Develop Reference

multithreading asynchronous server client

I'm trying to upgrade a server / client (player) application on windows forms to deal with a multiplayer environment (4 players) as part of an assignment for my coding course, using tcplistener and tcpclient. I'm relatively new to coding, especially on such complex topics. I hope I'm going on the right track for this.
I've been researching extensively lately so, by now, I think I have a good idea on the meaning and differences of threading and asynchronous execution. My main problem is on implementing it and getting it to work.
So, I started by working on the code provided on class (with some minor changes), it's working on a server player scenario (server side):
void StartServer()
{
IPAddress ipaddr = IPAddress.Parse(GetLocalIPAddress());
int nport = 23000;
mTcpListener = new TcpListener(ipaddr, nport);
mTcpListener.Start();
txtMessages.Text += "Server Listening on IP: " + ipaddr + " Port: " + nport + Environment.NewLine;
mTcpListener.BeginAcceptTcpClient(ServerAcceptClient, mTcpListener);
}
void ServerAcceptClient(IAsyncResult iar)
{
TcpListener tcpl = (TcpListener)iar.AsyncState;
mTcpClient = tcpl.EndAcceptTcpClient(iar);
txtMessages.Invoke((MethodInvoker)delegate
{
txtMessages.Text += "Player accepted..." + Environment.NewLine;
});
mRx = new byte[1460];
mTcpClient.GetStream().BeginRead(mRx, 0, mRx.Length, ServerRead, mTcpClient);
}
void ServerRead(IAsyncResult iar)
{
TcpClient tcpc = (TcpClient)iar.AsyncState;
int nReadBytes = 0;
string strRecv = null;
nReadBytes = tcpc.GetStream().EndRead(iar);
if (nReadBytes == 0)
{
txtMessages.Invoke((MethodInvoker)delegate
{
txtMessages.Text += $"Player disconnected...{Environment.NewLine}";
return;
});
}
strRecv = Encoding.UTF8.GetString(mRx, 0, nReadBytes);
//Game classes and/or methods
txtMessages.Invoke((MethodInvoker)delegate
{
txtMessages.Text += strRecv + Environment.NewLine;
});
mRx = new byte[1024];
mTcpClient.GetStream().BeginRead(mRx, 0, mRx.Length, ServerRead, mTcpClient);
}
I've been through some tutorials, build some examples found on the web, I'm now able to get a simple synchronous multithreaded chat for the console. I tried to export those ideas on to windows forms, maybe in a bit naïvely way:
mTcpListener.BeginAcceptTcpClient(ServerThreaded, mTcpListener);
and:
void ServerThreaded(IAsyncResult iar)
{
mTcpListener = (TcpListener)iar.AsyncState;
int nplayer = 1;
while (nplayer <= 4)
{
Console.WriteLine("Waiting for incoming client connections...");
//mTcpClient = mTcpListener.AcceptTcpClient();
//mTcpClient = mTcpListener.EndAcceptTcpClient(iar);
TcpClient player = mTcpListener.AcceptTcpClient();
Console.WriteLine("Accepted new client connection...");
Thread t = new Thread(() => ServerAcceptClient(iar));
t.Start();
nplayer++;
}
}
Obviously it's not working... last exception I was getting on a regular basis were of the form System.InvalidOperationException: "EndAccept can only be called once for each asynchronous operation".
Am I going with this tottaly on the wrong way? Any advice would be much appreciated.

Reliable programmatic internet connectivity check [duplicate]

What is the fastest and most efficient way to check for Internet connectivity in .NET?

You could use this code, which should also work in Iran and China-
public static bool CheckForInternetConnection(int timeoutMs = 10000, string url = null)
{
try
{
url ??= CultureInfo.InstalledUICulture switch
{
{ Name: var n } when n.StartsWith("fa") => // Iran
"http://www.aparat.com",
{ Name: var n } when n.StartsWith("zh") => // China
"http://www.baidu.com",
_ =>
"http://www.gstatic.com/generate_204",
};
var request = (HttpWebRequest)WebRequest.Create(url);
request.KeepAlive = false;
request.Timeout = timeoutMs;
using (var response = (HttpWebResponse)request.GetResponse())
return true;
}
catch
{
return false;
}
}

There is absolutely no way you can reliably check if there is an internet connection or not (I assume you mean access to the internet).
You can, however, request resources that are virtually never offline, like pinging google.com or something similar. I think this would be efficient.
try {
Ping myPing = new Ping();
String host = "google.com";
byte[] buffer = new byte[32];
int timeout = 1000;
PingOptions pingOptions = new PingOptions();
PingReply reply = myPing.Send(host, timeout, buffer, pingOptions);
return (reply.Status == IPStatus.Success);
}
catch (Exception) {
return false;
}

Instead of checking, just perform the action (web request, mail, ftp, etc.) and be prepared for the request to fail, which you have to do anyway, even if your check was successful.
Consider the following:
1 - check, and it is OK
2 - start to perform action
3 - network goes down
4 - action fails
5 - lot of good your check did
If the network is down your action will fail just as rapidly as a ping, etc.
1 - start to perform action
2 - if the net is down(or goes down) the action will fail

NetworkInterface.GetIsNetworkAvailable is very unreliable. Just have some VMware or other LAN connection and it will return wrong result.
Also about Dns.GetHostEntry method I were just concerned about whether test URL might be blocked in the environment where my application going to deploy.
So another way I found out is using InternetGetConnectedState method.
My code is
[System.Runtime.InteropServices.DllImport("wininet.dll")]
private extern static bool InternetGetConnectedState(out int Description, int ReservedValue);
public static bool CheckNet()
{
int desc;
return InternetGetConnectedState(out desc, 0);
}

Pinging google.com introduces a DNS resolution dependency. Pinging 8.8.8.8 is fine but Google is several hops away from me. All I need to do is to ping the nearest thing to me that is on the internet.
I can use Ping's TTL feature to ping hop #1, then hop #2, etc, until I get a reply from something that is on a routable address; if that node is on a routable address then it is on the internet. For most of us, hop #1 will be our local gateway/router, and hop #2 will be the first point on the other side of our fibre connection or whatever.
This code works for me, and responds quicker than some of the other suggestions in this thread because it is pinging whatever is nearest to me on the internet.
using System.Diagnostics;
using System.Net;
using System.Net.NetworkInformation;
using System.Net.Sockets;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
public static async Task<bool> IsConnectedToInternetAsync()
{
const int maxHops = 30;
const string someFarAwayIpAddress = "8.8.8.8";
// Keep pinging further along the line from here to google
// until we find a response that is from a routable address
for (int ttl = 1; ttl <= maxHops; ttl++)
{
var options = new PingOptions(ttl, true);
byte[] buffer = new byte[32];
PingReply reply;
try
{
using (var pinger = new Ping())
{
reply = await pinger.SendPingAsync(someFarAwayIpAddress, 10000, buffer, options);
}
}
catch (PingException pingex)
{
Debug.Print($"Ping exception (probably due to no network connection or recent change in network conditions), hence not connected to internet. Message: {pingex.Message}");
return false;
}
string address = reply.Address?.ToString() ?? null;
Debug.Print($"Hop #{ttl} is {address}, {reply.Status}");
if (reply.Status != IPStatus.TtlExpired && reply.Status != IPStatus.Success)
{
Debug.Print($"Hop #{ttl} is {reply.Status}, hence we are not connected.");
return false;
}
if (IsRoutableAddress(reply.Address))
{
Debug.Print("That's routable, so we must be connected to the internet.");
return true;
}
}
return false;
}
private static bool IsRoutableAddress(IPAddress addr)
{
if (addr == null)
{
return false;
}
else if (addr.AddressFamily == AddressFamily.InterNetworkV6)
{
return !addr.IsIPv6LinkLocal && !addr.IsIPv6SiteLocal;
}
else // IPv4
{
byte[] bytes = addr.GetAddressBytes();
if (bytes[0] == 10)
{ // Class A network
return false;
}
else if (bytes[0] == 172 && bytes[1] >= 16 && bytes[1] <= 31)
{ // Class B network
return false;
}
else if (bytes[0] == 192 && bytes[1] == 168)
{ // Class C network
return false;
}
else
{ // None of the above, so must be routable
return true;
}
}
}

A test for internet connection by pinging Google:
new Ping().Send("www.google.com.mx").Status == IPStatus.Success

I disagree with people who are stating: "What's the point in checking for connectivity before performing a task, as immediately after the check the connection may be lost".
Surely there is a degree of uncertainty in many programming tasks we as developers undertake, but reducing the uncertainty to a level of acceptance is part of the challenge.
I recently ran into this problem making an application which including a mapping feature which linked to an on-line tile server. This functionality was to be disabled where a lack of internet connectivity was noted.
Some of the responses on this page were very good, but did however cause a lot of performance issues such as hanging, mainly in the case of the absence of connectivity.
Here is the solution that I ended up using, with the help of some of these answers and my colleagues:
// Insert this where check is required, in my case program start
ThreadPool.QueueUserWorkItem(CheckInternetConnectivity);
}
void CheckInternetConnectivity(object state)
{
if (System.Net.NetworkInformation.NetworkInterface.GetIsNetworkAvailable())
{
using (WebClient webClient = new WebClient())
{
webClient.CachePolicy = new System.Net.Cache.RequestCachePolicy(System.Net.Cache.RequestCacheLevel.BypassCache);
webClient.Proxy = null;
webClient.OpenReadCompleted += webClient_OpenReadCompleted;
webClient.OpenReadAsync(new Uri("<url of choice here>"));
}
}
}
volatile bool internetAvailable = false; // boolean used elsewhere in code
void webClient_OpenReadCompleted(object sender, OpenReadCompletedEventArgs e)
{
if (e.Error == null)
{
internetAvailable = true;
Dispatcher.Invoke(DispatcherPriority.Normal, new Action(() =>
{
// UI changes made here
}));
}
}

I have seen all the options listed above and the only viable option to check wither the internet is available or not is the "Ping" option.
Importing [DllImport("Wininet.dll")] and System.Net.NetworkInformation.NetworkInterface.GetAllNetworkInterfaces() Or any other variation of the NetworkInterface class does not work well in detecting the availability of the network.These Methods only check if the network cable is plugged in or not.
The "Ping option"
if(Connection is available) returns true
if(Connection is not available and the network cable is plugged in) returns false
if(Network cable is not plugged in) Throws an exception
The NetworkInterface
if(Internet Is available)Returns True
if(Internet is not Available and Network Cable is Plugged in ) Returns True
if(Network Cable is Not Plugged in )returns false
The [DllImport("Wininet.dll")]
if(Internet Is available)Returns True
if(Internet is not Available and Network Cable is Plugged in ) Returns True
if(Network Cable is Not Plugged in )returns false
So in case of [DllImport("Wininet.dll")] and NetworkInterface There is no way of knowing if internet connection is available.

