US Patent 9813311 Dynamic snapshot value by turn for continuous packet capture

Embodiments are directed to capturing packets on a network. A snapshot value may be provided for a network monitoring computer (NMC). If the NMC may be provided packets of a network flow, characteristics of the network flow may be monitored. If the characteristics of the network flow indicate that a flow turn may be occurring on the network flow, the snapshot value may be modified by increasing it to a provided value. If conditions indicate that the flow turn may be complete, the snapshot value maybe reset by decreasing it to another provided value. A portion of each of the packets may be captured by the NMC, such that the size of the portion may be equivalent to the snapshot value. The captured portion of each of the packets may be stored in a memory of the NMC.