tinySniffer: WiFi-Connected USB Sniffer Based on NanoPi NEO Air SBC

tinySniffer is a USB sniffer designed to capture USB 1.x and 2.0 packets remotely. Based on the Allwinner H3-powered NanoPi Neo Air SBC, tinySniffer makes use of WiFi connectivity to enable remote packet capture, and the captured data is compatible with the popular Wireshark packet analyzer tool.

While Wireshark can already capture USB packets, it has limitations, particularly in capturing some low-level USB packets. In such cases, a hardware USB sniffer like Total Phase Beagle USB, PhyWhisperer USB, or tinySniffer is necessary. The micro USB OTG port of the NanoPi NEO Air SBC is connected to the host computer, and the company added a USB 2.0 Type-A port connected to the USB interface on the GPIO header to connect a device under test, such as a USB keyboard, a USB Ethernet dongle, or a USB printer.

After configuring WiFi, the user can access the tinySniffer USB capture tool remotely by visiting the usb7.net website and selecting “My Devices.” This opens a terminal window in the browser, allowing users to capture packets with the sniff command.

Specifications

• Processor:
  • Allwinner H3
  • Quad-core Cortex-A7
• Memory:
  • 512MB DDR3 RAM
• Storage:
  • 8GB eMMC Flash
  • MicroSD card slot for expansion
• Connectivity:
  • WiFi: Dual-band 802.11b/g/n
  • Bluetooth 4.0
• Ports:
  • 1x Micro USB OTG port
  • 1x USB 2.0 Type-A port
  • GPIO header with USB interface
• Software:
  • tinyDebian Linux distribution
  • Compatible with Wireshark for packet analysis
• Additional Features:
  • Remote access via usb7.net
  • Supports capturing USB 1.x and 2.0 packets

Video

The tinySniffer runs on the tinyDebian Linux distribution, which was first introduced in an article about the NanoPi NEO Air SBC modified with a dual-band WiFi module from the same company. However, neither tinyDebian OS nor the sniff command is open-source, so replication of this USB sniffer is not possible if you already own a NanoPi NEO Air board. You can copy those to your computer and analyze them in Wireshark , and the main advantage of the solution is remote access. More details can be found in the documentation.

The tinySniffer is sold for $199 on Tindie, which represents a significant markup compared to the $23 price for the NanoPi Air NEO. This pricing is similar to FPGA-based USB capture solutions.

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