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ntop logonDPI

Open Source Deep Packet Inspection Software Toolkit

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Quick Overview

nDPI is an open-source deep packet inspection (DPI) library developed by ntop. It provides a fast and accurate way to classify network traffic by protocol and application, supporting over 200 protocols. nDPI is designed to be easily integrated into network monitoring and security tools.

Pros

  • High performance and low resource usage
  • Extensive protocol support, including encrypted traffic
  • Regular updates to keep up with new protocols and applications
  • Easy integration with C/C++ applications

Cons

  • Limited documentation for advanced usage
  • Requires periodic updates to maintain accuracy
  • May have false positives for some protocols
  • Primarily focused on C/C++, with limited support for other languages

Code Examples

  1. Initialize nDPI and process a packet:
#include "ndpi_api.h"

struct ndpi_detection_module_struct *ndpi_struct;
struct ndpi_flow_struct *flow;

ndpi_struct = ndpi_init_detection_module(ndpi_no_prefs);
flow = ndpi_flow_malloc(NDPI_PROTOCOL_SIZE);

ndpi_protocol protocol = ndpi_detection_process_packet(ndpi_struct, flow, packet_data, packet_len, time);
  1. Get protocol name:
char *protocol_name = ndpi_get_proto_name(ndpi_struct, protocol.app_protocol);
printf("Detected protocol: %s\n", protocol_name);
  1. Set protocol detection preferences:
NDPI_PROTOCOL_BITMASK all;
NDPI_BITMASK_SET_ALL(all);
ndpi_set_protocol_detection_bitmask2(ndpi_struct, &all);

Getting Started

To use nDPI in your project:

  1. Clone the repository:

    git clone https://github.com/ntop/nDPI.git

  2. Build and install:

    cd nDPI
./autogen.sh
./configure
make
sudo make install

  3. Include nDPI in your C/C++ project:

    #include <ndpi_api.h>

  4. Link against the nDPI library:

    gcc -o your_program your_program.c -lndpi

Competitor Comparisons

zeek logo

zeek

6,416

Zeek is a powerful network analysis framework that is much different from the typical IDS you may know.

Pros of Zeek

  • More comprehensive network analysis framework with extensive scripting capabilities
  • Larger and more active community, with frequent updates and contributions
  • Better suited for complex network security monitoring and threat detection

Cons of Zeek

  • Steeper learning curve and more complex setup compared to nDPI
  • Higher resource requirements for processing and analysis

Code Comparison

Zeek (event handling):

event http_request(c: connection, method: string, original_uri: string,
                   unescaped_uri: string, version: string)
{
    print fmt("HTTP request: %s %s", method, original_uri);
}

nDPI (protocol detection):

struct ndpi_detection_module_struct *ndpi_struct;
ndpi_struct = ndpi_init_detection_module();
ndpi_set_protocol_detection_bitmask2(ndpi_struct, &all);
protocol = ndpi_detection_process_packet(ndpi_struct, flow, packet, packetlen);

Both projects focus on network traffic analysis, but Zeek offers a more comprehensive framework for network security monitoring, while nDPI specializes in efficient protocol detection. Zeek provides a powerful scripting language for custom analysis, whereas nDPI is more lightweight and easier to integrate into existing applications.

wireshark logo

wireshark

7,187

Read-only mirror of Wireshark's Git repository at https://gitlab.com/wireshark/wireshark. ⚠️ GitHub won't let us disable pull requests. ⚠️ THEY WILL BE IGNORED HERE ⚠️ Upload them at GitLab instead.

Pros of Wireshark

  • More comprehensive network protocol analysis tool with a full GUI
  • Larger community and more extensive documentation
  • Supports a wider range of protocols and file formats

Cons of Wireshark

  • Heavier resource usage and slower performance for large captures
  • More complex to use for simple traffic classification tasks
  • Requires more setup and configuration for automated analysis

Code Comparison

nDPI (simplified packet processing):

struct ndpi_detection_module_struct *ndpi_struct = ndpi_init_detection_module();
ndpi_set_protocol_detection_bitmask2(ndpi_struct, &all);
ndpi_packet_struct.iph = (struct ndpi_iphdr *)&packet[ip_offset];
ndpi_connection_struct = ndpi_connection_struct_malloc(ndpi_struct);
ndpi_protocol detected = ndpi_detection_process_packet(ndpi_struct, ndpi_connection_struct, &ndpi_packet_struct);

Wireshark (simplified packet dissection):

static int dissect_protocol(tvbuff_t *tvb, packet_info *pinfo, proto_tree *tree, void *data)
{
    col_set_str(pinfo->cinfo, COL_PROTOCOL, "MyProtocol");
    proto_item *ti = proto_tree_add_item(tree, proto_myprotocol, tvb, 0, -1, ENC_NA);
    proto_tree *myprotocol_tree = proto_item_add_subtree(ti, ett_myprotocol);
    // Add protocol-specific fields to the tree
}
snort3 logo

snort3

2,532

Snort++

Pros of Snort3

  • More comprehensive intrusion detection and prevention system (IDS/IPS)
  • Extensive rule set and community support for threat detection
  • Modular architecture allowing for easier customization and plugin development

Cons of Snort3

  • Steeper learning curve and more complex configuration
  • Higher resource consumption, especially for high-speed networks
  • Requires more frequent updates to maintain effectiveness against new threats

