IPV4 RAW AF INET TCP server client program with Epoll system call

Let us answer few basic questions in this socket

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

When is it appropriate to use SOCK_RAW sockets with TCP?

Can this socket be used for regular TCP communication?

How does a raw TCP socket differ from a regular TCP socket?

What are some use cases for raw TCP sockets?

How can I capture and analyze TCP packets using raw sockets?

Is error checking needed after creating the socket?

Why is it important to check the return value of read() and write() in socket programming?

What is the primary purpose of the epoll system call?

What types of file descriptors can be monitored using epoll?

What data structure is used by epoll to store events?

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

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

How does epoll Checking Ready File Descriptors?

What does it mean if epoll returns 0?

https://www.plantuml.com/plantuml/svg/ZP9TIyCm58Rl-okEDvBCEhRRoM2bgp2iQzcA2Y8XIqzPC6j6atNehpVPLsKWU9E4dFTzpaSoCPOtThTHmOrTumR1RBb0nLV18H2CZ1QVQ4dqo6Rpf0XXcSLFR16zXZ3ByqLMPAo8S_eGZ5QoBebNiweCWHZRx8G5Vy7Bie4UDTYq_XY2aT-egsi9apNr8A7h6eNzczMZGaciBViF3RTQAOU1CHoFea5kSKW6NLHOHSww498yIrCM5ocBfjCGBcNSOkkIEjT-BHK2EMnaI2b80-GB3JtpzbpQNy23puJm7Bsnv2MP5yiGxeSE92iWn-3xuADVSilxlj3nEIS5zoRrYGq08rVwhnatADhLhggm6q9tvPltbdqZBNQUAtsdHMLSJxMc0TQbhFnwwZCk5kcTSCsHLilIpLwR2z0PZTNROEBaxXFz00==
  • There are many functions used in socket. We can classify those functions based on functionalities.

    • Create Socket

    • Bind Socket

    • Connect Socket

    • Epoll create1

    • Epoll_ctl

    • Epoll_wait

    • Write data_packet

    • Read data_packet

    • Close socket

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

sock_fd = socket(AF_INET, SOCK_RAW, IPPROTO_TCP);
  • bind() is used to associate the socket with a specific address and port. For example,

ret = bind(sock_fd, (struct sockaddr*)servaddr, sizeof(struct sockaddr_in));
  • connect() is used in network programming to establish a connection from a client to a server. For example,

ret = connect(sock_fd, (struct sockaddr*)client_addr, sizeof(struct sockaddr_in));
  • epoll_create1() creating an epoll instance using epoll_create1, The size parameter is an advisory hint for the kernel regarding the number of file descriptors expected to be monitored, For example,

epoll_fd = epoll_create1(0);
  • epoll_ctl() After creating an epoll instance, file descriptors are added to it using epoll_ctl, For example,

ret = epoll_ctl(epoll_fd, EPOLL_CTL_ADD, sock_fd, &event);
  • epoll_wait() The application then enters a loop where it waits for events using epoll_wait, For example,

ready_fds = epoll_wait(epoll_fd, events, MAX_EVENTS, -1);
  • read system call in C is commonly used to read data from a file descriptor, such as a socket.

ret = read(sock_fd, recvbuffer, sizeof(recvbuffer));
  • write system call in C is used to write data to a file descriptor, such as a socket.

ret = write(sock_fd, buffer, sizeof(buffer));
  • close is used to close the socket To free up system resources associated with the socket. For example,

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

#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <string.h>
#include <unistd.h>
#include <sys/socket.h>
#include <netinet/in.h>
#include <arpa/inet.h>
#include <signal.h>
#include <errno.h>
#include <linux/ip.h>
#include <netinet/tcp.h>
#include <sys/epoll.h>

