Decoding Application Layer Protocols

The application layer is the seventh layer of the OSI model, with commonly used application layer protocols based on TCP such as HTTP and WebSocket.

ChatTCP automatically recognizes the application layer protocol used by the connection and decodes the Payload of each packet using the corresponding application layer protocol, mapping it to the protocol's data structure for intuitive and efficient analysis.

Certainly, it is also supported to decode the Payload of all incoming and outgoing packets within the entire connection using the corresponding application layer protocol. ChatTCP will handle issues related to packet sticking and fragmentation. This corresponds to the Flow stream functionality in Wireshark.

For less common protocols, such as custom application layer protocols based on TCP used within enterprises, you can export the Payload as a binary file and decode it using your own protocol decoder. Typically, you will need to filter whether to export packets sent by the client or the server separately.

Currently, ChatTCP only supports HTTP and WebSocket protocols, but it will gradually add more application layer protocols in the future, such as those used by middleware: Redis, SQL.