Does not solve the problem of network going down between checking and running your code
but is fairly reliable
public static bool IsAvailableNetworkActive()
{
// only recognizes changes related to Internet adapters
if (System.Net.NetworkInformation.NetworkInterface.GetIsNetworkAvailable())
{
// however, this will include all adapters -- filter by opstatus and activity
NetworkInterface[] interfaces = System.Net.NetworkInformation.NetworkInterface.GetAllNetworkInterfaces();
return (from face in interfaces
where face.OperationalStatus == OperationalStatus.Up
where (face.NetworkInterfaceType != NetworkInterfaceType.Tunnel) && (face.NetworkInterfaceType != NetworkInterfaceType.Loopback)
select face.GetIPv4Statistics()).Any(statistics => (statistics.BytesReceived > 0) && (statistics.BytesSent > 0));
}
return false;
}

Here's how it is implemented in Android.
As a proof of concept, I translated this code to C#:
var request = (HttpWebRequest)WebRequest.Create("http://g.cn/generate_204");
request.UserAgent = "Android";
request.KeepAlive = false;
request.Timeout = 1500;
using (var response = (HttpWebResponse)request.GetResponse())
{
if (response.ContentLength == 0 && response.StatusCode == HttpStatusCode.NoContent)
{
//Connection to internet available
}
else
{
//Connection to internet not available
}
}

private bool ping()
{
System.Net.NetworkInformation.Ping pingSender = new System.Net.NetworkInformation.Ping();
System.Net.NetworkInformation.PingReply reply = pingSender.Send(address);
if (reply.Status == System.Net.NetworkInformation.IPStatus.Success)
{
return true;
}
else
{
return false;
}
}

Try to avoid testing connections by catching the exception. because we really Expect that sometimes we may lose network connection.
if (NetworkInterface.GetIsNetworkAvailable() &&
new Ping().Send(new IPAddress(new byte[] { 8, 8, 8, 8 }),2000).Status == IPStatus.Success)
//is online
else
//is offline

I wouldn't think it's impossible, just not straightforward.
I've built something like this, and yes it's not perfect, but the first step is essential: to check if there's any network connectivity. The Windows Api doesn't do a great job, so why not do a better job?
bool NetworkIsAvailable()
{
var all = System.Net.NetworkInformation.NetworkInterface.GetAllNetworkInterfaces();
foreach (var item in all)
{
if (item.NetworkInterfaceType == NetworkInterfaceType.Loopback)
continue;
if (item.Name.ToLower().Contains("virtual") || item.Description.ToLower().Contains("virtual"))
continue; //Exclude virtual networks set up by VMWare and others
if (item.OperationalStatus == OperationalStatus.Up)
{
return true;
}
}
return false;
}
It's pretty simple, but it really helps improve the quality of the check, especially when you want to check various proxy configurations.
So:
Check whether there's network connectivity (make this really good, maybe even have logs sent back to developers when there are false positives to improve the NetworkIsAvailable function)
HTTP Ping
(Cycle through Proxy configurations with HTTP Pings on each)

Another option is the Network List Manager API which is available for Vista and Windows 7. MSDN article here. In the article is a link to download code samples which allow you to do this:
AppNetworkListUser nlmUser = new AppNetworkListUser();
Console.WriteLine("Is the machine connected to internet? " + nlmUser.NLM.IsConnectedToInternet.ToString());
Be sure to add a reference to Network List 1.0 Type Library from the COM tab... which will show up as NETWORKLIST.

I personally find the answer of Anton and moffeltje best, but I added a check to exclude virtual networks set up by VMWare and others.
public static bool IsAvailableNetworkActive()
{
// only recognizes changes related to Internet adapters
if (!System.Net.NetworkInformation.NetworkInterface.GetIsNetworkAvailable()) return false;
// however, this will include all adapters -- filter by opstatus and activity
NetworkInterface[] interfaces = System.Net.NetworkInformation.NetworkInterface.GetAllNetworkInterfaces();
return (from face in interfaces
where face.OperationalStatus == OperationalStatus.Up
where (face.NetworkInterfaceType != NetworkInterfaceType.Tunnel) && (face.NetworkInterfaceType != NetworkInterfaceType.Loopback)
where (!(face.Name.ToLower().Contains("virtual") || face.Description.ToLower().Contains("virtual")))
select face.GetIPv4Statistics()).Any(statistics => (statistics.BytesReceived > 0) && (statistics.BytesSent > 0));
}

Introduction
In some scenarios you need to check whether internet is available or not using C# code in windows applications. May be to download or upload a file using internet in windows forms or to get some data from database which is at remote location, in these situations internet check is compulsory.
There are some ways to check internet availability using C# from code behind. All such ways are explained here including their limitations.
InternetGetConnectedState(wininet)
The 'wininet' API can be used to check the local system has active internet connection or not. The namespace used for this is 'System.Runtime.InteropServices' and import the dll 'wininet.dll' using DllImport. After this create a boolean variable with extern static with a function name InternetGetConnectedState with two parameters description and reservedValue as shown in example.
Note: The extern modifier is used to declare a method that is implemented externally. A common use of the extern modifier is with the DllImport attribute when you are using Interop services to call into unmanaged code. In this case, the method must also be declared as static.
Next create a method with name 'IsInternetAvailable' as boolean. The
above function will be used in this method which returns internet
status of local system
[DllImport("wininet.dll")]
private extern static bool InternetGetConnectedState(out int description, int reservedValue);
public static bool IsInternetAvailable()
{
try
{
int description;
return InternetGetConnectedState(out description, 0);
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
return false;
}
}
GetIsNetworkAvailable
The following example uses the GetIsNetworkAvailable method to determine if a network connection is available.
if (System.Net.NetworkInformation.NetworkInterface.GetIsNetworkAvailable())
{
System.Windows.MessageBox.Show("This computer is connected to the internet");
}
else
{
System.Windows.MessageBox.Show("This computer is not connected to the internet");
}
Remarks (As per MSDN): A network connection is considered to be available if any network interface is marked "up" and is not a loopback or tunnel interface.
There are many cases in which a device or computer is not connected to a useful network but is still considered available and GetIsNetworkAvailable will return true. For example, if the device running the application is connected to a wireless network that requires a proxy, but the proxy is not set, GetIsNetworkAvailable will return true. Another example of when GetIsNetworkAvailable will return true is if the application is running on a computer that is connected to a hub or router where the hub or router has lost the upstream connection.
Ping a hostname on the network
Ping and PingReply classes allows an application to determine whether a remote computer is accessible over the network by getting reply from the host. These classes are available in System.Net.NetworkInformation namespace. The following example shows how to ping a host.
protected bool CheckConnectivity(string ipAddress)
{
bool connectionExists = false;
try
{
System.Net.NetworkInformation.Ping pingSender = new System.Net.NetworkInformation.Ping();
System.Net.NetworkInformation.PingOptions options = new System.Net.NetworkInformation.PingOptions();
options.DontFragment = true;
if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(ipAddress))
{
System.Net.NetworkInformation.PingReply reply = pingSender.Send(ipAddress);
connectionExists = reply.Status ==
System.Net.NetworkInformation.IPStatus.Success ? true : false;
}
}
catch (PingException ex)
{
Logger.LogException(ex.Message, ex);
}
return connectionExists;
}
Remarks (As per MSDN): Applications use the Ping class to detect whether a remote computer is reachable. Network topology can determine whether Ping can successfully contact a remote host. The presence and configuration of proxies, network address translation (NAT) equipment, or firewalls can prevent Ping from succeeding. A successful Ping indicates only that the remote host can be reached on the network; the presence of higher level services (such as a Web server) on the remote host is not guaranteed.
Comments/Suggestions are invited. Happy coding......!

The accepted answer succeeds quickly but is very slow to fail when there is no connection. So I wanted to build a robust connection check that would fail faster.
Pinging was said to not be supported in all environments, so I started with the accepted answer and added a WebClient from here with a custom timeout. You can pick any timeout, but 3 seconds worked for me while connected via wifi. I tried adding a fast iteration (1 second), then a slow iteration (3 seconds) if the first one fails. But that made no sense since both iterations would always fail (when not connected) or always succeed (when connected).
I'm connecting to AWS since I want to upload a file when the connection test passes.
public static class AwsHelpers
{
public static bool GetCanConnectToAws()
{
try
{
using (var client = new WebClientWithShortTimeout())
using (client.OpenRead("https://aws.amazon.com"))
return true;
}
catch
{
return false;
}
}
}
public class WebClientWithShortTimeout: WebClient
{
protected override WebRequest GetWebRequest(Uri uri)
{
var webRequest = base.GetWebRequest(uri);
webRequest.Timeout = 5000;
return webRequest;
}
}

If you want to notify the user/take action whenever a network/connection change occur.
Use NLM API:
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee264321.aspx
http://www.codeproject.com/Articles/34650/How-to-use-the-Windows-NLM-API-to-get-notified-of

public static bool Isconnected = false;
public static bool CheckForInternetConnection()
{
try
{
Ping myPing = new Ping();
String host = "google.com";
byte[] buffer = new byte[32];
int timeout = 1000;
PingOptions pingOptions = new PingOptions();
PingReply reply = myPing.Send(host, timeout, buffer, pingOptions);
if (reply.Status == IPStatus.Success)
{
return true;
}
else if (reply.Status == IPStatus.TimedOut)
{
return Isconnected;
}
else
{
return false;
}
}
catch (Exception)
{
return false;
}
}
public static void CheckConnection()
{
if (CheckForInternetConnection())
{
Isconnected = true;
}
else
{
Isconnected = false;
}
}

bool bb = System.Net.NetworkInformation.NetworkInterface.GetIsNetworkAvailable();
if (bb == true)
MessageBox.Show("Internet connections are available");
else
MessageBox.Show("Internet connections are not available");

Multi threaded version of ping:
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Diagnostics;
using System.Net.NetworkInformation;
using System.Threading;
namespace OnlineCheck
{
class Program
{
static bool isOnline = false;
static void Main(string[] args)
{
List<string> ipList = new List<string> {
"1.1.1.1", // Bad ip
"2.2.2.2",
"4.2.2.2",
"8.8.8.8",
"9.9.9.9",
"208.67.222.222",
"139.130.4.5"
};
int timeOut = 1000 * 5; // Seconds
List<Thread> threadList = new List<Thread>();
foreach (string ip in ipList)
{
Thread threadTest = new Thread(() => IsOnline(ip));
threadList.Add(threadTest);
threadTest.Start();
}
Stopwatch stopwatch = Stopwatch.StartNew();
while (!isOnline && stopwatch.ElapsedMilliseconds <= timeOut)
{
Thread.Sleep(10); // Cooldown the CPU
}
foreach (Thread thread in threadList)
{
thread.Abort(); // We love threads, don't we?
}
Console.WriteLine("Am I online: " + isOnline.ToYesNo());
Console.ReadKey();
}
static bool Ping(string host, int timeout = 3000, int buffer = 32)
{
bool result = false;
try
{
Ping ping = new Ping();
byte[] byteBuffer = new byte[buffer];
PingOptions options = new PingOptions();
PingReply reply = ping.Send(host, timeout, byteBuffer, options);
result = (reply.Status == IPStatus.Success);
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
}
return result;
}
static void IsOnline(string host)
{
isOnline = Ping(host) || isOnline;
}
}
public static class BooleanExtensions
{
public static string ToYesNo(this bool value)
{
return value ? "Yes" : "No";
}
}
}

