierarchy view displays the packet and byte counts, along with their corresponding percentages, for each protocol across the different protocol layers.

In the example shown, IPv6 traffic represents a very small percentage of the total packets observed.

The majority of the traffic consists of IPv4 UDP traffic, This indicates that most packets observed by the AP are UDP-based.

Protocol Hierarchy statistics can help identify dominant traffic types and determine whether a specific protocol is contributing significantly to the overall traffic load.

Notes

Ensure the packet capture was collected from a valid switch mirror (SPAN) port or AP Ethernet interface.
Verify the AP Ethernet interface is negotiating at the expected speed (1 Gbps in the example) so that the statistics accurately represent the traffic seen by the AP.
Packet rate should be evaluated together with packet size and overall throughput; packet count alone does not indicate whether traffic levels are excessive.
Correlate Wireshark findings with AP, switch, or controller statistics when performing deeper traffic investigations.

Article Number:
000003575

Updated:
August 04, 2026 11:43 PM (30 days ago)

Tags:
Troubleshooting, ZoneDirector, ZoneFlex Indoor, ZoneFlex Outdoor, Performance, SmartCell Gateway

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