#define PORT 50000
#define PORT_CLIENT 50001
#define MAX_EVENTS 5

struct sockaddr_in 
*servaddr = NULL,
*client_addr = NULL;
int sock_fd;
int epoll_fd;

struct pseudo_iphdr {
   unsigned int source_ip_addr;
   unsigned int dest_ip_addr;
   unsigned char fixed;
   unsigned char protocol;
   unsigned short tcp_len;
};

unsigned short in_cksum (
uint16_t * addr, int len)
{
   int nleft = len;
   unsigned int sum = 0;
   unsigned short *w = addr;
   unsigned short answer = 0;

   while (nleft > 1) {
      sum += *w++;
      nleft -= 2;
   }

   if (nleft == 1) {
     *(unsigned char *) 
      (&answer) = 
     * (unsigned char *) w;
         sum += answer;
   }

   sum = (sum >> 16) + 
   (sum & 0xffff);
   sum += (sum >> 16); 
   answer = (unsigned short) ~sum;
   return (answer);
}

void interrupt_handler (
int signum) {
    (void)close(sock_fd);
    free(client_addr);
    exit(0);
}

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);
  }
}

int main (int argc, char *argv[])
{
  char buffer[1024] = 
  {0};
  unsigned char recvbuffer[1024] = 
  {0};
  int length, ret;
  char *string = 
  "Hello client";
  struct tcphdr *tcp_hdr = NULL;
  char *string_data = NULL;
  char *recv_string_data = NULL;
  char *csum_buffer = NULL;
  struct pseudo_iphdr 
  csum_hdr;
  int ready_fds;
  struct epoll_event events[MAX_EVENTS];
  struct epoll_event event;

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

  signal (SIGINT, 
  interrupt_handler);
  signal (SIGTERM, 
  interrupt_handler);

  sock_fd = socket(AF_INET, 
            SOCK_RAW, 
            IPPROTO_TCP);

  if(0 > sock_fd) {
     printf("unable to create\n");
     exit(0);
  }

  servaddr = (struct sockaddr_in *)malloc(
  sizeof(struct sockaddr_in));
        
  if (servaddr == NULL) {
     printf("could not allocate memory\n");
     goto end;
  }

  servaddr->sin_family = AF_INET;
  servaddr->sin_port = PORT;
  validate_convert_addr(argv[1],
  servaddr);

  ret = bind(sock_fd, 
  (struct sockaddr *)servaddr, 
  sizeof(struct sockaddr_in));

  if (ret < 0) {
    printf("bind\n");
    goto end1;
  }

  client_addr = (struct sockaddr_in *)malloc(
  sizeof(struct sockaddr_in));
  
  if (client_addr == NULL) {
    printf("allocation memory\n");
    goto end2;
  }

  client_addr->sin_family = AF_INET;
  client_addr->sin_port =
  PORT_CLIENT;
  validate_convert_addr(argv[1],
  client_addr);

  ret = connect(sock_fd, 
  (struct sockaddr *)client_addr, 
  sizeof(struct sockaddr_in));
        
  if (ret != 0) {
     printf("error %d", errno);
     printf("connect returned error\n");
     goto end2;
  }
      
  string_data = (char *) 
  (buffer + sizeof(struct tcphdr));
  strncpy(string_data, string, 
  strlen(string));

  tcp_hdr = (struct tcphdr *)buffer;
  tcp_hdr->source = htons(PORT);
  tcp_hdr->dest = 
  htons(PORT_CLIENT);
  tcp_hdr->ack_seq = 0x0; 
  tcp_hdr->doff = 5; 
  tcp_hdr->syn = 1; 
  tcp_hdr->window = htons(200); 

  csum_buffer = (char *)calloc((
  sizeof(struct pseudo_iphdr) + 
  sizeof(struct tcphdr) + 
  strlen(string_data)), 
  sizeof(char));

  if (csum_buffer == NULL) {
     printf("allocate csum buffer\n");
     goto end1;
  }

  csum_hdr.source_ip_addr = 
  inet_addr("192.168.1.11");
  csum_hdr.dest_ip_addr = 
  inet_addr("192.168.1.14");
  csum_hdr.fixed = 0;
  csum_hdr.protocol = 
  IPPROTO_TCP;
  csum_hdr.tcp_len = 
  htons(sizeof(struct tcphdr) + 
  strlen(string_data) + 1);

  memcpy(csum_buffer, (char *)&csum_hdr, 
  sizeof(struct pseudo_iphdr));
  memcpy(csum_buffer + 
  sizeof(struct pseudo_iphdr), buffer, 
  (sizeof(struct tcphdr) + 
  strlen(string_data) + 1));

