README.md
Tcpreplay
=========
[](https://travis-ci.org/appneta/tcpreplay)
[](https://github.com/appneta/tcpreplay/actions/workflows/github-actions-ci.yml)
[](https://scan.coverity.com/projects/12017)
[](http://tcpreplay.appneta.com)
[](https://github.com/appneta/tcpreplay/actions/workflows/codeql.yml)
[](https://github.com/appneta/tcpreplay/actions/workflows/c-linter.yml)
Tcpreplay is a suite of [GPLv3] licensed utilities for UNIX (and Win32 under
[Cygwin]) operating systems for editing and replaying network traffic which
was previously captured by tools like [tcpdump] and [Wireshark].
It allows you to classify traffic as client or server, rewrite Layer 2, 3 and 4
packets and finally replay the traffic back onto the network and through other
devices such as switches, routers, firewalls, NIDS and IPS's. Tcpreplay supports
both single and dual NIC modes for testing both sniffing and in-line devices.
Tcpreplay is used by numerous firewall, IDS, IPS, NetFlow and other networking
vendors, enterprises, universities, labs and open source projects. If your
organization uses Tcpreplay, please let us know who you are and what you use
it for so that I can continue to add features which are useful.
Tcpreplay is designed to work with network hardware and normally does not
penetrate deeper than Layer 2. Yazan Siam with sponsorship from [Cisco] developed
*tcpliveplay* to replay TCP pcap files directly to servers. Use this utility
if you want to test the entire network stack and into the application.
As of version 4.0, Tcpreplay has been enhanced to address the complexities of
testing and tuning [IP Flow][flow]/[NetFlow] hardware. Enhancements include:
* Support for [netmap] modified network drivers for 10GigE wire-speed performance
* Increased accuracy for playback speed
* Increased accuracy of results reporting
* Flow statistics including Flows Per Second (fps)
* Flow analysis for analysis and fine tuning of flow expiry timeouts
* Hundreds of thousands of flows per second (dependent flow sizes in pcap file)
Version 4.0 is the first version delivered by Fred Klassen and sponsored by
[AppNeta]. Many thanks to the author of Tcpreplay, Aaron Turner who has supplied
the world with a a solid and full-featured test product thus far. The new author
strives to take Tcprelay performance to levels normally only seen in commercial
network test equipment.
Downloads
=========
* [](https://github.com/appneta/tcpreplay/releases) [GitHub](https://github.com/appneta/tcpreplay/releases)
* [](https://sourceforge.net/projects/tcpreplay) [SourceForge](https://sourceforge.net/projects/tcpreplay)
Products
========
[](https://github.com/appneta/tcpreplay/releases)
The Tcpreplay suite includes the following tools:
Network playback products:
--------------------------
* **tcpreplay** - replays pcap files at arbitrary speeds onto the network with an
option to replay with random IP addresses
* **tcpreplay-edit** - replays pcap files at arbitrary speeds onto the network with
numerous options to modify packets packets on the fly
* **tcpliveplay** - replays TCP network traffic stored in a pcap file on live
networks in a manner that a remote server will respond to
Pcap file editors and utilities:
--------------------------------
* **tcpprep** - multi-pass pcap file pre-processor which determines packets as
client or server and splits them into creates output files for use by tcpreplay and tcprewrite
* **tcprewrite** - pcap file editor which rewrites TCP/IP and Layer 2 packet headers
* **tcpbridge** - bridge two network segments with the power of tcprewrite
* **tcpcapinfo** - raw pcap file decoder and debugger
Install package
===============
Please visit our [downloads](http://tcpreplay.appneta.com/wiki/installation.html#downloads)
page on our [wiki](http://tcpreplay.appneta.com)
for detailed download and installation instructions.
Simple directions for Unix users:
---------------------------------
```
./configure
make
sudo make install
```
Build netmap feature
--------------------
This feature will detect [netmap](http://info.iet.unipi.it/~luigi/netmap/)
capable network drivers on Linux and BSD
systems. If detected, the network driver is bypassed for the execution
duration of tcpreplay and tcpreplay-edit, and network buffers will be
written to directly. This will allow you to achieve full line rates on
commodity network adapters, similar to rates achieved by commercial network
traffic generators.
**Note** that bypassing the network driver will disrupt other applications connected
through the test interface. Don't test on the same interface you ssh'ed into.
Download latest and install netmap from <http://info.iet.unipi.it/~luigi/netmap/>
If you extracted netmap into **/usr/src/** or **/usr/local/src** you can build normally. Otherwise you
will have to specify the netmap source directory, for example:
```
./configure --with-netmap=/home/fklassen/git/netmap
make
sudo make install
```
You can also find netmap source [here](http://code.google.com/p/netmap/).
