PCAP_STATS(3)						     Library Functions Manual						     PCAP_STATS(3)

NAME

       pcap_stats - get capture statistics

SYNOPSIS

       #include <pcap/pcap.h>

       int pcap_stats(pcap_t *p, struct pcap_stat *ps);

DESCRIPTION

       pcap_stats() fills in the 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.

       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''.

       A struct pcap_stat has the following members:

	      ps_recv
		     number of packets received;

	      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;

	      ps_ifdrop
		     number of packets dropped by the network interface or its driver.

       The statistics do not behave the same way on all platforms.  ps_recv might count packets whether they passed any filter set with  pcap_set-
       filter(3)  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.	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 ps_recv and ps_drop might, or might not, count packets not yet read from the operating system and thus not  yet  seen	by
       the  application.   ps_ifdrop might, or might not, be implemented; if it's zero, that might mean that no packets were dropped by the inter-
       face, 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.

RETURN VALUE

       pcap_stats()  returns  0  on  success  and  returns  -1 if there is an error or if p doesn't support packet statistics.	If -1 is returned,
       pcap_geterr() or pcap_perror() may be called with p as an argument to fetch or display the error text.

SEE ALSO

       pcap(3), pcap_geterr(3)

								 7 September 2009						     PCAP_STATS(3)