pcap_stats.3pcap

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.TH PCAP_STATS 3PCAP "7 September 2009"
.SH NAME
pcap_stats \- get capture statistics
.SH SYNOPSIS
.nf
.ft B
#include <pcap/pcap.h>
.ft
.LP
.ft B
int pcap_stats(pcap_t *p, struct pcap_stat *ps);
.ft
.fi
.SH DESCRIPTION
.B pcap_stats()
fills in the
.B struct pcap_stat
pointed to by its second argument.  The values represent
packet statistics from the start of the run to the time of the call.
.PP
.B pcap_stats()
is supported only on live captures, not on ``savefiles''; no statistics
are stored in ``savefiles'', so no statistics are available when reading
from a ``savefile''.
.PP
A
.B struct pcap_stat
has the following members:
.RS
.TP
.B ps_recv
number of packets received;
.TP
.B ps_drop
number of packets dropped because there was no room in the operating
system's buffer when they arrived, because packets weren't being read
fast enough;
.TP
.B ps_ifdrop
number of packets dropped by the network interface or its driver.
.RE
.PP
The statistics do not behave the same way on all platforms.
.B ps_recv
might count packets whether they passed any filter set with
.BR pcap_setfilter (3PCAP)
or not, or it might count only packets that pass the filter.
It also might, or might not, count packets dropped because there was no
room in the operating system's buffer when they arrived.
.B ps_drop
is not available on all platforms; it is zero on platforms where it's
not available.  If packet filtering is done in libpcap, rather than in
the operating system, it would count packets that don't pass the filter.
Both
.B ps_recv
and
.B ps_drop
might, or might not, count packets not yet read from the operating
system and thus not yet seen by the application.
.B ps_ifdrop
might, or might not, be implemented; if it's zero, that might mean that
no packets were dropped by the interface, or it might mean that the
statistic is unavailable, so it should not be treated as an indication
that the interface did not drop any packets.
.SH RETURN VALUE
.B pcap_stats()
returns 0 on success and returns \-1 if there is an error or if
.I p
doesn't support packet statistics.
If \-1 is returned,
.B pcap_geterr()
or
.B pcap_perror()
may be called with
.I p
as an argument to fetch or display the error text.
.SH SEE ALSO
pcap(3PCAP), pcap_geterr(3PCAP)