Basic network question...

[goon12]

At my work, out network is mainly Windows, with a PDC, there are a few Linux boxen on the network. When I run something like sniffit, or netwatch on one of the linux boxes, I am able to see all the connections on our entire network.

At home I have a small lan with 3 comps, a laptop, and one server running IPCHAINS with 2 nics ( eth1: LAN eth0: CableModem ). When I run "sniffit -F eth1 -i" on the server I am able to see all the connections on the LAN. However, when I run sniffit on any of the other comps on my LAN I can only see connections coming in/out of that machine. How come they are not "sniffing" the entire lan?

I am just wondering if my network is set up correctly,it *seems* to be. I dont actually have to "join" each client to the domain like I would in a Windows network, right? I just gave them all 192.168.x.x IP addresses, edited the /etc/hosts file correctly, and they all have the same Mask and Bcast.

[Gertrude]

Because your work most likely uses a hub, and you have a switch at you house.


A hub will broadcast all data to all ports. Switches only send data to the port on the switch that the computer its trying to communicate with is connected to..

On a switch you will only see broadcast traffic, and traffic that is destined to that computer.

[goon12]

Kind of my set up..
At work the Linux box I am sniffing from is connected to one hub, which only has 2 machines plugged into it. But that hub is then plugged into another which goes to the patch-panel, which is connected to the firewall/router.

At my house ALL the clients are connected to one hub, which connects to eth1 on my server. I thought that would cause me to sniff everything on my lan, but it's not. :(

- goon12

[userland]

Do you have a hub or a switch at your house?

[goon12]

Just a hub, and the uplink port on that hub goes to eth1 on my server, eth0 goes to the cable modem.