IPV4 RAW AF INET RAW server client program with Select system call

Let us answer few basic questions in this socket

What does socket(AF_INET, SOCK_RAW, IPPROTO_RAW) do?

Why use AF_INET as the address family?

What is the purpose of SOCK_RAW in the socket type?

Why specify IPPROTO_RAW as the protocol?

How does this socket differ from a standard UDP or TCP socket?

Is error checking needed after creating the socket?

Can this socket be used for other protocols besides IP?

How is the destination IP address specified for the packet?

How is the source IP address handled in the packet?

Can this socket type be used with IPv6?

What is the purpose of the select system call in network programming?

How does select help in handling multiple sockets efficiently?

What types of file descriptors can be monitored using select?

What is the significance of the timeout parameter in the select function?

How do you handle errors when using the select system call?

How does select handle a set of file descriptors with different states (e.g., reading, writing, exception)?

How does select Checking Ready File Descriptors?

What does it mean if select returns 0?

https://www.plantuml.com/plantuml/svg/ZLB1QW8n4BtdAwONIUeUwdLxKQo2L5nPjnHwMTPaWg5n8vbeQR--YLti5WljPOOtR-RDv94nXSQ7uzwocx33FG8T6ecssR8pmN9oyXK3dyphnMfMPR0ffezrENdEOB5UbqLL923kMRurhUAfMwiCE0L_b04IRfJojs90w4_ewuGo8FE1JlDUJKIDjvsn2FoS-4W8C0Jy7KcmVFvGlypAWWyyDghMYjBAMDpCgilI7noXHHaw3eOmwl4Ph9wMotwC4qO3ZuABpU-I0g8_RNSE0EGUvKbxjx_qRezQu_VRlg38uEvlEmOfrHRRU4VI9cnLS5VAiU5VSZqrj1GTRPrWKTBe53kNfrMv7CfeBJyveuIqZh3R6ESek0CRn-xuDJu1
  • There are many functions used in socket. We can classify those functions based on functionalities.

    • Create Socket

    • Select

    • Recvfrom data_packet

    • Sendto data_packet

    • Close socket

  • socket() is used to create a new socket. For example,

sockfd = socket(AF_INET, SOCK_RAW, IPPROTO_RAW);
  • select() is used in network programming to monitor multiple file descriptors (usually sockets) for read, write, or error conditions. For example,

ret = select(sockfd + 1, &read_fds, NULL, NULL, NULL);
  • recvfrom is commonly used with sockets, where communication is connectionless. it provides information about the source (sender) of the data, including the sender’s IP address and port number. For example,

len  = recvfrom(sockfd, buffer, sizeof(buffer), 0, (struct sockaddr*)&server_addr, &addr_len));
  • sendto is used to send the encoded message to the specified server address and port using a socket. For example,

ret = sendto(sockfd, buffer, len, 0, (struct sockaddr*)&server_addr, addr_len);
  • close is used to close the socket To free up system resources associated with the socket. For example,

(void)close(sockfd);
  • See the full program below,

#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <string.h>
#include <arpa/inet.h>
#include <netinet/ip.h>
#include <sys/socket.h>
#include <unistd.h>
#include <signal.h>

#define BUFFER_SIZE 1024

int sockfd = -1;

void register_signal_handler(
int signum,
void (*handler)(int))
{
  if (signal(signum, handler) == 
  SIG_ERR) {
     printf("Cannot handle signal\n");
     exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
  }
}

static void sigint_handler(int signo)
{
  (void)close(sockfd);
  sleep(2);
  (void)printf("Caught sigINT!\n");
  exit(EXIT_SUCCESS);
}

int main(void) 
{
    int len, ret, i;
    struct sockaddr_in server_addr;
    fd_set read_fds;
    socklen_t addr_len = sizeof(
    struct sockaddr_in);
    char buffer[BUFFER_SIZE];

    register_signal_handler(SIGINT,
    sigint_handler);

    memset(&server_addr, 0, 
    sizeof(server_addr));
    server_addr.sin_family = AF_INET;
    server_addr.sin_addr.s_addr = 
    INADDR_ANY;

    sockfd = socket(AF_INET, 
             SOCK_RAW, 
             IPPROTO_RAW);

    if (sockfd < 0) {
        perror("socket");
        return -1;
    }

    ret = bind(sockfd, 
    (struct sockaddr *)&server_addr, 
    sizeof(server_addr));
    
    if (ret < 0) {
        perror("bind");
        (void)close(sockfd);
        return -2;
    }

    printf("Server is waiting\n");

    while (1) { 
      FD_ZERO(&read_fds);
      FD_SET(sockfd, &read_fds);

      ret  = select(sockfd + 1, 
      &read_fds, NULL, NULL, NULL);
        
      if (ret < 0) {
        perror("select");
        break;   
      }

      if (FD_ISSET(sockfd, &read_fds)) {
         len = recvfrom(sockfd, buffer, 
         sizeof(buffer), 0, 
         (struct sockaddr *)&server_addr, 
         &addr_len);

      if (len < 0) {
         perror("recvfrom");
         break;
      }

      printf("Received raw packet:\n");
    
     for (i = 0; i < len; i++) {
        printf("%02X ", 
        (unsigned char)buffer[i]);
    }

