I'm on Windows 7, using bind before connect with SO_REUSEADDR, and setting the local address structure to IP address INADDR _ANY and port 0 (zero), in order to let the operating system select the source details for a client socket.
Firstly, I've read that it's not possible to get the source IP before connecting to the server, since it's being chosen at this point and several addresses can be valid. But the port is selected before the connection, so is there a way to get it? (getsockname() looks like to not work).
Secondly, about the source IP, is there a way to get it before a packet is sent to the server? I need the specific time between the moment the OS selected the source IP and the moment it starts the three-way handshake. The connect() function dominates the both.
I'm on Windows 7, using bind before connect with SO_REUSEADDR
Why are you using SO_REUSEADDR in this situation? You don't need it, and it makes no sense for what you are attempting. SO_REUSEADDR should typically only be used for a listening socket, not a connecting socket.
setting the local address structure to IP address INADDR _ANY and port 0 (zero), in order to let the operating system select the source details for a client socket.
It is meaningless to bind() a client socket to INADDR_ANY:0. You can (and should) omit such a bind() completely and leave the socket unbound until connect() is called. The only time you should ever bind() a client socket is if you want to bind it to a specific local IP and/or Port. But you are not doing that in this situation, so get rid of it.
Firstly, I've read that it's not possible to get the source IP before connecting to the server, since it's being chosen at this point and several addresses can be valid.
Correct, unless you bind() to a specific source IP.
But the port is selected before the connection
Both source IP and source port are selected by connect() if the socket is unbound, or bound to source IP INADDR_ANY and/or source port 0. So you have no opportunity to query either value before connect() has selected them.
so is there a way to get it? (getsockname() looks like to not work).
getsockname() is exactly what you need. Just make sure you are not calling it until connect() has successfully connected to the server first. This is stated in the getsockname() documentation:
This call is especially useful when a connect call has been made without doing a bind first; the getsockname function provides the only way to determine the local association that has been set by the system.
...
The getsockname function does not always return information about the host address when the socket has been bound to an unspecified address, unless the socket has been connected with connect or accept (for example, using ADDR_ANY). A Windows Sockets application must not assume that the address will be specified unless the socket is connected. The address that will be used for the socket is unknown unless the socket is connected when used in a multihomed host. If the socket is using a connectionless protocol, the address may not be available until I/O occurs on the socket.
Secondly, about the source IP, is there a way to get it before a packet is sent to the server?
For TCP, you can retrieve the selected source IP using getsockname() immediately after connect() has successfully connected to the server. Not before.
I need the specific time between the moment the OS selected the source IP and the moment it starts the three-way handshake.
It is not possible to determine that detail. No socket application should ever need that detail. Why do you need it?
I'm on Windows 7, using bind before connect with SO_REUSEADDR, and setting the local address structure to IP address INADDR _ANY and port 0 (zero), in order to let the operating system select the source details for a client socket.
Why? That's exactly what happens if you don't call bind() at all, during connect(). Binding a client socket to INADDR_ANY isn't correct in any case. Setting SO_REUSEADDR doesn't make sense either without specifying a non-zero port number. Just remove all this.
Firstly, I've read that it's not possible to get the source IP before connecting to the server, since it's being chosen at this point and several addresses can be valid.
Correct.
But the port is selected before the connection, so is there a way to get it?
Yes. getsockname().
(getsockname() looks like to not work)
Doesn't work how?
Secondly, about the source IP, is there a way to get it before a packet is sent to the server?
You can get it with getsockname() as soon as connect() has succeeded, but this involves sending packets to the server.
I need the specific time between the moment the OS selected the source IP and the moment it starts the three-way handshake. The connect() function dominates the both.
Bad luck.
Related
For a client socket, I can use bind() to bind it to a specific source Ip address to select a specific interface. Or I can use connect() directly then it will pick the source ip based on routing table.
I wonder can I bind a client socket to an ip not belongs to any interfaces ? E.g.: I have two interfaces:
eth0 : ip0
eth1 : ip1
(1) If I bind the client socket to ip2. Is this feasible ?
(2) If (1) is feasible, assuming client socket sent packets thru eth0. Then I configure the iptables in this client host, to forward all incoming packets to ip0 (eth0). In this case, if there are packets sent back from server side with destination ip address is ip2 (assuming this packet will reach my client host). Will my client socket receive the packet ?
Thanks in advance.
I don't really understand your question, but here goes:
For client sockets, you typically want the the OS and its routing table to pick the best interface for you using any available port. In which case, you bind to INADDR_ANY (0) and port 0. Or don't explicitly call bind at at all. Just call connect() and it will do the right thing.
If you need the client connection to occur through a specific interface, then bind the socket to a specific IP address. And then the OS will attempt to use that interface for the subsequent connect call and all traffic after that.
Attempting to bind the socket to an IP that doesn't belong to a local interface is surely going to result in an error.
Not sure what you mean about the iptables stuff. Sounds dicey.
