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How to Implement Network Wireshark Analysis in OMNeT++

To implement the network Wireshark Analysis in OMNeT++ required to captures the network traffic inside the simulation and evaluating it using Wireshark which is a popular network protocol analyzer. We can capture packets in the format that wireshark can read (like .pep files) because OMNeT++ does not directly incorporate with Wireshark. Once the simulation is done, analyze it using Wireshark. In the following below, we provided the implementation of Network Wireshark Analysis in OMNeT++:

Step-by-Step Implementation:

  1. Set Up OMNeT++ and INET Framework
  • Make certain that you have installed the OMNeT++ and INET framework.
  • Generate a new project in OMNeT++ and contain the INET framework that offers necessary modules for network simulations.
  1. Design the Network Topology
  • Build a network topology which has different nodes (such as clients, servers, routers) that will configure the traffic to be captured by using .ned file.

Example .ned file:

network WiresharkAnalysisNetwork {

submodules:

client1: StandardHost {

@display(“p=100,200”);

}

client2: StandardHost {

@display(“p=300,200”);

}

server: StandardHost {

@display(“p=200,100”);

}

router: Router {

@display(“p=200,150”);

}

connections:

client1.ethg++ <–> Ethernet100M <–> router.pppg++;

client2.ethg++ <–> Ethernet100M <–> router.pppg++;

router.pppg++ <–> Ethernet1G <–> server.ethg++;

}

This network has two clients, a server, and a router.

  1. Enable Packet Capture in OMNeT++
  • To capture packets, you need to set up OMNeT++ to save the packets to a .pcap file. This can be accomplish by using the pcapRecorder module in INET.

Example of configuring packet capture in the .ini file:

[Config WiresharkAnalysis]

network = WiresharkAnalysisNetwork

sim-time-limit = 100s

# Enable packet capture on all devices

*.client1.eth[0].pcapRecorder.enable = true

*.client1.eth[0].pcapRecorder.dumpFile = “client1.pcap”

*.client2.eth[0].pcapRecorder.enable = true

*.client2.eth[0].pcapRecorder.dumpFile = “client2.pcap”

*.router.eth[0].pcapRecorder.enable = true

*.router.eth[0].pcapRecorder.dumpFile = “router.pcap”

*.server.eth[0].pcapRecorder.enable = true

*.server.eth[0].pcapRecorder.dumpFile = “server.pcap”

# Additional capture options (optional)

*.pcapRecorder.filterExpression = “tcp or udp”  # Capture only TCP/UDP traffic

*.pcapRecorder.recordTruncatedPackets = true    # Record truncated packets

*.pcapRecorder.maxCaptureLength = 65535         # Set maximum capture length

This configuration permits packet capture on the Ethernet interfaces of the clients, router, and server. The captured packets are saved in .pcap files that can be evaluated in Wireshark.

  1. Simulate Network Traffic
  • Deploy modules to set up network traffic that will be captured and analyzed. It involves basic traffic generation (like using UdpBasicApp or TcpApp), file transfers, or any other network activities you want to analyze.

Example of generating UDP traffic:

*.client1.numApps = 1

*.client1.app[0].typename = “UdpBasicApp”

*.client1.app[0].destAddress = “server”

*.client1.app[0].destPort = 1234

*.client1.app[0].messageLength = 1000B

*.client1.app[0].sendInterval = exponential(1s)

*.server.numApps = 1

*.server.app[0].typename = “UdpSink”

This configuration creates UDP traffic from client1 to the server, which will be captured and saved in the .pcap files.

  1. Run the Simulation
  • Capture network traffic by implementing the simulation in OMNeT++. The packets will be recorded in the .pcap files stated in the .ini file.
  • Once the simulation is done, the .pcap files will be defined in the output directory.
  1. Analyze Captured Traffic in Wireshark
  • Open Wireshark and load the .pcap files generated by the simulation.
  • Investigating the captured packets, filter traffic and assess network protocols by using Wireshark’s powerful analysis tools.
  • You can assess different aspects of the captured traffic, like:
    • Packet Timing: View when packets were sent and received.
    • Protocol Analysis: Examine protocol layers like TCP/IP, UDP, HTTP, etc.
    • Packet Contents: Assess the payload and headers of captured packets.
    • Performance Metrics: Compute round-trip times, throughput, and more.

Example of loading a .pcap file in Wireshark:

  1. Open Wireshark.
  2. Go to File -> Open.
  3. Browse to the directory where the .pcap files are saved and select one to open.
  4. Use Wireshark’s interface to filter and analyze the captured data.
  1. Optimize and Extend
  • Depends on the analysis, you can refine your OMNeT++ simulation to better model the network scenario you are studying.
  • Extend the simulation to encompass more difficult traffic patterns, security protocols, or various network topologies.
  • You can also systematize the analysis by writing Wireshark/tshark scripts or using Wireshark’s command-line tool tshark to batch-process .pcap files.

This manual has step-by-step guide to implementing network traffic capture in OMNeT++ for Wireshark analysis. First, we had to set up the network topology and then enabling the Packet captures in OMNeT++ and then simulate the traffic to evaluate the performance. You can extend their functionalities to optimize it.

Choose omnet-manual.com for expert guidance on Network Wireshark Analysis, where we exchange project concepts in this domain. Our extensive research is designed to help you make the most of the OMNeT++ tool.

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