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Cloud · head to head

Longhorn vs Wireshark

Longhorn logo

Longhorn

Cloud

Open source distributed block storage for Kubernetes, incubating at the CNCF

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Wireshark logo

Wireshark

Cybersecurity

The world's foremost network protocol analyzer

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Longhorn there is no vendor and no SLA, so a production incident at three in the morning is your own problem unless you buy SUSE Rancher Prime support separately.; Wireshark free and open source under the GNU GPL; downloadable without paying any license fee, no commercial tier
  • They diverge on capability: Longhorn covers Per-volume controllers, Wireshark covers Deep packet inspection.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Longhorn and Wireshark actually diverge.

Attributes where Longhorn and Wireshark differ
AttributeLonghornWireshark
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feefree
PlatformsLinux, KubernetesDesktop, Cli
CategoryCloudCybersecurity
FoundedUnknown1998

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Longhorn

  • Per-volume controllers
  • Synchronous replication
  • Snapshots and backups
  • Volume expansion
  • Disaster recovery volumes
  • Web interface

Only in Wireshark

  • Deep packet inspection
  • Live capture
  • Offline analysis
  • 3000+ protocol support
  • Rich display filters
  • VoIP analysis
  • Decryption support
  • Scripting with Lua

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Longhorn

  • An on-premises Kubernetes cluster with local disks and no SAN that needs replicated persistent volumesnot Wireshark
  • Edge sites where shipping a storage array is impractical and three nodes is the whole clusternot Wireshark
  • A K3s deployment where the storage layer must be light enough to run alongside the workloadsnot Wireshark
  • A team that wants snapshots and S3 backups of persistent volumes without paying per-node storage licencesnot Wireshark

Wireshark

  • Network Securitynot Longhorn
  • Packet Analysisnot Longhorn
  • Open Sourcenot Longhorn

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Longhorn

  • There is no vendor and no SLA, so a production incident at three in the morning is your own problem unless you buy SUSE Rancher Prime support separately.
  • Synchronous replication across nodes means write latency depends on the slowest replica and the network between nodes, which makes it a poor fit for latency-sensitive databases.
  • Every replica is a full copy, so three-way replication consumes three times the raw capacity, unlike erasure-coded systems that are far more space efficient.
  • It is designed for block storage on modest clusters and does not scale to the node counts or throughput that Ceph or a commercial array handles, so growth eventually forces a migration.
  • Recovery from certain degraded states, such as a volume stuck detaching or replicas failing to rebuild, requires manual intervention and knowledge of Longhorn internals that is not widely held.

Wireshark

  • Free and open source under the GNU GPL; downloadable without paying any license fee, no commercial tier

Pricing, plan by plan

Longhorn

Free
  • LonghornFree
    • Apache 2.0 licensed, no licence fee
    • Community support via GitHub and Slack only
    • No vendor SLA or escalation path

Wireshark

Free
  • Free & Open SourceFree
    • Full functionality
    • Deep inspection
    • Live capture

Which should you pick?

Choose Longhorn if

  • You need per-volume controllers.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Kubernetes.
  • You also want synchronous replication.
Longhorn review

Choose Wireshark if

  • You need deep packet inspection.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Desktop, Cli.
  • You also want live capture.
Wireshark review

Questions people ask

Is Longhorn or Wireshark better?
Neither clearly leads. Longhorn starts at Free and Wireshark at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Longhorn or Wireshark?
Longhorn starts at Free and Wireshark at Free.
Does Longhorn or Wireshark run on more platforms?
Longhorn runs on Linux, Kubernetes. Wireshark runs on Desktop, Cli.
Can I use Longhorn for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Longhorn best used for?
Longhorn is most often used for an on-premises kubernetes cluster with local disks and no san that needs replicated persistent volumes, edge sites where shipping a storage array is impractical and three nodes is the whole cluster, a k3s deployment where the storage layer must be light enough to run alongside the workloads, a team that wants snapshots and s3 backups of persistent volumes without paying per-node storage licences. Of those, an on-premises kubernetes cluster with local disks and no san that needs replicated persistent volumes and edge sites where shipping a storage array is impractical and three nodes is the whole cluster are not what Wireshark is typically brought in for.
What can Longhorn do that Wireshark cannot?
Longhorn covers Per-volume controllers, Synchronous replication, Snapshots and backups, Volume expansion. Wireshark covers Deep packet inspection, Live capture, Offline analysis, 3000+ protocol support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Longhorn: Who do we call when it breaks?

Nobody, unless you buy SUSE Rancher Prime, which includes commercial support for Longhorn. This is the decisive question for production use.

Wireshark: Is there a cost to download and use Wireshark?

No, Wireshark is completely free. It's distributed under the GNU General Public License version 2, making it "free software" with no demo limitations. The full version is available at no cost.

Source
Longhorn: How much capacity does replication cost?

Full copies, so three replicas means three times the raw capacity. Budget accordingly rather than assuming erasure coding efficiency.

Wireshark: What support options are available for Wireshark users?

Wireshark offers multiple support channels including mailing lists, an active Discord community, the Ask Wireshark Q&A platform, comprehensive documentation, a user guide, and developer resources for those needing technical assistance.

Source
Longhorn: Is it suitable for production databases?

For modest workloads yes, but synchronous replication adds write latency and high-transaction databases usually want something faster.

Wireshark: Are there different pricing tiers or subscription levels?

Wireshark does not offer pricing tiers or subscriptions. There is one free version available to all users regardless of use case, personal, professional, or organizational.

Source
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