IPMonitor Component

Properties   Methods   Events   Config Settings   Errors  

The IPMonitor component is used to listen to network traffic.

Syntax

TipwIPMonitor

Remarks

The IPMonitor component will bind to a specific local host address and listen for network traffic received by the interface. The interface must support promiscuous mode (which may not work in many wireless cards because of security considerations) and must be installed on Windows 2000 or greater.

Note: If your computer connects to a switch, the switch will forward only those packets addressed to your computer. If your computer is on a hub, then you will receive everything.

The use of this component requires administrative permissions.

The first step in using the IPMonitor component is to set LocalHost to the IP address whose traffic you wish to monitor, and then set Active to True. For each packet that crosses the interface, the component will parse the header and fire an IPPacket event.

Property List

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The following is the full list of the properties of the component with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

Method List

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The following is the full list of the methods of the component with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

Event List

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The following is the full list of the events fired by the component with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

Config Settings

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The following is a list of config settings for the component with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

AcceptData Property (IPMonitor Component)

This property enables or disables data reception (the IPPacket event).

Syntax

property AcceptData: Boolean read get_AcceptData write set_AcceptData;

Default Value

true

Remarks

This property enables or disables data reception (the IPPacket event). Setting this property to False temporarily disables data reception (and the IPPacket event). Setting this property to True reenables data reception.

Note: It is recommended to use the PauseData or ProcessData method instead of setting this property.

This property is not available at design time.

Active Property (IPMonitor Component)

This property indicates whether the component is active.

Syntax

property Active: Boolean read get_Active write set_Active;

Default Value

false

Remarks

This property indicates whether the component is currently active and is monitoring network traffic.

Note: Use the Activate or Deactivate method to control whether the component is active.

This property is not available at design time.

IPPacket Property (IPMonitor Component)

This property includes the contents of the current packet.

Syntax

property IPPacket: String read get_IPPacket;
property IPPacketB: TBytes read get_IPPacketB;

Default Value

''

Remarks

This property contains the contents of the current packet. This property is available only while the IPPacket event is being processed. An empty string is returned at all other times.

This property is read-only and not available at design time.

LocalHost Property (IPMonitor Component)

The name of the local host or user-assigned IP interface through which connections are initiated or accepted.

Syntax

property LocalHost: String read get_LocalHost write set_LocalHost;

Default Value

''

Remarks

The LocalHost property contains the name of the local host as obtained by the gethostname() system call, or if the user has assigned an IP address, the value of that address.

In multi-homed hosts (machines with more than one IP interface) setting LocalHost to the value of an interface will make the component initiate connections (or accept in the case of server components) only through that interface.

If the component is connected, the LocalHost property shows the IP address of the interface through which the connection is made in internet dotted format (aaa.bbb.ccc.ddd). In most cases, this is the address of the local host, except for multi-homed hosts (machines with more than one IP interface).

NOTE: LocalHost is not persistent. You must always set it in code, and never in the property window.

Activate Method (IPMonitor Component)

This method enables network monitoring.

Syntax

procedure Activate();

Remarks

This methods enables network monitoring. When called, the component will create a communication endpoint (socket) that can be used to monitor network traffic.

To stop monitoring traffic, call Deactivate.

Config Method (IPMonitor Component)

Sets or retrieves a configuration setting.

Syntax

function Config(ConfigurationString: String): String;

Remarks

Config is a generic method available in every component. It is used to set and retrieve configuration settings for the component.

These settings are similar in functionality to properties, but they are rarely used. In order to avoid "polluting" the property namespace of the component, access to these internal properties is provided through the Config method.

To set a configuration setting named PROPERTY, you must call Config("PROPERTY=VALUE"), where VALUE is the value of the setting expressed as a string. For boolean values, use the strings "True", "False", "0", "1", "Yes", or "No" (case does not matter).

To read (query) the value of a configuration setting, you must call Config("PROPERTY"). The value will be returned as a string.

Deactivate Method (IPMonitor Component)

This method disables network monitoring.

Syntax

procedure Deactivate();

Remarks

This methods disables network monitoring. When called, the component will stop monitoring network traffic.

DoEvents Method (IPMonitor Component)

Processes events from the internal message queue.

Syntax

procedure DoEvents();

Remarks

When DoEvents is called, the component processes any available events. If no events are available, it waits for a preset period of time, and then returns.

ListIPAddresses Method (IPMonitor Component)

This method lists the valid IP addresses for this host.

Syntax

procedure ListIPAddresses();

Remarks

Use this method to list all valid addresses that can be monitored. Before monitoring the network, LocalHost must be set to a valid address on the host. After a call to this method, an IPAddress event will fire for each address.

ParsePcapFile Method (IPMonitor Component)

This method parses the specified pcap file.

Syntax

procedure ParsePcapFile(fileName: String);

Remarks

This method parses the specified pcap (packet capture) file and fires events as if the traffic were received directly.

The component supports both the standard pcap and the newer pcap-ng file formats used by a variety of popular network capture tools. When calling this method, the file will be parsed and the IPPacket event will fire for each parsed packet.

PauseData Method (IPMonitor Component)

This method pauses data reception.

Syntax

procedure PauseData();

Remarks

This method pauses data reception when called. While data reception is paused, the IPPacket event will not fire. Call ProcessData to reenable data reception.

ProcessData Method (IPMonitor Component)

This method reenables data reception after a call to PauseData .

Syntax

procedure ProcessData();

Remarks

This method reenables data reception after a previous call to PauseData. When PauseData is called, the IPPacket event will not fire. To reenable data reception and allow IPPacket to fire, call this method.