Please have a look at:
https://www.rsyslog.com/doc/v8-stable/configuration/modules/omfwd.html#ipfreebind
MAN:
https://man7.org/linux/man-pages/man7/ip.7.html
IP_FREEBIND (since Linux 2.4)
If enabled, this boolean option allows binding to an IP
address that is nonlocal or does not (yet) exist. This
permits listening on a socket, without requiring the
underlying network interface or the specified dynamic IP
address to be up at the time that the application is
trying to bind to it. This option is the per-socket
equivalent of the ip_nonlocal_bind /proc interface
described below.
I tried to convert the destination address to IPv6 format as ::ffff:IPv4. And use a socket of AF_INET6 type. It gives error: Network Unreachable. But using the same technique I am able to communicate from IPV4 to IPV6
Thanks for your help in advance.
IPv4 and IPv6 are separate protocols. They don't talk to each other.
On some operating systems you can use an IPv6 socket and accept incoming IPv4 connections on it. But that is just a software thing to make code development easier for server code. I have never seen that work for client code. You'll have to create the right socket type for that.
Usually you resolve a hostname using DNS, you'll get multiple answers (IPv4 and IPv6), you iterate over them creating the required socket type and try to connect. If it works you use that socket, if not you do the next iteration which creates a new socket etc.
If you code that is sensitive to delays you might want to implement the happy eyeballs algorithm.
On most systems, PF_INET6 sockets are able to communicate with IPv4 addresses by using addresses in the ::FFFF:0:0/96 range. However, this is only done at the level of the sockets library: the actual on-the-wire data are plain IPv4 packets (as though you had used an PF_INET socket), there is no protocol conversion in the network.
The error you receive indicates that you have no IPv4 route to the requested destination. This probably indicates that your host doesn't have an IPv4 default route. There is no solution to that — without IPv4 connectivity, there is nothing you can do to reach an IPv4 address.
I have looked up in BSD code but got lost somewhere :(
the reason I want to check is this:
TCP RFC (http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc793.txt) sec 2.7 states:
"To provide for unique addresses within each TCP, we concatenate an internet address identifying the TCP with a port identifier to create a socket which will be unique throughout all networks connected together. A connection is fully specified by the pair of sockets at the ends."
Does this mean: socket = local (ip + port) ?
If yes, then the accept function of Unix returns a new socket descriptor. Will it mean that a new socket is created (in turn a new port is created) for responding to client requests?
PS: I am a novice in network programming.
[UPDATE] I understood what I read # How does the socket API accept() function work?.
My only doubt is: if socket = (local port +local ip), then a new socket would mean a new port for the same IP. going by this logic, accept returns a new socket (thus a new port is created). so all sending should occur through this new port.
Is what I understand here correct?
You are mostly correct. When you accept(), a new socket is created and the listening socket stays open to allow more incoming connections but the new socket uses the same local port number as the listening socket.
A connection is defined by a 5-tuple: protocol, local-addr, local-port, remote-addr, remote-port.
Therefore, each accepted connection is unique even though they all share the same local port number because the remote ip/port is always different. The listening socket has no remote ip/port and so is also unique.
I'm gonna use Socket() constructor to create a dummy like socket.
what is the difference of using bind() and connect() to this created socket?
if i'm gonna use bind() how can i establish connection or does it directly establish connection?
With a socket you build a connection between two endpoints. One of these endpoints (the local one) is on your machine, the other endpoint (the remote one) may be anywhere.
With bind you set the address of the local endpoint. Often you don't need to do that, since your operating system will take care of the details.
With connect you set the address of the remote endpoint and start a connection.
I have an FPGA device with which my code needs to talk. The protocol is as follows:
I send a single non-zero byte (UDP) to turn on a feature. The FPGA board then begins spewing data on the port from which I sent.
Do you see my dilemma? I know which port I sent the message to, but I do not know from which port I sent (is this port not typically chosen automatically by the OS?).
My best guess for what I'm supposed to do is create a socket with the destination IP and port number and then reuse the socket for receiving. If I do so, will it already be set up to listen on the port from which I sent the original message?
Also, for your information, variations of this code will be written in Python and C#. I can look up specific API's as both follow the BSD socket model.
This is exactly what connect(2) and getsockname(2) are for. As a bonus for connecting the UDP socket you will not have to specify the destination address/port on each send, you will be able to discover unavailable destination port (the ICMP reply from the target will manifest as error on the next send instead of being dropped), and your OS will not have to implicitly connect and disconnect the UDP socket on each send saving some cycles.
You can bind a socket to a specific port, check man bind
you can bind the socket to get the desired port.
The only problem with doing that is that you won't be able to run more then one instance of your program at a time on a computer.
You're using UDP to send/receive data. Simply create a new UDP socket and bind to your desired interface / port. Then instruct your FPGA program to send UDP packets back to the port you bound to. UDP does not require you to listen/set up connections. (only required with TCP)