    (void)printf("\n");

    ret = sendto(sockfd, buffer, 
    len, 0, 
    (struct sockaddr *)&server_addr, 
    addr_len);
    
    if (ret < 0) {
      perror("send");
      break;
     }
   }
 }
  
 (void)close(sockfd);
    
  return 0;
}

$ gcc -o server server.c

$ sudo ./server

Server is waiting
Received raw packet:
45 00 00 14 30 39 00 00 FF FF 8C AF 7F 00 00 01 7F 00 00 01
Received raw packet:
45 00 00 14 30 39 00 00 FF FF 8C AF 7F 00 00 01 7F 00 00 01
Received raw packet:
45 00 00 14 30 39 00 00 FF FF 8C AF 7F 00 00 01 7F 00 00 01
Received raw packet:
45 00 00 14 30 39 00 00 FF FF 8C AF 7F 00 00 01 7F 00 00 01
Received raw packet:
45 00 00 14 30 39 00 00 FF FF 8C AF 7F 00 00 01 7F 00 00 01
Received raw packet:
45 00 00 14 30 39 00 00 FF FF 8C AF 7F 00 00 01 7F 00 00 01
Received raw packet:
45 00 00 14 30 39 00 00 FF FF 8C AF 7F 00 00 01 7F 00 00 01
Received raw packet:
45 00 00 14 30 39 00 00 FF FF 8C AF 7F 00 00 01 7F 00 00 01
Received raw packet:
45 00 00 14 30 39 00 00 FF FF 8C AF 7F 00 00 01 7F 00 00 01
Received raw packet:
45 00 00 14 30 39 00 00 FF FF 8C AF 7F 00 00 01 7F 00 00 01
Received raw packet:
45 00 00 14 30 39 00 00 FF FF 8C AF 7F 00 00 01 7F 00 00 01
https://www.plantuml.com/plantuml/svg/RL71JiCm3BttAynbIbWEx3ekcxPEL4phr1OXxH9rYQD5jCiKfqFmzQIZm11S7DdFVa_lPKQXzg5hc-Gc7B15e5EjiAdtoGL8fkJK2mOsNybiarO2odpnA8lviu1ikotoAkyRVf-y7co3m2uFct0Ebe2z8V58WKST7EkPZ1Qmxun1tz_BXtI-J0jPPhjKm9q0Hi5tAa2_McljR_c8q9_HoxuJGFOTdM5NCnwbfwkbtAL5paOUQosDfc5OfjMtwY-Ci44L1Wp6CBd21MoUrkklEWgsHTU5U6KDi4YQbV_JSeW17WVF033rgCx6k_QFyS75Pyilndyaen0s59CyEfx4uApfwv3keYhMOnKZPMTdDLUD8npeunq5TqfcSJj-vmS=
  • There are many functions used in socket. We can classify those functions based on functionalities.

    • Create Socket

    • Select

    • Sendto data_packet

    • Recvfrom data_packet

    • Close socket

  • socket is used to create a new socket. For example,

sockfd = socket(AF_INET, SOCK_RAW, IPPROTO_RAW);
  • select is used in network programming to monitor multiple file descriptors (usually sockets) for read, write, or error conditions. For example,

ret = select(sockfd + 1, &read_fds, NULL, NULL, &timeout);
  • sendto is used to send the encoded message to the specified server address and port using a socket. For example,

ret = sendto(sockfd, buffer, IP_HEADER_SIZE, 0, (struct sockaddr*)&server_addr, sizeof(server_addr));
  • recvfrom is commonly used with sockets, where communication is connectionless. it provides information about the source (sender) of the data, including the sender’s IP address and port number. For example,

len = recvfrom(sockfd, buffer, sizeof(buffer), 0, NULL, NULL);
  • close is used to close the socket To free up system resources associated with the socket. For example,

(void)close(sockfd);
  • See the full program below,

#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <unistd.h>
#include <string.h>
#include <arpa/inet.h>
#include <netinet/ip.h>
#include <sys/socket.h>
#include <signal.h>