Detailed installation instructions are available in the INSTALL document in the tar ball.
Install Tcpreplay from source code
------------------------
Download the [tar ball](https://github.com/appneta/tcpreplay/tarball/master) or
[zip](https://github.com/appneta/tcpreplay/zipball/master) file. Optionally clone the git
repository:
```
git clone git@github.com:appneta/tcpreplay.git
```
Support
=======
If you have a question or think you are experiencing a bug, submit them
[here](https://github.com/appneta/tcpreplay/issues). It is important
that you provide enough information for us to help you.
If your problem has to do with COMPILING tcpreplay:
* Version of tcpreplay you are trying to compile
* Platform (Red Hat Linux 9 on x86, Solaris 7 on SPARC, OS X on PPC, etc)
* Contents of config.status
* Output from **configure** and **make**
* Any additional information you think that would be useful.
If your problem has to do with RUNNING tcpreplay or one of the sub-tools:
* Version information (output of -V)
* Command line used (options and arguments)
* Platform (Red Hat Linux 9 on Intel, Solaris 7 on SPARC, etc)
* Make & model of the network card(s) and driver(s) version
* Error message (if available) and/or description of problem
* If possible, attach the pcap file used (compressed with bzip2 or gzip preferred)
* The core dump or backtrace if available
* Detailed description of your problem or what you are trying to accomplish
Note: The author of tcpreplay primarily uses OS X and Linux; hence, if you're reporting
an issue on another platform, it is important that you give very detailed
information as I may not be able to reproduce your issue.
You are also strongly encouraged to read the extensive documentation (man
pages, FAQ, documents in /docs and email list archives) BEFORE posting to the
tcpreplay-users email list:
http://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/tcpreplay-users
If you have a bug to report you can submit it here:
https://github.com/appneta/tcpreplay/issues
If you want to help with development, visit our developers wiki:
https://github.com/appneta/tcpreplay/wiki
Lastly, please don't email the authors directly with your questions. Doing so
prevents others from potentially helping you and your question/answer from
showing up in the list archives.
License
=======
Tcpreplay 3.5 is GPLv3 and includes software developed by the University of
California, Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory and its contributors.
Authors and Contributors
========================
Tcpreplay is authored by Aaron Turner. In 2013 Fred Klassen, Founder and VP Network Technology,
[AppNeta](http://appneta.com) added performance features and enhancements,
and ultimately took over the maintenance of Tcpreplay.
The source code repository has moved to GitHub. You can get a working copy of the repository
by installing [git] and executing:
```
git clone https://github.com/appneta/tcpreplay.git
```
How To Contribute
=================
It's easy. Basically you...
* [Set up git][git]
* [Fork]
* Edit (we create a branch per issue)
* [Send a PR][pr]
<br />
Details:
--------
You will find that you will not be able to contribute to the Tcpreplay project directly if you
use clone the appneta/tcpreplay repo. If you believe that you may someday contribute to the
repository, GitHub provides an innovative approach. Forking the @appneta/tcpreplay repository
allows you to work on your own copy of the repository and submit code changes without first
asking permission from the authors. Forking is also considered to be a compliment so fork away:
* if you haven't already done so, get yourself a free [GitHub](https://github.com) ID and visit @appneta/tcpreplay
* click the **Fork** button to get your own private copy of the repository
* on your build system clone your private repository:
```
git clone git@github.com:<your ID>/tcpreplay.git
```
* we like to keep the **master** branch available for projection ready code so we recommend that you make a
branch for each feature or bug fix
* when you are happy with your work, push it to your GitHub repository
* on your GitHub repository select your new branch and submit a **Pull Request** to **master**
* optionally monitor the status of your submission [here](https://github.com/appneta/tcpreplay/network)
We will review and possibly discuss the changes with you through GitHub services.
If we accept the submission, it will instantly be applied to the production **master** branch.
Additional Information
======================
Please visit our [wiki](http://tcpreplay.appneta.com).
or visit our [developers wiki](https://github.com/appneta/tcpreplay/wiki)
[GPLv3]: http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.html
[netmap]: http://info.iet.unipi.it/~luigi/netmap/
[flow]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traffic_flow_%28computer_networking%29
[NetFlow]: http://www.cisco.com/go/netflow
[Cygwin]: http://www.cygwin.com/
[Wireshark]: https://www.wireshark.org
[tcpdump]: http://www.tcpdump.org
[Cisco]: http://www.cisco.com
[AppNeta]: http://www.appneta.com
[git]: https://help.github.com/articles/set-up-git
[Fork]: https://help.github.com/articles/fork-a-repo
[pr]: https://help.github.com/articles/using-pull-requests