Note: This method is used only after previously calling PauseData. It does not need to be called to process data by default.

Reset Method (IPMonitor Component)

Reset the component.

Syntax

procedure Reset();

Remarks

This method will reset the component's properties to their default values.

Error Event (IPMonitor Component)

Fired when information is available about errors during data delivery.

Syntax

type TErrorEvent = procedure (
  Sender: TObject;
  ErrorCode: Integer;
  const Description: String
) of Object;

property OnError: TErrorEvent read FOnError write FOnError;

Remarks

The Error event is fired in case of exceptional conditions during message processing. Normally the component raises an exception.

The ErrorCode parameter contains an error code, and the Description parameter contains a textual description of the error. For a list of valid error codes and their descriptions, please refer to the Error Codes section.

IPAddress Event (IPMonitor Component)

This event is fired for each valid IP address on this host.

Syntax

type TIPAddressEvent = procedure (
  Sender: TObject;
  const IpAddress: String
) of Object;

property OnIPAddress: TIPAddressEvent read FOnIPAddress write FOnIPAddress;

Remarks

Before monitoring the network, LocalHost must be set to a valid address on the host. Use the ListIPAddresses method to list all valid addresses that can be monitored. After a call to the method, an IPAddress event will fire for each address.

IPPacket Event (IPMonitor Component)

This event is fired whenever a packet is received.

Syntax

type TIPPacketEvent = procedure (
  Sender: TObject;
  const SourceAddress: String;
  SourcePort: Integer;
  const DestinationAddress: String;
  DestinationPort: Integer;
  IPVersion: Integer;
  TOS: Integer;
  Id: Integer;
  Flags: Integer;
  Offset: Integer;
  TTL: Integer;
  Checksum: Integer;
  IPProtocol: Integer;
  Payload: String;
  PayloadB: TBytes;
  Timestamp: Int64
) of Object;

property OnIPPacket: TIPPacketEvent read FOnIPPacket write FOnIPPacket;

Remarks

When Active is True or ParsePcapFile is called, the component will listen for network traffic or parse the provided file, respectively. For each packet sent across the interface in LocalHost, the component will parse the packet and fire an IPPacket event with the header fields and payload. The parameters are defined as follows:

TOS

Precedence

Flags

IPProtocol (For a full list, visit www.iana.org.)

Config Settings (IPMonitor Component)

The component accepts one or more of the following configuration settings. Configuration settings are similar in functionality to properties, but they are rarely used. In order to avoid "polluting" the property namespace of the component, access to these internal properties is provided through the Config method.

IPMonitor Config Settings

Socket Config Settings

Base Config Settings

Trappable Errors (IPMonitor Component)

IPMonitor Errors

	650   Cannot read packet.
	1118   Invalid local host.

SSL Errors

	270   Cannot load specified security library.
	271   Cannot open certificate store.
	272   Cannot find specified certificate.
	273   Cannot acquire security credentials.
	274   Cannot find certificate chain.
	275   Cannot verify certificate chain.
	276   Error during handshake.
	280   Error verifying certificate.
	281   Could not find client certificate.
	282   Could not find server certificate.
	283   Error encrypting data.
	284   Error decrypting data.

TCP/IP Errors

	10004   [10004] Interrupted system call.
	10009   [10009] Bad file number.
	10013   [10013] Access denied.
	10014   [10014] Bad address.
	10022   [10022] Invalid argument.
	10024   [10024] Too many open files.
	10035   [10035] Operation would block.
	10036   [10036] Operation now in progress.
	10037   [10037] Operation already in progress.
	10038   [10038] Socket operation on non-socket.
	10039   [10039] Destination address required.
	10040   [10040] Message too long.
	10041   [10041] Protocol wrong type for socket.
	10042   [10042] Bad protocol option.
	10043   [10043] Protocol not supported.
	10044   [10044] Socket type not supported.
	10045   [10045] Operation not supported on socket.
	10046   [10046] Protocol family not supported.
	10047   [10047] Address family not supported by protocol family.
	10048   [10048] Address already in use.
	10049   [10049] Can't assign requested address.
	10050   [10050] Network is down.
	10051   [10051] Network is unreachable.
	10052   [10052] Net dropped connection or reset.
	10053   [10053] Software caused connection abort.
	10054   [10054] Connection reset by peer.
	10055   [10055] No buffer space available.
	10056   [10056] Socket is already connected.
	10057   [10057] Socket is not connected.
	10058   [10058] Can't send after socket shutdown.
	10059   [10059] Too many references, can't splice.
	10060   [10060] Connection timed out.
	10061   [10061] Connection refused.
	10062   [10062] Too many levels of symbolic links.
	10063   [10063] File name too long.
	10064   [10064] Host is down.
	10065   [10065] No route to host.
	10066   [10066] Directory not empty
	10067   [10067] Too many processes.
	10068   [10068] Too many users.
	10069   [10069] Disc Quota Exceeded.
	10070   [10070] Stale NFS file handle.
	10071   [10071] Too many levels of remote in path.
	10091   [10091] Network subsystem is unavailable.
	10092   [10092] WINSOCK DLL Version out of range.
	10093   [10093] Winsock not loaded yet.
	11001   [11001] Host not found.
	11002   [11002] Non-authoritative 'Host not found' (try again or check DNS setup).
	11003   [11003] Non-recoverable errors: FORMERR, REFUSED, NOTIMP.
	11004   [11004] Valid name, no data record (check DNS setup).