#define IP_HEADER_SIZE sizeof(struct iphdr)
#define BUFFER_SIZE 1024

int sockfd = -1;

static void sigint_handler(
int signo)
{
  (void)close(sockfd);
  sleep(2);
  (void)printf("Caught sigINT!\n");
  exit(EXIT_SUCCESS);
}

void register_signal_handler(
int signum,
void (*handler)(int))
{
  if (signal(signum, handler) ==
  SIG_ERR) {
     printf("Cannot handle signal\n");
     exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
  }
}

void validate_convert_addr(
char *ip_str,
struct sockaddr_in *sock_addr)
{
  if (ip_str == NULL) {
   perror("Invalid ip_str\n");
   exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
 }

 if (sock_addr == NULL) {
   perror("Invalid sock_addr\n");
   exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
 }

 printf("IP Address: %s\n", ip_str);

 if (inet_pton(AF_INET, ip_str,
 &(sock_addr->sin_addr)) <= 0) {
    perror("Invalid address\n");
    exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
  }
}

void recv_data(char *buffer)
{
  int ret, len, i;

  len = recvfrom(sockfd, 
  buffer, IP_HEADER_SIZE, 
  0, NULL, NULL);

  if (len < 0) {
     perror("recvfrom");
     (void)close(sockfd);
     exit(0);
  }

  (void)printf("Received:\n");
  
  for (i = 0; i < len; i++) {
      printf("%02X ", 
      (unsigned char)buffer[i]);
  }
  
  (void)printf("\n");
}

int main(int argc, char *argv[]) 
{
    int ret;
    int len, i;
    fd_set write_fds;
    struct timeval timeout;
    struct sockaddr_in 
    server_addr;
    struct iphdr *ip_header;
    char buffer[BUFFER_SIZE];

    register_signal_handler(SIGINT,
    sigint_handler);
   
    if (argc != 2) {
      printf("%s<ip-addr>\n",
      argv[0]);
      exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
    }

    memset(&server_addr, 0, 
    sizeof(server_addr));
    server_addr.sin_family = AF_INET;
    validate_convert_addr(argv[1],
    &server_addr);

    sockfd = socket(AF_INET, 
             SOCK_RAW, 
             IPPROTO_RAW);

    if (sockfd < 0) {
        perror("socket");
        return -1;
    }

    ip_header = (struct iphdr *)buffer;
    ip_header->ihl = 5;
    ip_header->version = 4;
    ip_header->tos = 0;
    ip_header->tot_len = IP_HEADER_SIZE;
    ip_header->id = htons(12345);
    ip_header->frag_off = 0;
    ip_header->ttl = 255;
    ip_header->protocol = IPPROTO_RAW;
    ip_header->check = 0;
    ip_header->saddr = inet_addr(argv[1]);
    ip_header->daddr = inet_addr(argv[1]);

    while (1) {
      ret = sendto(sockfd, buffer, 
      IP_HEADER_SIZE, 0, 
      (struct sockaddr *)&server_addr, 
      sizeof(server_addr));

      if (ret < 0) {
         perror("sendto");
         break;
      }
	    
      FD_ZERO(&write_fds);
      FD_SET(sockfd, &write_fds);
      
      timeout.tv_sec = 1;
      timeout.tv_usec = 0;

      ret = select(sockfd + 1, NULL, 
      &write_fds, NULL, &timeout);

      if (ret < 0) {
        perror("select");
        break;
      }
      
      printf("Client is sending\n");

      if (FD_ISSET(sockfd, &write_fds)) {
              recv_data(buffer);
      }
    }

    (void)close(sockfd);
   
    return 0;
}

$ gcc -o client client.c

$ sudo ./client 127.0.0.1

IP Address: 127.0.0.1
Client is sending
Received:
45 00 00 14 30 39 00 00 FF FF 8C AF 7F 00 00 01 7F 00 00 01
Client is sending
Received:
45 00 00 14 30 39 00 00 FF FF 8C AF 7F 00 00 01 7F 00 00 01
Client is sending
Received:
45 00 00 14 30 39 00 00 FF FF 8C AF 7F 00 00 01 7F 00 00 01
Client is sending
Received:
45 00 00 14 30 39 00 00 FF FF 8C AF 7F 00 00 01 7F 00 00 01
Client is sending
Received:
45 00 00 14 30 39 00 00 FF FF 8C AF 7F 00 00 01 7F 00 00 01
Client is sending
Received:
45 00 00 14 30 39 00 00 FF FF 8C AF 7F 00 00 01 7F 00 00 01
Client is sending
Received:
45 00 00 14 30 39 00 00 FF FF 8C AF 7F 00 00 01 7F 00 00 01

Default Domain:

By default, the socket is configured to work in the AF_INET domain, handling all types of network data.

Additional Domain Support:

We expand the socket’s capabilities to also function in the PF_INET domain, allowing it to operate similarly to AF_INET.

Socket Creation:

We set up a network connection point known as a socket using socket(PF_INET, SOCK_RAW, IPPROTO_RAW).

Working Scenario:

Despite the change in domain to PF_INET, the socket continues to operate the same way, handling general network data.

Socket API

Learning

socket

Create a new socket

select

Monitor multiple file descriptors (usually sockets) for read, write, or error conditions.

recvfrom

It provides information about the source (sender) of the data, including the sender’s IP address and port number.

sendto

Send the encoded message to the specified server address and port using a socket.