  tcp_hdr->check = (in_cksum(
  (unsigned short *) csum_buffer,
  (sizeof(struct pseudo_iphdr)+ 
  sizeof(struct tcphdr) + strlen(string_data) + 1)));

  printf("checksum is %x", tcp_hdr->check);
  free (csum_buffer);

  epoll_fd = epoll_create1(0);
 
  if (epoll_fd == -1) {
     perror("Epoll creation failed");
     exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
  }

  event.events = EPOLLIN;
  event.data.fd = sock_fd;
  ret = epoll_ctl(epoll_fd, 
  EPOLL_CTL_ADD, sock_fd, &event);
 
  if (ret < 0) {
    perror("Epoll_ctl failed");
    exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
  }

  while (1) {
    ready_fds = epoll_wait(epoll_fd, events, MAX_EVENTS, -1);
	  
    if (ready_fds == -1) {
       perror("Epoll wait failed");
       exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
    }

    if (events[0].data.fd == sock_fd) {
      memset(recvbuffer, 0, 
      sizeof(recvbuffer));

      ret = read(sock_fd, recvbuffer, 
      sizeof(recvbuffer));

      if (ret == -1) {
        perror("read error");
        break;
      }

      tcp_hdr = (struct tcphdr *)
      (recvbuffer + sizeof (struct iphdr));
      recv_string_data = (char *) 
      (recvbuffer + sizeof (struct iphdr) + 
      sizeof (struct tcphdr));
      
      if (PORT == ntohs(tcp_hdr->dest)) {
        printf("Received : %s\n", recv_string_data);
      }

      ret = write(sock_fd, buffer, 
      sizeof(buffer));
      
      if (ret == -1) {
        perror("write error");
        break;
      }
    }
   }

end2:
        free(client_addr);
end1:
        free(servaddr);
end:
        (void)close(sock_fd);

        return 0;
}

$ gcc -o server server.c

$ sudo ./server 127.0.0.1

IP Address: 127.0.0.1
IP Address: 127.0.0.1
checksum is c945
Received : Hello server
Received : Hello server
Received : Hello server
Received : Hello server
Received : Hello server
Received : Hello server
Received : Hello server
Received : Hello server
Received : Hello server
Received : Hello server
Received : Hello server
Received : Hello server
Received : Hello server
Received : Hello server
^C
https://www.plantuml.com/plantuml/svg/ZPBVIyCm4CVV-rUSBv9g7DjhPR3ILHZMjMn51P6I9LSMx9AHP1twrvlkXnq-Y2z9BlUzo-VBPM8TCswtQO8hjyODWjqoZWrR1OT445dDFz2H-A6QpTEImZ9F7gj5_49XLXIBlCohCYd2-o1QIIL8fwu51MATsN47NSo4C3SXRoGgrvqfMFc5klwjgQGAkqPSAuNS_T7BecdH_ASNRdNJLBM0CHoFt21pE2B3FijTGyuw2ccHPrcLb5aLJwSKpX3Ns7fyNxHVomQ173Oo2aEG5iWdsZ28zaOw_C5UxUeQUy1ZU06rPz9Tl7leRoaynQzL-fpEooM5kv6Nonh8CVasV1y8vjYWypC-eONWvwPE200GUOFz70pozXT8VzN1O6Ez6wN309MGTRUU72Rb8hlbtXPfjHH-VjgUpVaww_Gsc7Yr_phV
  • There are many functions used in socket. We can classify those functions based on functionalities.