Building on #ChaosPandion's answer, to be as sure as possible that the result is correct you can include multiple big sites like others have pointed out. However this should be done asynchronously to avoid too long wait times. Also the WebRequest, HttpWebRequest and HttpWebResponse classes are now obsolete and should be replaced by HttpClient. The following example takes into account the above:
public static async Task<bool> CheckForInternetConnection(TimeSpan? timeoutMs = null, List<string> urls = null)
{
if (timeoutMs == null)
{
timeoutMs = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(10);
}
var culture = CultureInfo.InstalledUICulture;
if (urls == null)
{
urls = new List<string>();
if (culture.Name.StartsWith("fa")) // Iran
urls.Add("http://www.aparat.com");
else if (culture.Name.StartsWith("zh")) // China
urls.Add("http://www.baidu.com");
else
{
urls.Add("https://www.apple.com/");
urls.Add("https://www.gstatic.com/generate_204");
}
}
var client = new HttpClient();
client.Timeout = (TimeSpan)timeoutMs;
List<Task<string>> tasks = new List<Task<string>>();
int unresponsiveUrlCount = 0;
foreach (var url in urls)
{
tasks.Add(client.GetStringAsync(url));
}
Task aggregationTask = null;
try
{
aggregationTask = Task.WhenAll(tasks);
await aggregationTask;
}
catch (Exception)
{
if (aggregationTask?.Exception?.InnerExceptions != null && aggregationTask.Exception.InnerExceptions.Any())
{
foreach (var innerEx in aggregationTask.Exception.InnerExceptions)
{
unresponsiveUrlCount++;
}
}
}
return unresponsiveUrlCount < urls.Count;
}
This method checks all the urls in the list and if they are all inaccessible then it returns false. I have added apple's url, because in my case it loads pretty fast, but it can be replaced with any url.

Use NetworkMonitor to monitoring network state and internet connection.
Sample:
namespace AmRoNetworkMonitor.Demo
{
using System;
internal class Program
{
private static void Main()
{
NetworkMonitor.StateChanged += NetworkMonitor_StateChanged;
NetworkMonitor.StartMonitor();
Console.WriteLine("Press any key to stop monitoring.");
Console.ReadKey();
NetworkMonitor.StopMonitor();
Console.WriteLine("Press any key to close program.");
Console.ReadKey();
}
private static void NetworkMonitor_StateChanged(object sender, StateChangeEventArgs e)
{
Console.WriteLine(e.IsAvailable ? "Is Available" : "Is Not Available");
}
}
}

For my application we also test by download tiny file.
string remoteUri = "https://www.microsoft.com/favicon.ico"
WebClient myWebClient = new WebClient();
try
{
byte[] myDataBuffer = myWebClient.DownloadData (remoteUri);
if(myDataBuffer.length > 0) // Or add more validate. eg. checksum
{
return true;
}
}
catch
{
return false;
}
Also. Some ISP may use middle server to cache file. Add random unused parameter eg. https://www.microsoft.com/favicon.ico?req=random_number
Can prevent caching.

I am having issue on those method on my 3g Router/modem, because if internet is disconnected the router redirects the page to its response page, so you still get a steam and your code think there is internet.
Apples (or others) have a hot-spot-dedection page which always returns a certain response. The following sample returns "Success" response. So you will be exactly sure you could connect the internet and get real response !
public static bool CheckForInternetConnection()
{
try
{
using (var webClient = new WebClient())
using (var stream = webClient.OpenRead("http://captive.apple.com/hotspot-detect.html"))
{
if (stream != null)
{
//return true;
stream.ReadTimeout = 1000;
using (var reader = new StreamReader(stream, Encoding.UTF8, false))
{
string line;
while ((line = reader.ReadLine()) != null)
{
if (line == "<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>Success</TITLE></HEAD><BODY>Success</BODY></HTML>")
{
return true;
}
Console.WriteLine(line);
}
}
}
return false;
}
}
catch
{
}
return false;
}

I have three tests for an Internet connection.
Reference System.Net and System.Net.Sockets
Add the following test functions:
Test 1
public bool IsOnlineTest1()
{
try
{
IPHostEntry dummy = Dns.GetHostEntry("https://www.google.com");
return true;
}
catch (SocketException ex)
{
return false;
}
}
Test 2
public bool IsOnlineTest2()
{
try
{
IPHostEntry dummy = Dns.GetHostEntry("https://www.google.com");
return true;
}
catch (SocketException ex)
{
return false;
}
}
Test 3
public bool IsOnlineTest3()
{
System.Net.WebRequest req = System.Net.WebRequest.Create("https://www.google.com");
System.Net.WebResponse resp = default(System.Net.WebResponse);
try
{
resp = req.GetResponse();
resp.Close();
req = null;
return true;
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
req = null;
return false;
}
}
Performing the tests
If you make a Dictionary of String and Boolean called CheckList, you can add the results of each test to CheckList.
Now, recurse through each KeyValuePair using a for...each loop.
If CheckList contains a Value of true, then you know there is an Internet connection.

public static bool HasConnection()
{
try
{
System.Net.IPHostEntry i = System.Net.Dns.GetHostEntry("www.google.com");
return true;
}
catch
{
return false;
}
}
That works

What the best practice for determine connection to internet? [duplicate]

What is the fastest and most efficient way to check for Internet connectivity in .NET?

You could use this code, which should also work in Iran and China-
public static bool CheckForInternetConnection(int timeoutMs = 10000, string url = null)
{
try
{
url ??= CultureInfo.InstalledUICulture switch
{
{ Name: var n } when n.StartsWith("fa") => // Iran
"http://www.aparat.com",
{ Name: var n } when n.StartsWith("zh") => // China
"http://www.baidu.com",
_ =>
"http://www.gstatic.com/generate_204",
};
var request = (HttpWebRequest)WebRequest.Create(url);
request.KeepAlive = false;
request.Timeout = timeoutMs;
using (var response = (HttpWebResponse)request.GetResponse())
return true;
}
catch
{
return false;
}
}

There is absolutely no way you can reliably check if there is an internet connection or not (I assume you mean access to the internet).
You can, however, request resources that are virtually never offline, like pinging google.com or something similar. I think this would be efficient.
try {
Ping myPing = new Ping();
String host = "google.com";
byte[] buffer = new byte[32];
int timeout = 1000;
PingOptions pingOptions = new PingOptions();
PingReply reply = myPing.Send(host, timeout, buffer, pingOptions);
return (reply.Status == IPStatus.Success);
}
catch (Exception) {
return false;
}

Instead of checking, just perform the action (web request, mail, ftp, etc.) and be prepared for the request to fail, which you have to do anyway, even if your check was successful.
Consider the following:
1 - check, and it is OK
2 - start to perform action
3 - network goes down
4 - action fails
5 - lot of good your check did
If the network is down your action will fail just as rapidly as a ping, etc.
1 - start to perform action
2 - if the net is down(or goes down) the action will fail

NetworkInterface.GetIsNetworkAvailable is very unreliable. Just have some VMware or other LAN connection and it will return wrong result.
Also about Dns.GetHostEntry method I were just concerned about whether test URL might be blocked in the environment where my application going to deploy.
So another way I found out is using InternetGetConnectedState method.
My code is
[System.Runtime.InteropServices.DllImport("wininet.dll")]
private extern static bool InternetGetConnectedState(out int Description, int ReservedValue);
public static bool CheckNet()
{
int desc;
return InternetGetConnectedState(out desc, 0);
}

Pinging google.com introduces a DNS resolution dependency. Pinging 8.8.8.8 is fine but Google is several hops away from me. All I need to do is to ping the nearest thing to me that is on the internet.
I can use Ping's TTL feature to ping hop #1, then hop #2, etc, until I get a reply from something that is on a routable address; if that node is on a routable address then it is on the internet. For most of us, hop #1 will be our local gateway/router, and hop #2 will be the first point on the other side of our fibre connection or whatever.
This code works for me, and responds quicker than some of the other suggestions in this thread because it is pinging whatever is nearest to me on the internet.
using System.Diagnostics;
using System.Net;
using System.Net.NetworkInformation;
using System.Net.Sockets;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
public static async Task<bool> IsConnectedToInternetAsync()
{
const int maxHops = 30;
const string someFarAwayIpAddress = "8.8.8.8";
// Keep pinging further along the line from here to google
// until we find a response that is from a routable address
for (int ttl = 1; ttl <= maxHops; ttl++)
{
var options = new PingOptions(ttl, true);
byte[] buffer = new byte[32];
PingReply reply;
try
{
using (var pinger = new Ping())
{
reply = await pinger.SendPingAsync(someFarAwayIpAddress, 10000, buffer, options);
}
}
catch (PingException pingex)
{
Debug.Print($"Ping exception (probably due to no network connection or recent change in network conditions), hence not connected to internet. Message: {pingex.Message}");
return false;
}
string address = reply.Address?.ToString() ?? null;
Debug.Print($"Hop #{ttl} is {address}, {reply.Status}");
if (reply.Status != IPStatus.TtlExpired && reply.Status != IPStatus.Success)
{
Debug.Print($"Hop #{ttl} is {reply.Status}, hence we are not connected.");
return false;
}
if (IsRoutableAddress(reply.Address))
{
Debug.Print("That's routable, so we must be connected to the internet.");
return true;
}
}
return false;
}
private static bool IsRoutableAddress(IPAddress addr)
{
if (addr == null)
{
return false;
}
else if (addr.AddressFamily == AddressFamily.InterNetworkV6)
{
return !addr.IsIPv6LinkLocal && !addr.IsIPv6SiteLocal;
}
else // IPv4
{
byte[] bytes = addr.GetAddressBytes();
if (bytes[0] == 10)
{ // Class A network
return false;
}
else if (bytes[0] == 172 && bytes[1] >= 16 && bytes[1] <= 31)
{ // Class B network
return false;
}
else if (bytes[0] == 192 && bytes[1] == 168)
{ // Class C network
return false;
}
else
{ // None of the above, so must be routable
return true;
}
}
}

A test for internet connection by pinging Google:
new Ping().Send("www.google.com.mx").Status == IPStatus.Success