Code Comparison

nDPI example (protocol detection):

struct ndpi_detection_module_struct *ndpi_struct;
ndpi_struct = ndpi_init_detection_module();
ndpi_set_protocol_detection_bitmask2(ndpi_struct, &all);
ndpi_detection_giveup(ndpi_struct, flow, protocol, NDPI_PROTOCOL_UNKNOWN);

Snort3 example (rule definition):

alert tcp $HOME_NET any -> $EXTERNAL_NET $HTTP_PORTS (
    msg:"MALWARE-CNC Win.Trojan.ZeroAccess outbound connection";
    flow:to_server,established;
    content:"GET"; http_method;
    content:"/links/"; http_uri;
    pcre:"/\/links\/[0-9a-f]{32}\//U";
    classtype:trojan-activity;
    sid:24455; rev:3;
)

Both projects focus on network traffic analysis, but Snort3 provides a more comprehensive security solution with its IDS/IPS capabilities, while nDPI specializes in protocol detection and classification. Snort3 offers greater flexibility and customization options, but at the cost of increased complexity and resource usage compared to nDPI's more focused approach.

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README

nDPI

Build Status Fuzzing Status

What is nDPI ?

nDPI® is an open source LGPLv3 library for deep-packet inspection. Based on OpenDPI it includes ntop extensions. We have tried to push them into the OpenDPI source tree but nobody answered emails, so we have decided to create our own source tree

A generic FAQ about nDPI® is available here

How To Compile nDPI

In order to compile this project do

  • ./autogen.sh
  • make

To compile the library w/o any tools or tests:

  • ./autogen.sh --with-only-libndpi
  • make

To run tests do additionally:

  • ./tests/do.sh # Generate and check for diff's in PCAP files
  • ./tests/do-unit.sh # Run unit tests
  • ./tests/do-dga.sh # Run DGA detection test

or run all with: make check

Please note that the (minimal) pre-requisites for compilation include:

  • GNU tools (autoconf automake libtool pkg-config gettext flex bison)
  • GNU C compiler (gcc) or Clang

On Debian/Ubuntu systems do:

  • sudo apt-get install build-essential git gettext flex bison libtool autoconf automake pkg-config libpcap-dev libjson-c-dev libnuma-dev libpcre2-dev libmaxminddb-dev librrd-dev

On Arch Linux:

  • sudo pacman -S gcc git gettext flex bison libtool autoconf automake pkg-config libpcap json-c numactl pcre2 libmaxminddb rrdtool

On FreeBSD:

  • sudo pkg install gcc git gettext flex bison libtool autoconf automake devel/pkgconf gmake libpcap json-c pcre2 libmaxminddb rrdtool

Remember to use gmake and not make on FreeBSD

On MacOS:

  • brew install coreutils gcc git gettext flex bison libtool autoconf automake pkg-config libpcap json-c pcre2 libmaxminddb rrdtool

On Windows:

There are three supported ways to build nDPI:

  1. MSYS2 (assuming MSYS2 already installed):
  • msys2 -c "pacman --noconfirm -S --needed --overwrite '*' git mingw-w64-x86_64-toolchain automake1.16 automake-wrapper autoconf libtool make mingw-w64-x86_64-json-c mingw-w64-x86_64-crt-git mingw-w64-x86_64-pcre2 mingw-w64-x86_64-libpcap"

  1. Mingw-w64

  2. Visual Studio (see windows/nDPI.sln)

Note: All Windows versions require npcap with WinPcap compatibility mode enabled.

How To Build The Documentation

  • pip install --upgrade pip
  • pip install -r doc/requirements.txt
  • make doc

Use the builtin python3 webserver to view documentation:

  • make doc-view

How To Add A New Protocol Dissector

The entire procedure of adding new protocols in detail:

  1. Add new protocol together with its unique ID to: src/include/ndpi_protocol_ids.h
  2. Create a new protocol in: src/lib/protocols/
  3. Variables to be kept for the duration of the entire flow (as state variables) need to be placed in: src/include/ndpi_typedefs.h in ndpi_flow_tcp_struct (for TCP only), ndpi_flow_udp_struct (for UDP only), or ndpi_flow_struct (for both).
  4. Add a new entry for the search function for the new protocol in: src/include/ndpi_protocols.h
  5. Choose (do not change anything) a selection bitmask from: src/include/ndpi_define.h
  6. Set protocol default ports in ndpi_init_protocol_defaults in: src/lib/ndpi_main.c
  7. Be sure to have nBPF support, cloning PF_RING in the same directory where you cloned nDPI: git clone https://github.com/ntop/PF_RING/ && cd PF_RING/userland/nbpf && ./configure && make. You can ignore the /bin/sh: 1: ../lib/pfring_config: not found error
  8. From the nDPI root directory, ./autogen.sh --with-pcre2 (nBPF and PCRE2 are usually optional, but they are needed to run/update all the unit tests)
  9. make
  10. make check
  11. Update the documentation, adding this new protocol to doc/protocols.rst
  12. Update the Windows Visual Studio configuration, adding the new c file in windows/nDPI.vcxproj

How to use nDPI to Block Selected Traffic

You can use nDPI to selectively block selected Internet traffic by embedding it onto an application (remember that nDPI is just a library). Both ntopng and nProbe cento can do this.

nDPI Paper Citation

Videos and Presentations

nDPI-Related Projects

DISCLAIMER

While we do our best to detect network protocols, we cannot guarantee that our software is error free and 100% accurate in protocol detection. Please make sure that you respect the privacy of users and you have proper authorization to listen, capture and inspect network traffic.

nDPI is a registered trademark in the US and EU.