    • Create Socket

    • Bind Socket

    • Connect Socket

    • Epoll create1

    • Epoll_ctl

    • Epoll_wait

    • Write data_packet

    • Read data_packet

    • Close socket

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

sockfd = socket(AF_INET, SOCK_RAW, IPPROTO_TCP);
  • bind() is used to associate the socket with a specific address and port. For example,

ret = bind(sockfd, (struct sockaddr*)clientaddr, sizeof(struct sockaddr_in));
  • connect() is used in network programming to establish a connection from a client to a server. For example,

ret = connect(sockfd, (struct sockaddr*)serveraddr, sizeof(struct sockaddr_in));
  • epoll_create1() creating an epoll instance using epoll_create1, The size parameter is an advisory hint for the kernel regarding the number of file descriptors expected to be monitored, For example,

epoll_fd = epoll_create1(0);
  • epoll_ctl() After creating an epoll instance, file descriptors are added to it using epoll_ctl, For example,

ret = epoll_ctl(epoll_fd, EPOLL_CTL_ADD, sockfd, &event);
  • epoll_wait() The application then enters a loop where it waits for events using epoll_wait, For example,

ready_fds = epoll_wait(epoll_fd, events, MAX_EVENTS, -1);
  • write system call in C is used to write data to a file descriptor, such as a socket.

ret = write(sockfd, buffer, sizeof(buffer));
  • 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 <unistd.h>
#include <sys/socket.h>
#include <netinet/in.h>
#include <arpa/inet.h>
#include <signal.h>
#include <errno.h>
#include <netinet/tcp.h>
#include <linux/ip.h>
#include <sys/epoll.h>

#define PORT 50001
#define SERVER_PORT 50000
#define MAX_EVENTS 2

struct sockaddr_in 
*serveraddr = NULL, 
*clientaddr;
int sockfd;
int epoll_fd;

struct pseudo_iphdr {
   unsigned int source_ip_addr;
   unsigned int dest_ip_addr;
   unsigned char fixed;
   unsigned char protocol;
   unsigned short tcp_len;
};

unsigned short in_cksum (
uint16_t * addr, int len)
{
   int nleft = len;
   unsigned int sum = 0;
   unsigned short *w = addr;
   unsigned short answer = 0;

   while (nleft > 1) {
       sum += *w++;
       nleft -= 2;
   }

   if (nleft == 1) {
      *(unsigned char *) (&answer) = 
      * (unsigned char *) w;
      sum += answer;
   }

   sum = (sum >> 16) + 
   (sum & 0xffff); 
   sum += (sum >> 16); 
   answer = (unsigned short) ~sum;
   return (answer);
}

void interrupt_handler (
int signum) 
{
  close(sockfd);
  free(clientaddr);
  exit(0);
}

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);
  }
}

int main (int argc, char *argv[])
{
   char buffer[1024] = 
   {0};
   unsigned char recvbuffer[1024] = 
   {0};
   int length, ret;
   int ready_fds;
   char *string = 
   "Hello server";
   struct tcphdr *tcp_hdr = NULL;
   char *string_data = NULL;
   char *recv_string_data = NULL;
   char *csum_buffer = NULL;
   struct pseudo_iphdr csum_hdr;
   struct epoll_event events[MAX_EVENTS];
   struct epoll_event event;

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

   signal (SIGINT, 
   interrupt_handler);
   signal (SIGTERM, 
   interrupt_handler);

   sockfd = socket(AF_INET, 
            SOCK_RAW, 
            IPPROTO_TCP);
      
   if(0 > sockfd) {
     printf("create socket\n");
     exit(0);
   }

   clientaddr = (struct sockaddr_in *)malloc(
   sizeof(struct sockaddr_in));
      
   if (clientaddr == NULL) {
      printf("allocate memory\n");
      goto end;
   }

   clientaddr->sin_family = AF_INET;
   clientaddr->sin_port = PORT;
   validate_convert_addr(argv[1],
   clientaddr);

   ret = bind(sockfd, 
   (struct sockaddr *)clientaddr, 
   sizeof(struct sockaddr_in));

   if (ret < 0) {
      printf(" bind\n");
      goto end1;
   }

   serveraddr = (struct sockaddr_in *)malloc(
   sizeof(struct sockaddr_in));
      
   if (serveraddr == NULL) {
      printf("allocate memory\n");
      goto end2;
   }
   
   serveraddr->sin_family = AF_INET;
   serveraddr->sin_port = SERVER_PORT;
   validate_convert_addr(argv[1],
   serveraddr);

   ret = connect(sockfd, 
   (struct sockaddr *)serveraddr, 
   sizeof(struct sockaddr_in));
      
   if (ret != 0) {
      printf("error %d", errno);
      printf("connect returned error\n");
      goto end2;
   }