I disagree with people who are stating: "What's the point in checking for connectivity before performing a task, as immediately after the check the connection may be lost".
Surely there is a degree of uncertainty in many programming tasks we as developers undertake, but reducing the uncertainty to a level of acceptance is part of the challenge.
I recently ran into this problem making an application which including a mapping feature which linked to an on-line tile server. This functionality was to be disabled where a lack of internet connectivity was noted.
Some of the responses on this page were very good, but did however cause a lot of performance issues such as hanging, mainly in the case of the absence of connectivity.
Here is the solution that I ended up using, with the help of some of these answers and my colleagues:
// Insert this where check is required, in my case program start
ThreadPool.QueueUserWorkItem(CheckInternetConnectivity);
}
void CheckInternetConnectivity(object state)
{
if (System.Net.NetworkInformation.NetworkInterface.GetIsNetworkAvailable())
{
using (WebClient webClient = new WebClient())
{
webClient.CachePolicy = new System.Net.Cache.RequestCachePolicy(System.Net.Cache.RequestCacheLevel.BypassCache);
webClient.Proxy = null;
webClient.OpenReadCompleted += webClient_OpenReadCompleted;
webClient.OpenReadAsync(new Uri("<url of choice here>"));
}
}
}
volatile bool internetAvailable = false; // boolean used elsewhere in code
void webClient_OpenReadCompleted(object sender, OpenReadCompletedEventArgs e)
{
if (e.Error == null)
{
internetAvailable = true;
Dispatcher.Invoke(DispatcherPriority.Normal, new Action(() =>
{
// UI changes made here
}));
}
}

I have seen all the options listed above and the only viable option to check wither the internet is available or not is the "Ping" option.
Importing [DllImport("Wininet.dll")] and System.Net.NetworkInformation.NetworkInterface.GetAllNetworkInterfaces() Or any other variation of the NetworkInterface class does not work well in detecting the availability of the network.These Methods only check if the network cable is plugged in or not.
The "Ping option"
if(Connection is available) returns true
if(Connection is not available and the network cable is plugged in) returns false
if(Network cable is not plugged in) Throws an exception
The NetworkInterface
if(Internet Is available)Returns True
if(Internet is not Available and Network Cable is Plugged in ) Returns True
if(Network Cable is Not Plugged in )returns false
The [DllImport("Wininet.dll")]
if(Internet Is available)Returns True
if(Internet is not Available and Network Cable is Plugged in ) Returns True
if(Network Cable is Not Plugged in )returns false
So in case of [DllImport("Wininet.dll")] and NetworkInterface There is no way of knowing if internet connection is available.

Does not solve the problem of network going down between checking and running your code
but is fairly reliable
public static bool IsAvailableNetworkActive()
{
// only recognizes changes related to Internet adapters
if (System.Net.NetworkInformation.NetworkInterface.GetIsNetworkAvailable())
{
// however, this will include all adapters -- filter by opstatus and activity
NetworkInterface[] interfaces = System.Net.NetworkInformation.NetworkInterface.GetAllNetworkInterfaces();
return (from face in interfaces
where face.OperationalStatus == OperationalStatus.Up
where (face.NetworkInterfaceType != NetworkInterfaceType.Tunnel) && (face.NetworkInterfaceType != NetworkInterfaceType.Loopback)
select face.GetIPv4Statistics()).Any(statistics => (statistics.BytesReceived > 0) && (statistics.BytesSent > 0));
}
return false;
}

Here's how it is implemented in Android.
As a proof of concept, I translated this code to C#:
var request = (HttpWebRequest)WebRequest.Create("http://g.cn/generate_204");
request.UserAgent = "Android";
request.KeepAlive = false;
request.Timeout = 1500;
using (var response = (HttpWebResponse)request.GetResponse())
{
if (response.ContentLength == 0 && response.StatusCode == HttpStatusCode.NoContent)
{
//Connection to internet available
}
else
{
//Connection to internet not available
}
}

private bool ping()
{
System.Net.NetworkInformation.Ping pingSender = new System.Net.NetworkInformation.Ping();
System.Net.NetworkInformation.PingReply reply = pingSender.Send(address);
if (reply.Status == System.Net.NetworkInformation.IPStatus.Success)
{
return true;
}
else
{
return false;
}
}

Try to avoid testing connections by catching the exception. because we really Expect that sometimes we may lose network connection.
if (NetworkInterface.GetIsNetworkAvailable() &&
new Ping().Send(new IPAddress(new byte[] { 8, 8, 8, 8 }),2000).Status == IPStatus.Success)
//is online
else
//is offline

I wouldn't think it's impossible, just not straightforward.
I've built something like this, and yes it's not perfect, but the first step is essential: to check if there's any network connectivity. The Windows Api doesn't do a great job, so why not do a better job?
bool NetworkIsAvailable()
{
var all = System.Net.NetworkInformation.NetworkInterface.GetAllNetworkInterfaces();
foreach (var item in all)
{
if (item.NetworkInterfaceType == NetworkInterfaceType.Loopback)
continue;
if (item.Name.ToLower().Contains("virtual") || item.Description.ToLower().Contains("virtual"))
continue; //Exclude virtual networks set up by VMWare and others
if (item.OperationalStatus == OperationalStatus.Up)
{
return true;
}
}
return false;
}
It's pretty simple, but it really helps improve the quality of the check, especially when you want to check various proxy configurations.
So:
Check whether there's network connectivity (make this really good, maybe even have logs sent back to developers when there are false positives to improve the NetworkIsAvailable function)
HTTP Ping
(Cycle through Proxy configurations with HTTP Pings on each)

Another option is the Network List Manager API which is available for Vista and Windows 7. MSDN article here. In the article is a link to download code samples which allow you to do this:
AppNetworkListUser nlmUser = new AppNetworkListUser();
Console.WriteLine("Is the machine connected to internet? " + nlmUser.NLM.IsConnectedToInternet.ToString());
Be sure to add a reference to Network List 1.0 Type Library from the COM tab... which will show up as NETWORKLIST.

I personally find the answer of Anton and moffeltje best, but I added a check to exclude virtual networks set up by VMWare and others.
public static bool IsAvailableNetworkActive()
{
// only recognizes changes related to Internet adapters
if (!System.Net.NetworkInformation.NetworkInterface.GetIsNetworkAvailable()) return false;
// however, this will include all adapters -- filter by opstatus and activity
NetworkInterface[] interfaces = System.Net.NetworkInformation.NetworkInterface.GetAllNetworkInterfaces();
return (from face in interfaces
where face.OperationalStatus == OperationalStatus.Up
where (face.NetworkInterfaceType != NetworkInterfaceType.Tunnel) && (face.NetworkInterfaceType != NetworkInterfaceType.Loopback)
where (!(face.Name.ToLower().Contains("virtual") || face.Description.ToLower().Contains("virtual")))
select face.GetIPv4Statistics()).Any(statistics => (statistics.BytesReceived > 0) && (statistics.BytesSent > 0));
}

Introduction
In some scenarios you need to check whether internet is available or not using C# code in windows applications. May be to download or upload a file using internet in windows forms or to get some data from database which is at remote location, in these situations internet check is compulsory.
There are some ways to check internet availability using C# from code behind. All such ways are explained here including their limitations.
InternetGetConnectedState(wininet)
The 'wininet' API can be used to check the local system has active internet connection or not. The namespace used for this is 'System.Runtime.InteropServices' and import the dll 'wininet.dll' using DllImport. After this create a boolean variable with extern static with a function name InternetGetConnectedState with two parameters description and reservedValue as shown in example.
Note: The extern modifier is used to declare a method that is implemented externally. A common use of the extern modifier is with the DllImport attribute when you are using Interop services to call into unmanaged code. In this case, the method must also be declared as static.
Next create a method with name 'IsInternetAvailable' as boolean. The
above function will be used in this method which returns internet
status of local system
[DllImport("wininet.dll")]
private extern static bool InternetGetConnectedState(out int description, int reservedValue);
public static bool IsInternetAvailable()
{
try
{
int description;
return InternetGetConnectedState(out description, 0);
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
return false;
}
}
GetIsNetworkAvailable
The following example uses the GetIsNetworkAvailable method to determine if a network connection is available.
if (System.Net.NetworkInformation.NetworkInterface.GetIsNetworkAvailable())
{
System.Windows.MessageBox.Show("This computer is connected to the internet");
}
else
{
System.Windows.MessageBox.Show("This computer is not connected to the internet");
}
Remarks (As per MSDN): A network connection is considered to be available if any network interface is marked "up" and is not a loopback or tunnel interface.
There are many cases in which a device or computer is not connected to a useful network but is still considered available and GetIsNetworkAvailable will return true. For example, if the device running the application is connected to a wireless network that requires a proxy, but the proxy is not set, GetIsNetworkAvailable will return true. Another example of when GetIsNetworkAvailable will return true is if the application is running on a computer that is connected to a hub or router where the hub or router has lost the upstream connection.
Ping a hostname on the network
Ping and PingReply classes allows an application to determine whether a remote computer is accessible over the network by getting reply from the host. These classes are available in System.Net.NetworkInformation namespace. The following example shows how to ping a host.
protected bool CheckConnectivity(string ipAddress)
{
bool connectionExists = false;
try
{
System.Net.NetworkInformation.Ping pingSender = new System.Net.NetworkInformation.Ping();
System.Net.NetworkInformation.PingOptions options = new System.Net.NetworkInformation.PingOptions();
options.DontFragment = true;
if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(ipAddress))
{
System.Net.NetworkInformation.PingReply reply = pingSender.Send(ipAddress);
connectionExists = reply.Status ==
System.Net.NetworkInformation.IPStatus.Success ? true : false;
}
}
catch (PingException ex)
{
Logger.LogException(ex.Message, ex);
}
return connectionExists;
}
Remarks (As per MSDN): Applications use the Ping class to detect whether a remote computer is reachable. Network topology can determine whether Ping can successfully contact a remote host. The presence and configuration of proxies, network address translation (NAT) equipment, or firewalls can prevent Ping from succeeding. A successful Ping indicates only that the remote host can be reached on the network; the presence of higher level services (such as a Web server) on the remote host is not guaranteed.
Comments/Suggestions are invited. Happy coding......!

