Premade virtual images are available at https://www.osboxes.org/ where it is easy to download and run a Linux OS that has Wireshark pre-installed and ready to run. Once on osboxes.org, you'll find you can choose from one of many OS.

Using the premade images for testing on a production network is not practical, as the VM doesn't have the same visibility as the host. However, using a VM is beneficial when learning about how to use Wireshark on a Linux OS in a classroom setting for training or testing purposes.

As new OS come into the market, it's nice to know that Wireshark evolves to keep up with the changing demands in today's networked environment. The following section outlines how versatile Wireshark is when working with a variety of OS.