IPMonitor Class

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The IPMonitor class is used to listen to network traffic.

Class Name

IPWorks_IPMonitor

Procedural Interface

 ipworks_ipmonitor_open();
 ipworks_ipmonitor_close($res);
 ipworks_ipmonitor_register_callback($res, $id, $function);
 ipworks_ipmonitor_get_last_error($res);
 ipworks_ipmonitor_get_last_error_code($res);
 ipworks_ipmonitor_set($res, $id, $index, $value);
 ipworks_ipmonitor_get($res, $id, $index);
 ipworks_ipmonitor_do_activate($res);
 ipworks_ipmonitor_do_config($res, $configurationstring);
 ipworks_ipmonitor_do_deactivate($res);
 ipworks_ipmonitor_do_doevents($res);
 ipworks_ipmonitor_do_listipaddresses($res);
 ipworks_ipmonitor_do_parsepcapfile($res, $filename);
 ipworks_ipmonitor_do_pausedata($res);
 ipworks_ipmonitor_do_processdata($res);
 ipworks_ipmonitor_do_reset($res);

Remarks

The IPMonitor class 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 class 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 class 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 class 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 class 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 class 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 class with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

AcceptData Property (IPWorks_IPMonitor Class)

This property indicates whether data reception is currently enabled.

Object Oriented Interface

public function getAcceptData();

Procedural Interface

ipworks_ipmonitor_get($res, 1 );

Default Value

true

Remarks

This property indicates whether data reception is currently enabled. When false, data reception is disabled and the IPPacket event will not fire. Use the PauseData and ProcessData methods to pause and resume data reception.

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

Data Type

Boolean

Active Property (IPWorks_IPMonitor Class)

This property indicates whether the class is active.

Object Oriented Interface

public function getActive();

Procedural Interface

ipworks_ipmonitor_get($res, 2 );

Default Value

false

Remarks

This property indicates whether the class is currently active and is monitoring network traffic. Use the Activate and Deactivate methods to control whether the class is active.

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

Data Type

Boolean

IPPacket Property (IPWorks_IPMonitor Class)

This property includes the contents of the current packet.

Object Oriented Interface

public function getIPPacket();

Procedural Interface

ipworks_ipmonitor_get($res, 3 );

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.

Data Type

Binary String

LocalHost Property (IPWorks_IPMonitor Class)

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

Object Oriented Interface

public function getLocalHost();
public function setLocalHost($value);

Procedural Interface

ipworks_ipmonitor_get($res, 4 );
ipworks_ipmonitor_set($res, 4, $value );

Default Value

''

Remarks

This 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 multihomed hosts (machines with more than one IP interface) setting LocalHost to the IP address of an interface will make the class initiate connections (or accept in the case of server classs) only through that interface. It is recommended to provide an IP address rather than a hostname when setting this property to ensure the desired interface is used.

If the class 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 multihomed 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.

Data Type

String

Activate Method (IPWorks_IPMonitor Class)

This method enables network monitoring.

Object Oriented Interface

public function doActivate();

Procedural Interface

ipworks_ipmonitor_do_activate($res);

Remarks

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

To stop monitoring traffic, call Deactivate.

Config Method (IPWorks_IPMonitor Class)

Sets or retrieves a configuration setting.

Object Oriented Interface

public function doConfig($configurationstring);

Procedural Interface

ipworks_ipmonitor_do_config($res, $configurationstring);

Remarks

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

These settings are similar in functionality to properties, but they are rarely used. In order to avoid "polluting" the property namespace of the class, 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 (IPWorks_IPMonitor Class)

This method disables network monitoring.

Object Oriented Interface

public function doDeactivate();

Procedural Interface

ipworks_ipmonitor_do_deactivate($res);

Remarks

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

DoEvents Method (IPWorks_IPMonitor Class)

This method processes events from the internal message queue.

Object Oriented Interface

public function doEvents();

Procedural Interface

ipworks_ipmonitor_do_doevents($res);

Remarks

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

ListIPAddresses Method (IPWorks_IPMonitor Class)

This method lists the valid IP addresses for this host.

Object Oriented Interface

public function doListIPAddresses();

Procedural Interface

ipworks_ipmonitor_do_listipaddresses($res);

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 (IPWorks_IPMonitor Class)

This method parses the specified pcap file.

Object Oriented Interface

public function doParsePcapFile($filename);

Procedural Interface

ipworks_ipmonitor_do_parsepcapfile($res, $filename);

Remarks

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

The class 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 (IPWorks_IPMonitor Class)

This method pauses data reception.

Object Oriented Interface

public function doPauseData();

Procedural Interface

ipworks_ipmonitor_do_pausedata($res);

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 (IPWorks_IPMonitor Class)

This method reenables data reception after a call to PauseData .

Object Oriented Interface

public function doProcessData();

Procedural Interface

ipworks_ipmonitor_do_processdata($res);

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 (IPWorks_IPMonitor Class)

This method will reset the class.

Object Oriented Interface

public function doReset();

Procedural Interface

ipworks_ipmonitor_do_reset($res);

Remarks

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

Error Event (IPWorks_IPMonitor Class)

Fired when information is available about errors during data delivery.

Object Oriented Interface

public function fireError($param);

Procedural Interface

ipworks_ipmonitor_register_callback($res, 1, array($this, 'fireError'));

Parameter List

 'errorcode'
 'description'

Remarks

The Error event is fired in case of exceptional conditions during message processing. Normally the class fails with an error.

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 (IPWorks_IPMonitor Class)

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

Object Oriented Interface

public function fireIPAddress($param);

Procedural Interface

ipworks_ipmonitor_register_callback($res, 2, array($this, 'fireIPAddress'));

Parameter List

 'ipaddress'

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 (IPWorks_IPMonitor Class)

This event is fired whenever a packet is received.

Object Oriented Interface

public function fireIPPacket($param);

Procedural Interface

ipworks_ipmonitor_register_callback($res, 3, array($this, 'fireIPPacket'));

Parameter List

 'sourceaddress'
 'sourceport'
 'destinationaddress'
 'destinationport'
 'ipversion'
 'tos'
 'id'
 'flags'
 'offset'
 'ttl'
 'checksum'
 'ipprotocol'
 'payload'
 'timestamp'

Remarks

When Active is True or ParsePcapFile is called, the class will listen for network traffic or parse the provided file, respectively. For each packet sent across the interface in LocalHost, the class 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 Class)

The class 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 class, access to these internal properties is provided through the Config method.

IPMonitor Config Settings

Socket Config Settings

Base Config Settings

Trappable Errors (IPMonitor Class)

IPMonitor Errors

SSL Errors

TCP/IP Errors