The accepted answer succeeds quickly but is very slow to fail when there is no connection. So I wanted to build a robust connection check that would fail faster.
Pinging was said to not be supported in all environments, so I started with the accepted answer and added a WebClient from here with a custom timeout. You can pick any timeout, but 3 seconds worked for me while connected via wifi. I tried adding a fast iteration (1 second), then a slow iteration (3 seconds) if the first one fails. But that made no sense since both iterations would always fail (when not connected) or always succeed (when connected).
I'm connecting to AWS since I want to upload a file when the connection test passes.
public static class AwsHelpers
{
public static bool GetCanConnectToAws()
{
try
{
using (var client = new WebClientWithShortTimeout())
using (client.OpenRead("https://aws.amazon.com"))
return true;
}
catch
{
return false;
}
}
}
public class WebClientWithShortTimeout: WebClient
{
protected override WebRequest GetWebRequest(Uri uri)
{
var webRequest = base.GetWebRequest(uri);
webRequest.Timeout = 5000;
return webRequest;
}
}

If you want to notify the user/take action whenever a network/connection change occur.
Use NLM API:
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee264321.aspx
http://www.codeproject.com/Articles/34650/How-to-use-the-Windows-NLM-API-to-get-notified-of

public static bool Isconnected = false;
public static bool CheckForInternetConnection()
{
try
{
Ping myPing = new Ping();
String host = "google.com";
byte[] buffer = new byte[32];
int timeout = 1000;
PingOptions pingOptions = new PingOptions();
PingReply reply = myPing.Send(host, timeout, buffer, pingOptions);
if (reply.Status == IPStatus.Success)
{
return true;
}
else if (reply.Status == IPStatus.TimedOut)
{
return Isconnected;
}
else
{
return false;
}
}
catch (Exception)
{
return false;
}
}
public static void CheckConnection()
{
if (CheckForInternetConnection())
{
Isconnected = true;
}
else
{
Isconnected = false;
}
}

bool bb = System.Net.NetworkInformation.NetworkInterface.GetIsNetworkAvailable();
if (bb == true)
MessageBox.Show("Internet connections are available");
else
MessageBox.Show("Internet connections are not available");

Multi threaded version of ping:
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Diagnostics;
using System.Net.NetworkInformation;
using System.Threading;
namespace OnlineCheck
{
class Program
{
static bool isOnline = false;
static void Main(string[] args)
{
List<string> ipList = new List<string> {
"1.1.1.1", // Bad ip
"2.2.2.2",
"4.2.2.2",
"8.8.8.8",
"9.9.9.9",
"208.67.222.222",
"139.130.4.5"
};
int timeOut = 1000 * 5; // Seconds
List<Thread> threadList = new List<Thread>();
foreach (string ip in ipList)
{
Thread threadTest = new Thread(() => IsOnline(ip));
threadList.Add(threadTest);
threadTest.Start();
}
Stopwatch stopwatch = Stopwatch.StartNew();
while (!isOnline && stopwatch.ElapsedMilliseconds <= timeOut)
{
Thread.Sleep(10); // Cooldown the CPU
}
foreach (Thread thread in threadList)
{
thread.Abort(); // We love threads, don't we?
}
Console.WriteLine("Am I online: " + isOnline.ToYesNo());
Console.ReadKey();
}
static bool Ping(string host, int timeout = 3000, int buffer = 32)
{
bool result = false;
try
{
Ping ping = new Ping();
byte[] byteBuffer = new byte[buffer];
PingOptions options = new PingOptions();
PingReply reply = ping.Send(host, timeout, byteBuffer, options);
result = (reply.Status == IPStatus.Success);
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
}
return result;
}
static void IsOnline(string host)
{
isOnline = Ping(host) || isOnline;
}
}
public static class BooleanExtensions
{
public static string ToYesNo(this bool value)
{
return value ? "Yes" : "No";
}
}
}

Building on #ChaosPandion's answer, to be as sure as possible that the result is correct you can include multiple big sites like others have pointed out. However this should be done asynchronously to avoid too long wait times. Also the WebRequest, HttpWebRequest and HttpWebResponse classes are now obsolete and should be replaced by HttpClient. The following example takes into account the above:
public static async Task<bool> CheckForInternetConnection(TimeSpan? timeoutMs = null, List<string> urls = null)
{
if (timeoutMs == null)
{
timeoutMs = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(10);
}
var culture = CultureInfo.InstalledUICulture;
if (urls == null)
{
urls = new List<string>();
if (culture.Name.StartsWith("fa")) // Iran
urls.Add("http://www.aparat.com");
else if (culture.Name.StartsWith("zh")) // China
urls.Add("http://www.baidu.com");
else
{
urls.Add("https://www.apple.com/");
urls.Add("https://www.gstatic.com/generate_204");
}
}
var client = new HttpClient();
client.Timeout = (TimeSpan)timeoutMs;
List<Task<string>> tasks = new List<Task<string>>();
int unresponsiveUrlCount = 0;
foreach (var url in urls)
{
tasks.Add(client.GetStringAsync(url));
}
Task aggregationTask = null;
try
{
aggregationTask = Task.WhenAll(tasks);
await aggregationTask;
}
catch (Exception)
{
if (aggregationTask?.Exception?.InnerExceptions != null && aggregationTask.Exception.InnerExceptions.Any())
{
foreach (var innerEx in aggregationTask.Exception.InnerExceptions)
{
unresponsiveUrlCount++;
}
}
}
return unresponsiveUrlCount < urls.Count;
}
This method checks all the urls in the list and if they are all inaccessible then it returns false. I have added apple's url, because in my case it loads pretty fast, but it can be replaced with any url.

Use NetworkMonitor to monitoring network state and internet connection.
Sample:
namespace AmRoNetworkMonitor.Demo
{
using System;
internal class Program
{
private static void Main()
{
NetworkMonitor.StateChanged += NetworkMonitor_StateChanged;
NetworkMonitor.StartMonitor();
Console.WriteLine("Press any key to stop monitoring.");
Console.ReadKey();
NetworkMonitor.StopMonitor();
Console.WriteLine("Press any key to close program.");
Console.ReadKey();
}
private static void NetworkMonitor_StateChanged(object sender, StateChangeEventArgs e)
{
Console.WriteLine(e.IsAvailable ? "Is Available" : "Is Not Available");
}
}
}

For my application we also test by download tiny file.
string remoteUri = "https://www.microsoft.com/favicon.ico"
WebClient myWebClient = new WebClient();
try
{
byte[] myDataBuffer = myWebClient.DownloadData (remoteUri);
if(myDataBuffer.length > 0) // Or add more validate. eg. checksum
{
return true;
}
}
catch
{
return false;
}
Also. Some ISP may use middle server to cache file. Add random unused parameter eg. https://www.microsoft.com/favicon.ico?req=random_number
Can prevent caching.

I am having issue on those method on my 3g Router/modem, because if internet is disconnected the router redirects the page to its response page, so you still get a steam and your code think there is internet.
Apples (or others) have a hot-spot-dedection page which always returns a certain response. The following sample returns "Success" response. So you will be exactly sure you could connect the internet and get real response !
public static bool CheckForInternetConnection()
{
try
{
using (var webClient = new WebClient())
using (var stream = webClient.OpenRead("http://captive.apple.com/hotspot-detect.html"))
{
if (stream != null)
{
//return true;
stream.ReadTimeout = 1000;
using (var reader = new StreamReader(stream, Encoding.UTF8, false))
{
string line;
while ((line = reader.ReadLine()) != null)
{
if (line == "<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>Success</TITLE></HEAD><BODY>Success</BODY></HTML>")
{
return true;
}
Console.WriteLine(line);
}
}
}
return false;
}
}
catch
{
}
return false;
}

I have three tests for an Internet connection.
Reference System.Net and System.Net.Sockets
Add the following test functions:
Test 1
public bool IsOnlineTest1()
{
try
{
IPHostEntry dummy = Dns.GetHostEntry("https://www.google.com");
return true;
}
catch (SocketException ex)
{
return false;
}
}
Test 2
public bool IsOnlineTest2()
{
try
{
IPHostEntry dummy = Dns.GetHostEntry("https://www.google.com");
return true;
}
catch (SocketException ex)
{
return false;
}
}
Test 3
public bool IsOnlineTest3()
{
System.Net.WebRequest req = System.Net.WebRequest.Create("https://www.google.com");
System.Net.WebResponse resp = default(System.Net.WebResponse);
try
{
resp = req.GetResponse();
resp.Close();
req = null;
return true;
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
req = null;
return false;
}
}
Performing the tests
If you make a Dictionary of String and Boolean called CheckList, you can add the results of each test to CheckList.
Now, recurse through each KeyValuePair using a for...each loop.
If CheckList contains a Value of true, then you know there is an Internet connection.

public static bool HasConnection()
{
try
{
System.Net.IPHostEntry i = System.Net.Dns.GetHostEntry("www.google.com");
return true;
}
catch
{
return false;
}
}
That works

Issue viewing all skinny traffic using pcap.net in a C# Winform application

I am using the latest version of pcap.net to capture network traffic on my local pc ethernet card. I am using the following code to capture all traffic associated with a specific mac address.
private void bwCapture_DoWork(object sender, DoWorkEventArgs e)
{
capture = true;
IList<LivePacketDevice> allDevices = LivePacketDevice.AllLocalMachine;
if (allDevices.Count == 0)
{
MessageBox.Show("No interfaces found!");
return;
}
if (capture)
{
// Print the list
for (int i = 0; i != allDevices.Count; ++i)
{
LivePacketDevice device = allDevices[i];
this.BeginInvoke((Action)delegate () { cmbNetworkDevice.Items.Add((i + 1) + ". " + device.Name); });
}
// Take the selected adapter
PacketDevice selectedDevice = allDevices[deviceSelected];
// Open the device
using (PacketCommunicator communicator = selectedDevice.Open(65536, // portion of the packet to capture
PacketDeviceOpenAttributes.Promiscuous, // promiscuous mode
50)) // read timeout
{
this.BeginInvoke((Action)delegate () { rtbCaptured.Text = "Listening on " + selectedDevice.Description + Environment.NewLine; });
// Retrieve the packets
Packet packet;
while (capture)
{
try
{
BerkeleyPacketFilter filter = communicator.CreateFilter("ether host <<MAC ADDRESS>> and tcp port 2000");
communicator.SetFilter(filter);
PacketCommunicatorReceiveResult result = communicator.ReceivePacket(out packet);
switch (result)
{
case PacketCommunicatorReceiveResult.Timeout:
// Timeout elapsed
continue;
case PacketCommunicatorReceiveResult.Ok:
this.BeginInvoke((Action)delegate ()
{
IpV4Datagram ip = packet.Ethernet.IpV4;
TcpDatagram tcp = ip.Tcp;
if (tcp != null && ip != null)
{
string IPCheck = ip.Source.ToString();
int PortCheck = tcp.DestinationPort;
dgvIncomingPackets.Rows.Add(packet.Timestamp.ToString("MM-dd-yyyy hh:mm:ss"), packet.Length, tcp.SequenceNumber , ip.IpV4.Protocol, ip.Source, tcp.SourcePort, ip.Destination, tcp.DestinationPort);
rtbPacketDeconstruct.Text = WordWrap(ProcessString(packet.BytesSequenceToHexadecimalString()),47);
string convertThis = ProcessString(packet.BytesSequenceToHexadecimalString());
dgvIncomingPackets.FirstDisplayedScrollingRowIndex = dgvIncomingPackets.RowCount - 1;
}
else
{
rtbCaptured.Text += "Error : TCP Null Value" + Environment.NewLine;
}
});
break;
default:
throw new InvalidOperationException("The result " + result + " should never be reached here");
}
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
this.BeginInvoke((Action)delegate ()
{ rtbCaptured.Text += "Exception : " + ex; });
}
}
}
}
}
The code above works however it is not detecting all of the skinny events. When viewing the network traffic with WireShark I am able to see the condition changes in a Cisco 7960 IP Phone including off hook, lamp messages, displaynotification messages.
While these packets are registered in Wireshark on my PC they appear not to be captured using the code above.
My understanding is that skinny uses tcp ports 2000 and 49828 for communication between CUCM and the device. My code does see the TCP ACK and WHOAMI packets.The MAC address being monitored in the Cisco IP Phone. My PC is connected to this device through the built in hub on the device(This isn't the issue because WireShark is showing the events on my PC where my code is not)
What am I missing here. I am a novice to programming and learning on the fly here. (As such I am aware my code isn't the cleanest or well written)
Thanks,

