Arkime vs PacketWatch

Arkime is a free, open-source network analysis and session search tool that passively observes traffic and creates searchable session records. It parses layers 3–7 and indexes fields including protocols, DNS names, HTTP headers, TLS/JA4 fingerprints, file hashes, and GeoIP in OpenSearch or Elasticsearch. Operators can store full packets in standard PCAP format or use metadata-only capture, with rules to select traffic for saving. Users can search sessions, inspect packet data, and export results as PCAP or CSV. Cont3xt enriches supported indicators using commercial and OSINT sources, including VirusTotal, Censys, and Shodan; phone enrichment is limited to the U.S. Parliament groups clusters and displays cluster issues and Elasticsearch health. Capture can scale by adding machines or increasing CPU and disk. Arkime has no license fees or paid-only features. Installation guidance covers Linux, recommends Debian or Ubuntu LTS, and links to a container guide. OpenSearch or Elasticsearch is required for session metadata. Authentication options include basic, form, digest, header, and OIDC, while the project advises against anonymous authentication.

PacketWatch is network threat-hunting software built around deep packet analysis. Passive collectors capture complete network packets while the cloud platform analyzes packet metadata; the service says high-fidelity data remains stored locally. Machine-learning and artificial-intelligence analytics identify anomalies and create hunt leads, including Command and Control detections. Investigators can filter and replay traffic retrospectively, create nested rules and export PCAP captures as forensic evidence. Virtual collectors capture cloud traffic, with AWS and Azure named as hunting environments. The product addresses persistent threats, insider threats, data exfiltration, Command and Control activity, and IoT, OT and legacy-device activity. Integrations include CrowdStrike Falcon for endpoint telemetry and containment, and Validin for threat intelligence and DNS context. Fully Managed, Co-Managed and Self-Managed SaaS packages are available, with pricing supplied by quote.