SentryWire
SentryWire: A forensic packet capture platform built for long-term retention and retrospective investigation. Ranked #10 of 22 in Network Packet Capture Software by our editors (8.1/10); pricing: Pricing on request; best for long-term forensic packet retention.
At a glance
- Editor score8.1 / 10
- PricingPricing on request
- Best forLong-term forensic packet retention
- Display filtersYes
- Facts checked20 Sep 2026
Where it wins
- Continuous full packet capture with retrospective search
- Suricata IDS, packet replay, and session reconstruction
- PCAP capture across appliances, VMs, portable systems, and clusters
Where it doesn't
- Pricing is handled through direct sales rather than published plan tiers
- Its enterprise focus may exceed the needs of smaller teams
- Deployment choices require evaluation across appliances, VMs, and cluster nodes
Our verdict on SentryWire
SentryWire is an enterprise full packet capture platform for federal agencies, large organizations, and ICS/OT operators. It continuously captures complete network packets, applies real-time traffic filters, and supports retrospective search across stored traffic. Long-term retention is central to its positioning, with traffic retained for weeks, months, or years. The platform also combines network monitoring, forensic investigation, Suricata intrusion detection, packet replay, session reconstruction, file artifact extraction, hashing, and Kibana-based analytics.
The pricing model is contact sales, and the vendor promotes a free demo. SentryWire supports several deployment paths: virtual machines, hardware appliances, portable systems, and scalable cluster nodes. That range suits organizations with different infrastructure requirements, but it also makes deployment architecture an important part of the buying decision. Its ecosystem includes Splunk, Elastic, Suricata, Kibana, and Palo Alto Cortex, giving teams options for connecting packet capture, detection, analytics, and security workflows.
For investigations, the combination of continuous capture, long-term retention, retrospective search, and forensic replay is the main differentiator. Analysts can work with PCAP data, reconstruct sessions, extract file artifacts, and use hashing during review, while integrated Suricata detection adds an intrusion-monitoring layer. SentryWire is a strong fit when historical network visibility and detailed packet evidence matter across large or specialized environments. Teams seeking a smaller, simpler capture utility or transparent plan-based purchasing may prefer a narrower product.
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SentryWire pricing
SentryWire fact sheet
| Free plan | Not verified |
|---|---|
| Paid from | Not verified |
| Live capture | Yes |
| Offline trace analysis | Yes |
| Display filters | Yes |
| Protocol decryption | Not verified |
| Capture file formats | PCAP |
| Command-line capture | Not verified |
| Supported platforms | virtual machines, hardware appliances, portable systems, cluster nodes |
| Deployment | Self-hosted |
| Platforms | Web |
| Compliance & security | SOC 2, HIPAA |
| Support | |
| Built for | Mid-market, Enterprise (editorial estimate) |
| Integrations | 5 integrations: Splunk, Elastic, Suricata, Kibana, Palo Alto Cortex |
| Pricing | Pricing on request |
| Website | sentrywire.com |
| Facts checked | 20 Sep 2026 |
SentryWire integrations
SentryWire lists 5 integrations on its own site.
- Splunk
- Elastic
- Suricata
- Kibana
- Palo Alto Cortex
Alternatives to SentryWire
- WiresharkA broad packet analysis toolkit with live capture, deep inspection, filtering, and TShark.9.4
- TSharkA free, open-source CLI analyzer for scripted capture, filtering, and protocol inspection.9.1
- MalcolmA broad, free toolkit for live capture, PCAP analysis, and security-focused traffic investigation.9.0
See all SentryWire alternatives →
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Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
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