UDP hole punching implementation

I am trying to accomplish UDP hole punching. I am basing my theory on this article and this WIKI page, but I am facing some issues with the C# coding of it. Here is my problem:
Using the code that was posted here I am now able to connect to a remote machine and listen on the same port for incoming connections (Bind 2 UDP clients to the same port).
For some reason the two bindings to the same port block each other from receiving any data.
I have a UDP server that responds to my connection so if I connect to it first before binding any other client to the port I get its responses back.
If I bind another client to the port no data will be received on either clients.
Following are 2 code pieces that show my problem. The first connects to a remote server to create the rule on the NAT device and then a listener is started on a different thread to capture the incoming packets. The code then sends packets to the local IP so that the listener will get it. The second only sends packets to the local IP to make sure this works. I know this is not the actual hole punching as I am sending the packets to myself without living the NAT device at all. I am facing a problem at this point, and I don't imagine this will be any different if I use a computer out side the NAT device to connect.
[EDIT] 2/4/2012
I tried using another computer on my network and WireShark (packet sniffer) to test the listener. I see the packets incoming from the other computer but are not received by the listener UDP client (udpServer) or the sender UDP client (client).
[EDIT] 2/5/2010
I have now added a function call to close the first UDP client after the initial sending and receiving of packets only living the second UDP client to listen on the port. This works and I can receive packets from inside the network on that port. I will now try to send and receive packets from outside the network. I will post my findings as soon as I find something.
Using this code I get data on the listening client:
static void Main(string[] args)
{
IPEndPoint localpt = new IPEndPoint(Dns.Resolve(Dns.GetHostName()).AddressList[0], 4545);
ThreadPool.QueueUserWorkItem(delegate
{
UdpClient udpServer = new UdpClient();
udpServer.ExclusiveAddressUse = false;
udpServer.Client.SetSocketOption(SocketOptionLevel.Socket, SocketOptionName.ReuseAddress, true);
udpServer.Client.Bind(localpt);
IPEndPoint inEndPoint = new IPEndPoint(IPAddress.Any, 0);
Console.WriteLine("Listening on " + localpt + ".");
byte[] buffer = udpServer.Receive(ref inEndPoint); //this line will block forever
Console.WriteLine("Receive from " + inEndPoint + " " + Encoding.ASCII.GetString(buffer) + ".");
});
Thread.Sleep(1000);
UdpClient udpServer2 = new UdpClient(6000);
// the following lines work and the data is received
udpServer2.Connect(Dns.Resolve(Dns.GetHostName()).AddressList[0], 4545);
udpServer2.Send(new byte[] { 0x41 }, 1);
Console.Read();
}
If I use the following code, after the connection and data transfer between my client and server, the listening UDP client will not receive anything:
static void Main(string[] args)
{
IPEndPoint localpt = new IPEndPoint(Dns.Resolve(Dns.GetHostName()).AddressList[0], 4545);
//if the following lines up until serverConnect(); are removed all packets are received correctly
client = new UdpClient();
client.ExclusiveAddressUse = false;
client.Client.SetSocketOption(SocketOptionLevel.Socket, SocketOptionName.ReuseAddress, true);
client.Client.Bind(localpt);
remoteServerConnect(); //connection to remote server is done here
//response is received correctly and printed to the console
ThreadPool.QueueUserWorkItem(delegate
{
UdpClient udpServer = new UdpClient();
udpServer.ExclusiveAddressUse = false;
udpServer.Client.SetSocketOption(SocketOptionLevel.Socket, SocketOptionName.ReuseAddress, true);
udpServer.Client.Bind(localpt);
IPEndPoint inEndPoint = new IPEndPoint(IPAddress.Any, 0);
Console.WriteLine("Listening on " + localpt + ".");
byte[] buffer = udpServer.Receive(ref inEndPoint); //this line will block forever
Console.WriteLine("Receive from " + inEndPoint + " " + Encoding.ASCII.GetString(buffer) + ".");
});
Thread.Sleep(1000);
UdpClient udpServer2 = new UdpClient(6000);
// I expected the following line to work and to receive this as well
udpServer2.Connect(Dns.Resolve(Dns.GetHostName()).AddressList[0], 4545);
udpServer2.Send(new byte[] { 0x41 }, 1);
Console.Read();
}

If i understand correctly, you are trying to communicate peer-to-peer between 2 clients each behind a different NAT, using a mediation server for hole punching?
Few years ago i did the exact same thing in c#, i haven't found the code yet, but ill give you some pointers if you like:
First, I wouldn't use the Connect() function on the udpclient, since UDP is a connectionless protocol, all this function really does is hide the functionality of a UDP socket.
You should perfrom the following steps:
Open a UDP socket on a server with it's ports not blocked by a firewall, at a specific port (eg Bind this socket to a chosen port for example 23000)
Create a UDP socket on the first client, and send something to the server at 23000. Do not bind this socket. When a udp is used to send a packet, windows will automatically assign a free port to the socket
Do the same from the other client
The server has now received 2 packets from 2 clients at 2 different adresses with 2 different ports. Test if the server can send packets back on the same address and port. (If this doesn't work you did something wrong or your NAT isn't working. You know its working if you can play games without opening ports :D)
The server should now send the address and port of the other clients to each connected client.
A client should now be able to send packets using UDP to the adresses received from the server.
You should note that the port used on the nat is probably not the same port as on your client pc!! The server should distribute this external port to clients. You must use the external adresses and the external ports to send to!
Also note that your NAT might not support this kind of port forwarding. Some NAT's forward all incoming traffic on a assigned port to you client, which is what you want. But some nats do filtering on the incoming packets adresses so it might block the other clients packets. This is unlikely though when using a standard personal user router.