   string_data = (char *) 
   (buffer + sizeof(struct tcphdr));
   strncpy(string_data, string, 
   strlen(string));

   tcp_hdr = (struct tcphdr *)buffer;
   tcp_hdr->source = htons(PORT);
   tcp_hdr->dest = htons(SERVER_PORT);
   tcp_hdr->ack_seq = 0x0;
   tcp_hdr->doff = 5; 
   tcp_hdr->syn = 1;
   tcp_hdr->window = htons(200);

   csum_buffer = (char *)calloc(
   (sizeof(struct pseudo_iphdr) + 
   sizeof(struct tcphdr) + 
   strlen(string_data)), sizeof(char));
      
   if (csum_buffer == NULL) {
      printf("allocate csum buffer\n");
      goto end1;
   }

   csum_hdr.source_ip_addr = 
   inet_addr("192.168.1.14");
   csum_hdr.dest_ip_addr = 
   inet_addr("192.168.1.11");
   csum_hdr.fixed = 0;
   csum_hdr.protocol = 
   IPPROTO_TCP;
   csum_hdr.tcp_len = 
   htons(sizeof(struct tcphdr) + 
   strlen(string_data) + 1);

   memcpy(csum_buffer, 
   (char *)&csum_hdr, 
   sizeof(struct pseudo_iphdr));
   memcpy(csum_buffer + 
   sizeof(struct pseudo_iphdr), 
   buffer, (sizeof(struct tcphdr) + 
   strlen(string_data) + 1));

   tcp_hdr->check = (in_cksum(
   (unsigned short *) csum_buffer,
   (sizeof(struct pseudo_iphdr)+ 
   sizeof(struct tcphdr) + 
   strlen(string_data) + 1)));

   printf("checksum is %x", 
   tcp_hdr->check);
      
   free (csum_buffer);

   epoll_fd = epoll_create1(0);
  
   if (epoll_fd < 0) {
      perror("Epoll creation failed");
      exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
   }

   event.events = EPOLLIN | EPOLLET;
   event.data.fd = sockfd;

   ret = epoll_ctl(epoll_fd, 
   EPOLL_CTL_ADD, sockfd, &event);
  
   if (ret < 0) {
      perror("Epoll_ctl failed");
      exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
   }

   while (1) {
     ret = write(sockfd, 
     buffer, sizeof(buffer));
           
     if (ret < 0) {
        perror("read error");
        break;
     }
          
     ready_fds = epoll_wait(epoll_fd, 
     events, MAX_EVENTS, -1);

     if (ready_fds == -1) {
	     perror("Epoll wait failed");
	     exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
     }

     if (events[0].data.fd == 
        sockfd) {
       memset(recvbuffer, 0, 
       sizeof(recvbuffer));
                
       ret = read(sockfd, 
       recvbuffer, sizeof(recvbuffer));
                
       if (ret < 0) {
          perror("read error");
          break;
       }

       tcp_hdr = (struct tcphdr *)
       (recvbuffer + sizeof (struct iphdr));
       recv_string_data = (char *) 
       (recvbuffer + sizeof (struct iphdr) + 
       sizeof (struct tcphdr));
                
       if (PORT == ntohs(tcp_hdr->dest)) {
           printf("Received : %s\n", 
           recv_string_data);
       }
     }
   }

end2:
      free(serveraddr);
end1:
      free(clientaddr);
end:
      (void)close(sockfd);

      return 0;
}

$ gcc -o client client.c

$ sudo ./client 127.0.0.1

IP Address: 127.0.0.1
IP Address: 127.0.0.1
checksum is c135
Received : Hello client
Received : Hello client
Received : Hello client
Received : Hello client
Received : Hello client
Received : Hello client
Received : Hello client
Received : Hello client
Received : Hello client
Received : Hello client
Received : Hello client
Received : Hello client
Received : Hello client
^C

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_TCP).

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

epoll

handles a set of file descriptors with different states, such as reading, writing, and exceptions, by using the struct epoll_event structure and the associated event flags..

write

used to write data to a file descriptor, such as a socket.

read

used to read data from a file descriptor, such as a socket.