Edit: After a lot more testing this doesn't seem to work at all for me unless I enable UPnP. So a lot of the things I wrote here you may find useful but many people don't have UPnP enabled (because it is a security risk) so it will not work for them.
Here is some code using PubNub as a relay server :). I don't recommend using this code without testing because it is not perfect (I'm not sure if it is even secure or the right way to do things? idk I'm not a networking expert) but it should give you an idea of what to do. It at least has worked for me so far in a hobby project. The things it is missing are:
Testing if the client is on your LAN. I just send to both which works for your LAN and a device on another network but that is very inefficient.
Testing when the client stops listening if, for example, they closed the program. Because this is UDP it is stateless so it doesn't matter if we are sending messages into the void but we probably shouldn't do that if noone is getting them
I use Open.NAT to do port forwarding programatically but this might not work on some devices. Specifically, it uses UPnP which is a little insecure and requires UDP port 1900 to be port forwarded manually. Once they do this it is supported on most routers but many have not done this yet.
So first of all, you need a way to get your external and local IPs. Here is code for getting your local IP:
// From http://stackoverflow.com/questions/6803073/get-local-ip-address
public string GetLocalIp()
{
var host = Dns.GetHostEntry(Dns.GetHostName());
foreach (var ip in host.AddressList)
{
if (ip.AddressFamily == AddressFamily.InterNetwork)
{
return ip.ToString();
}
}
throw new Exception("Failed to get local IP");
}
And here is some code for getting your external IP via trying a few websites that are designed to return your external IP
public string GetExternalIp()
{
for (int i = 0; i < 2; i++)
{
string res = GetExternalIpWithTimeout(400);
if (res != "")
{
return res;
}
}
throw new Exception("Failed to get external IP");
}
private static string GetExternalIpWithTimeout(int timeoutMillis)
{
string[] sites = new string[] {
"http://ipinfo.io/ip",
"http://icanhazip.com/",
"http://ipof.in/txt",
"http://ifconfig.me/ip",
"http://ipecho.net/plain"
};
foreach (string site in sites)
{
try
{
HttpWebRequest request = (HttpWebRequest)WebRequest.Create(site);
request.Timeout = timeoutMillis;
using (var webResponse = (HttpWebResponse)request.GetResponse())
{
using (Stream responseStream = webResponse.GetResponseStream())
{
using (StreamReader responseReader = new System.IO.StreamReader(responseStream, Encoding.UTF8))
{
return responseReader.ReadToEnd().Trim();
}
}
}
}
catch
{
continue;
}
}
return "";
}
Now we need to find an open port and forward it to an external port. As mentioned above I used Open.NAT. First, you put together a list of ports that you think would be reasonable for your application to use after looking at registered UDP ports. Here are a few for example:
public static int[] ports = new int[]
{
5283,
5284,
5285,
5286,
5287,
5288,
5289,
5290,
5291,
5292,
5293,
5294,
5295,
5296,
5297
};
Now we can loop through them and hopefully find one that is not in use to use port forwarding on:
public UdpClient GetUDPClientFromPorts(out Socket portHolder, out string localIp, out int localPort, out string externalIp, out int externalPort)
{
localIp = GetLocalIp();
externalIp = GetExternalIp();
var discoverer = new Open.Nat.NatDiscoverer();
var device = discoverer.DiscoverDeviceAsync().Result;
IPAddress localAddr = IPAddress.Parse(localIp);
int workingPort = -1;
for (int i = 0; i < ports.Length; i++)
{
try
{
// You can alternatively test tcp with nc -vz externalip 5293 in linux and
// udp with nc -vz -u externalip 5293 in linux
Socket tempServer = new Socket(AddressFamily.InterNetwork, SocketType.Dgram, ProtocolType.Udp);
tempServer.Bind(new IPEndPoint(localAddr, ports[i]));
tempServer.Close();
workingPort = ports[i];
break;
}
catch
{
// Binding failed, port is in use, try next one
}
}
if (workingPort == -1)
{
throw new Exception("Failed to connect to a port");
}
int localPort = workingPort;
// You could try a different external port if the below code doesn't work
externalPort = workingPort;
// Mapping ports
device.CreatePortMapAsync(new Open.Nat.Mapping(Open.Nat.Protocol.Udp, localPort, externalPort));
// Bind a socket to our port to "claim" it or cry if someone else is now using it
try
{
portHolder = new Socket(AddressFamily.InterNetwork, SocketType.Dgram, ProtocolType.Udp);
portHolder.Bind(new IPEndPoint(localAddr, localPort));
}
catch
{
throw new Exception("Failed, someone is now using local port: " + localPort);
}
// Make a UDP Client that will use that port
UdpClient udpClient = new UdpClient(localPort);
return udpClient;
}
Now for the PubNub relay server code (P2PPeer will be defined later below). There is a lot here so I'm not really gonna explain it but hopefully the code is clear enough to help you understand what is going on
public delegate void NewPeerCallback(P2PPeer newPeer);
public event NewPeerCallback OnNewPeerConnection;
public Pubnub pubnub;
public string pubnubChannelName;
public string localIp;
public string externalIp;
public int localPort;
public int externalPort;
public UdpClient udpClient;
HashSet<string> uniqueIdsPubNubSeen;
object peerLock = new object();
Dictionary<string, P2PPeer> connectedPeers;
string myPeerDataString;
public void InitPubnub(string pubnubPublishKey, string pubnubSubscribeKey, string pubnubChannelName)
{
uniqueIdsPubNubSeen = new HashSet<string>();
connectedPeers = new Dictionary<string, P2PPeer>;
pubnub = new Pubnub(pubnubPublishKey, pubnubSubscribeKey);
myPeerDataString = localIp + " " + externalIp + " " + localPort + " " + externalPort + " " + pubnub.SessionUUID;
this.pubnubChannelName = pubnubChannelName;
pubnub.Subscribe<string>(
pubnubChannelName,
OnPubNubMessage,
OnPubNubConnect,
OnPubNubError);
return pubnub;
}
//// Subscribe callbacks
void OnPubNubConnect(string res)
{
pubnub.Publish<string>(pubnubChannelName, connectionDataString, OnPubNubTheyGotMessage, OnPubNubMessageFailed);
}
void OnPubNubError(PubnubClientError clientError)
{
throw new Exception("PubNub error on subscribe: " + clientError.Message);
}
void OnPubNubMessage(string message)
{
// The message will be the string ["localIp externalIp localPort externalPort","messageId","channelName"]
string[] splitMessage = message.Trim().Substring(1, message.Length - 2).Split(new char[] { ',' });
string peerDataString = splitMessage[0].Trim().Substring(1, splitMessage[0].Trim().Length - 2);
// If you want these, I don't need them
//string peerMessageId = splitMessage[1].Trim().Substring(1, splitMessage[1].Trim().Length - 2);
//string channelName = splitMessage[2].Trim().Substring(1, splitMessage[2].Trim().Length - 2);
string[] pieces = peerDataString.Split(new char[] { ' ', '\t' });
string peerLocalIp = pieces[0].Trim();
string peerExternalIp = pieces[1].Trim();
string peerLocalPort = int.Parse(pieces[2].Trim());
string peerExternalPort = int.Parse(pieces[3].Trim());
string peerPubnubUniqueId = pieces[4].Trim();
pubNubUniqueId = pieces[4].Trim();
// If you are on the same device then you have to do this for it to work idk why
if (peerLocalIp == localIp && peerExternalIp == externalIp)
{
peerLocalIp = "127.0.0.1";
}
// From me, ignore
if (peerPubnubUniqueId == pubnub.SessionUUID)
{
return;
}
// We haven't set up our connection yet, what are we doing
if (udpClient == null)
{
return;
}
// From someone else
IPEndPoint peerEndPoint = new IPEndPoint(IPAddress.Parse(peerExternalIp), peerExternalPort);
IPEndPoint peerEndPointLocal = new IPEndPoint(IPAddress.Parse(peerLocalIp), peerLocalPort);
// First time we have heard from them
if (!uniqueIdsPubNubSeen.Contains(peerPubnubUniqueId))
{
uniqueIdsPubNubSeen.Add(peerPubnubUniqueId);
// Dummy messages to do UDP hole punching, these may or may not go through and that is fine
udpClient.Send(new byte[10], 10, peerEndPoint);
udpClient.Send(new byte[10], 10, peerEndPointLocal); // This is if they are on a LAN, we will try both
pubnub.Publish<string>(pubnubChannelName, myPeerDataString, OnPubNubTheyGotMessage, OnPubNubMessageFailed);
}
// Second time we have heard from them, after then we don't care because we are connected
else if (!connectedPeers.ContainsKey(peerPubnubUniqueId))
{
//bool isOnLan = IsOnLan(IPAddress.Parse(peerExternalIp)); TODO, this would be nice to test for
bool isOnLan = false; // For now we will just do things for both
P2PPeer peer = new P2PPeer(peerLocalIp, peerExternalIp, peerLocalPort, peerExternalPort, this, isOnLan);
lock (peerLock)
{
connectedPeers.Add(peerPubnubUniqueId, peer);
}
// More dummy messages because why not
udpClient.Send(new byte[10], 10, peerEndPoint);
udpClient.Send(new byte[10], 10, peerEndPointLocal);
pubnub.Publish<string>(pubnubChannelName, connectionDataString, OnPubNubTheyGotMessage, OnPubNubMessageFailed);
if (OnNewPeerConnection != null)
{
OnNewPeerConnection(peer);
}
}
}
//// Publish callbacks
void OnPubNubTheyGotMessage(object result)
{
}
void OnPubNubMessageFailed(PubnubClientError clientError)
{
throw new Exception("PubNub error on publish: " + clientError.Message);
}
And here is a P2PPeer
public class P2PPeer
{
public string localIp;
public string externalIp;
public int localPort;
public int externalPort;
public bool isOnLan;
P2PClient client;
public delegate void ReceivedBytesFromPeerCallback(byte[] bytes);
public event ReceivedBytesFromPeerCallback OnReceivedBytesFromPeer;
public P2PPeer(string localIp, string externalIp, int localPort, int externalPort, P2PClient client, bool isOnLan)
{
this.localIp = localIp;
this.externalIp = externalIp;
this.localPort = localPort;
this.externalPort = externalPort;
this.client = client;
this.isOnLan = isOnLan;
if (isOnLan)
{
IPEndPoint endPointLocal = new IPEndPoint(IPAddress.Parse(localIp), localPort);
Thread localListener = new Thread(() => ReceiveMessage(endPointLocal));
localListener.IsBackground = true;
localListener.Start();
}
else
{
IPEndPoint endPoint = new IPEndPoint(IPAddress.Parse(externalIp), externalPort);
Thread externalListener = new Thread(() => ReceiveMessage(endPoint));
externalListener.IsBackground = true;
externalListener.Start();
}
}
public void SendBytes(byte[] data)
{
if (client.udpClient == null)
{
throw new Exception("P2PClient doesn't have a udpSocket open anymore");
}
//if (isOnLan) // This would work but I'm not sure how to test if they are on LAN so I'll just use both for now
{
client.udpClient.Send(data, data.Length, new IPEndPoint(IPAddress.Parse(localIp), localPort));
}
//else
{
client.udpClient.Send(data, data.Length, new IPEndPoint(IPAddress.Parse(externalIp), externalPort));
}
}
// Encoded in UTF8
public void SendString(string str)
{
SendBytes(System.Text.Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes(str));
}
void ReceiveMessage(IPEndPoint endPoint)
{
while (client.udpClient != null)
{
byte[] message = client.udpClient.Receive(ref endPoint);
if (OnReceivedBytesFromPeer != null)
{
OnReceivedBytesFromPeer(message);
}
//string receiveString = Encoding.UTF8.GetString(message);
//Console.Log("got: " + receiveString);
}
}
}
Finally, here are all my usings:
using PubNubMessaging.Core; // Get from PubNub GitHub for C#, I used the Unity3D library
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.IO;
using System.Net;
using System.Net.Sockets;
using System.Text;
using System.Threading;
I'm open to comments and questions, feel free to give feedback if something here is bad practice or doesn't work. A few bugs were introduced in translation from my code that I'll fix here eventually but this should at least give you the idea of what to do.

Have you tried using the Async functions, here is a example of how you might get it to work it may need a bit of work to make it 100% functional:
public void HolePunch(String ServerIp, Int32 Port)
{
IPEndPoint LocalPt = new IPEndPoint(Dns.GetHostEntry(Dns.GetHostName()).AddressList[0], Port);
UdpClient Client = new UdpClient();
Client.ExclusiveAddressUse = false;
Client.Client.SetSocketOption(SocketOptionLevel.Socket, SocketOptionName.ReuseAddress, true);
Client.Client.Bind(LocalPt);
IPEndPoint RemotePt = new IPEndPoint(IPAddress.Parse(ServerIp), Port);
// This Part Sends your local endpoint to the server so if the two peers are on the same nat they can bypass it, you can omit this if you wish to just use the remote endpoint.
byte[] IPBuffer = System.Text.Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes(Dns.GetHostEntry(Dns.GetHostName()).AddressList[0].ToString());
byte[] LengthBuffer = BitConverter.GetBytes(IPBuffer.Length);
byte[] PortBuffer = BitConverter.GetBytes(Port);
byte[] Buffer = new byte[IPBuffer.Length + LengthBuffer.Length + PortBuffer.Length];
LengthBuffer.CopyTo(Buffer,0);
IPBuffer.CopyTo(Buffer, LengthBuffer.Length);
PortBuffer.CopyTo(Buffer, IPBuffer.Length + LengthBuffer.Length);
Client.BeginSend(Buffer, Buffer.Length, RemotePt, new AsyncCallback(SendCallback), Client);
// Wait to receve something
BeginReceive(Client, Port);
// you may want to use a auto or manual ResetEvent here and have the server send back a confirmation, the server should have now stored your local (you sent it) and remote endpoint.
// you now need to work out who you need to connect to then ask the server for there remote and local end point then need to try to connect to the local first then the remote.
// if the server knows who you need to connect to you could just have it send you the endpoints as the confirmation.
// you may also need to keep this open with a keepalive packet untill it is time to connect to the peer or peers.
// once you have the endpoints of the peer you can close this connection unless you need to keep asking the server for other endpoints
Client.Close();
}
public void ConnectToPeer(String PeerIp, Int32 Port)
{
IPEndPoint LocalPt = new IPEndPoint(Dns.GetHostEntry(Dns.GetHostName()).AddressList[0], Port);
UdpClient Client = new UdpClient();
Client.ExclusiveAddressUse = false;
Client.Client.SetSocketOption(SocketOptionLevel.Socket, SocketOptionName.ReuseAddress, true);
Client.Client.Bind(LocalPt);
IPEndPoint RemotePt = new IPEndPoint(IPAddress.Parse(PeerIp), Port);
Client.Connect(RemotePt);
//you may want to keep the peer client connections in a list.
BeginReceive(Client, Port);
}
public void SendCallback(IAsyncResult ar)
{
UdpClient Client = (UdpClient)ar.AsyncState;
Client.EndSend(ar);
}
public void BeginReceive(UdpClient Client, Int32 Port)
{
IPEndPoint ListenPt = new IPEndPoint(IPAddress.Any, Port);
Object[] State = new Object[] { Client, ListenPt };
Client.BeginReceive(new AsyncCallback(ReceiveCallback), State);
}
public void ReceiveCallback(IAsyncResult ar)
{
UdpClient Client = (UdpClient)((Object[])ar.AsyncState)[0];
IPEndPoint ListenPt = (IPEndPoint)((Object[])ar.AsyncState)[0];
Byte[] receiveBytes = Client.EndReceive(ar, ref ListenPt);
}
I hope this helps.

Update:
Whichever of the UdpClients binds first is the one that will be sent incoming packets by Windows. In your example try moving the code block that sets up the listening thread to the top.
Are you sure the problem is not just that the receive thread is only written to handle a single receive? Try replacing the receive thread with as below.
ThreadPool.QueueUserWorkItem(delegate
{
UdpClient udpServer = new UdpClient();
udpServer.ExclusiveAddressUse = false;
udpServer.Client.SetSocketOption(SocketOptionLevel.Socket, SocketOptionName.ReuseAddress, true);
udpServer.Client.Bind(localpt);
IPEndPoint inEndPoint = new IPEndPoint(IPAddress.Any, 0);
Console.WriteLine("Listening on " + localpt + ".");
while (inEndPoint != null)
{
byte[] buffer = udpServer.Receive(ref inEndPoint);
Console.WriteLine("Bytes received from " + inEndPoint + " " + Encoding.ASCII.GetString(buffer) + ".");
}
});

Sorry for uploading such a huge piece of code, but i guess this is very clearly explains how things work, and may be really useful. If you will have issues with this code, please let me know.
Note:
this is just a draft
(important) you MUST inform server with your local endpoint. if you will not do it you will not be able to communicate between two peers behind one NAT (for example, on one local machine) even if the server is out of NAT
you must close "puncher" client (at least, i did not manage to receive any packets until i did it). later you will be able to communicate with server using other UdpClient's
of cource it will not work with symmetric NAT
if you find that something in this code is "terrible practice", please tell me, i'm not network expert :)
Server.cs
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Net;
using System.Net.Sockets;
using HolePunching.Common;
namespace HolePunching.Server
{
class Server
{
private static bool _isRunning;
private static UdpClient _udpClient;
private static readonly Dictionary<byte, PeerContext> Contexts = new Dictionary<byte, PeerContext>();
private static readonly Dictionary<byte, byte> Mappings = new Dictionary<byte, byte>
{
{1, 2},
{2, 1},
};
static void Main()
{
_udpClient = new UdpClient( Consts.UdpPort );
ListenUdp();
Console.ReadLine();
_isRunning = false;
}
private static async void ListenUdp()
{
_isRunning = true;
while ( _isRunning )
{
try
{
var receivedResults = await _udpClient.ReceiveAsync();
if ( !_isRunning )
{
break;
}
ProcessUdpMessage( receivedResults.Buffer, receivedResults.RemoteEndPoint );
}
catch ( Exception ex )
{
Console.WriteLine( $"Error: {ex.Message}" );
}
}
}
private static void ProcessUdpMessage( byte[] buffer, IPEndPoint remoteEndPoint )
{
if ( !UdpProtocol.UdpInfoMessage.TryParse( buffer, out UdpProtocol.UdpInfoMessage message ) )
{
Console.WriteLine( $" >>> Got shitty UDP [ {remoteEndPoint.Address} : {remoteEndPoint.Port} ]" );
_udpClient.Send( new byte[] { 1 }, 1, remoteEndPoint );
return;
}
Console.WriteLine( $" >>> Got UDP from {message.Id}. [ {remoteEndPoint.Address} : {remoteEndPoint.Port} ]" );
if ( !Contexts.TryGetValue( message.Id, out PeerContext context ) )
{
context = new PeerContext
{
PeerId = message.Id,
PublicUdpEndPoint = remoteEndPoint,
LocalUdpEndPoint = new IPEndPoint( message.LocalIp, message.LocalPort ),
};
Contexts.Add( context.PeerId, context );
}
byte partnerId = Mappings[context.PeerId];
if ( !Contexts.TryGetValue( partnerId, out context ) )
{
_udpClient.Send( new byte[] { 1 }, 1, remoteEndPoint );
return;
}
var response = UdpProtocol.PeerAddressMessage.GetMessage(
partnerId,
context.PublicUdpEndPoint.Address,
context.PublicUdpEndPoint.Port,
context.LocalUdpEndPoint.Address,
context.LocalUdpEndPoint.Port );
_udpClient.Send( response.Data, response.Data.Length, remoteEndPoint );
Console.WriteLine( $" <<< Responsed to {message.Id}" );
}
}
public class PeerContext
{
public byte PeerId { get; set; }
public IPEndPoint PublicUdpEndPoint { get; set; }
public IPEndPoint LocalUdpEndPoint { get; set; }
}
}
Client.cs
using System;
namespace HolePunching.Client
{
class Client
{
public const string ServerIp = "your.server.public.address";
static void Main()
{
byte id = ReadIdFromConsole();
// you need some smarter :)
int localPort = id == 1 ? 61043 : 59912;
var x = new Demo( ServerIp, id, localPort );
x.Start();
}
private static byte ReadIdFromConsole()
{
Console.Write( "Peer id (1 or 2): " );
var id = byte.Parse( Console.ReadLine() );
Console.Title = $"Peer {id}";
return id;
}
}
}
Demo.cs
using HolePunching.Common;
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Net;
using System.Net.Sockets;
using System.Threading;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
namespace HolePunching.Client
{
public class Demo
{
private static bool _isRunning;
private static UdpClient _udpPuncher;
private static UdpClient _udpClient;
private static UdpClient _extraUdpClient;
private static bool _extraUdpClientConnected;
private static byte _id;
private static IPEndPoint _localEndPoint;
private static IPEndPoint _serverUdpEndPoint;
private static IPEndPoint _partnerPublicUdpEndPoint;
private static IPEndPoint _partnerLocalUdpEndPoint;
private static string GetLocalIp()
{
var host = Dns.GetHostEntry( Dns.GetHostName() );
foreach ( var ip in host.AddressList )
{
if ( ip.AddressFamily == AddressFamily.InterNetwork )
{
return ip.ToString();
}
}
throw new Exception( "Failed to get local IP" );
}
public Demo( string serverIp, byte id, int localPort )
{
_serverUdpEndPoint = new IPEndPoint( IPAddress.Parse( serverIp ), Consts.UdpPort );
_id = id;
// we have to bind all our UdpClients to this endpoint
_localEndPoint = new IPEndPoint( IPAddress.Parse( GetLocalIp() ), localPort );
}
public void Start( )
{
_udpPuncher = new UdpClient(); // this guy is just for punching
_udpClient = new UdpClient(); // this will keep hole alive, and also can send data
_extraUdpClient = new UdpClient(); // i think, this guy is the best option for sending data (explained below)
InitUdpClients( new[] { _udpPuncher, _udpClient, _extraUdpClient }, _localEndPoint );
Task.Run( (Action) SendUdpMessages );
Task.Run( (Action) ListenUdp );
Console.ReadLine();
_isRunning = false;
}
private void InitUdpClients(IEnumerable<UdpClient> clients, EndPoint localEndPoint)
{
// if you don't want to use explicit localPort, you should create here one more UdpClient (X) and send something to server (it will automatically bind X to free port). then bind all clients to this port and close X
foreach ( var udpClient in clients )
{
udpClient.ExclusiveAddressUse = false;
udpClient.Client.SetSocketOption( SocketOptionLevel.Socket, SocketOptionName.ReuseAddress, true );
udpClient.Client.Bind( localEndPoint );
}
}
private void SendUdpMessages()
{
_isRunning = true;
var messageToServer = UdpProtocol.UdpInfoMessage.GetMessage( _id, _localEndPoint.Address, _localEndPoint.Port );
var messageToPeer = UdpProtocol.P2PKeepAliveMessage.GetMessage();
while ( _isRunning )
{
// while we dont have partner's address, we will send messages to server
if ( _partnerPublicUdpEndPoint == null && _partnerLocalUdpEndPoint == null )
{
_udpPuncher.Send( messageToServer.Data, messageToServer.Data.Length, _serverUdpEndPoint );
Console.WriteLine( $" >>> Sent UDP to server [ {_serverUdpEndPoint.Address} : {_serverUdpEndPoint.Port} ]" );
}
else
{
// you can skip it. just demonstration, that you still can send messages to server
_udpClient.Send( messageToServer.Data, messageToServer.Data.Length, _serverUdpEndPoint );
Console.WriteLine( $" >>> Sent UDP to server [ {_serverUdpEndPoint.Address} : {_serverUdpEndPoint.Port} ]" );
// THIS is how we punching hole! very first this message should be dropped by partner's NAT, but it's ok.
// i suppose that this is good idea to send this "keep-alive" messages to peer even if you are connected already,
// because AFAIK "hole" for UDP lives ~2 minutes on NAT. so "we will let it die? NEVER!" (c)
_udpClient.Send( messageToPeer.Data, messageToPeer.Data.Length, _partnerPublicUdpEndPoint );
_udpClient.Send( messageToPeer.Data, messageToPeer.Data.Length, _partnerLocalUdpEndPoint );
Console.WriteLine( $" >>> Sent UDP to peer.public [ {_partnerPublicUdpEndPoint.Address} : {_partnerPublicUdpEndPoint.Port} ]" );
Console.WriteLine( $" >>> Sent UDP to peer.local [ {_partnerLocalUdpEndPoint.Address} : {_partnerLocalUdpEndPoint.Port} ]" );
// "connected" UdpClient sends data much faster,
// so if you have something that your partner cant wait for (voice, for example), send it this way
if ( _extraUdpClientConnected )
{
_extraUdpClient.Send( messageToPeer.Data, messageToPeer.Data.Length );
Console.WriteLine( $" >>> Sent UDP to peer.received EP" );
}
}
Thread.Sleep( 3000 );
}
}
private async void ListenUdp()
{
_isRunning = true;
while ( _isRunning )
{
try
{
// also important thing!
// when you did not punched hole yet, you must listen incoming packets using "puncher" (later we will close it).
// where you already have p2p connection (and "puncher" closed), use "non-puncher"
UdpClient udpClient = _partnerPublicUdpEndPoint == null ? _udpPuncher : _udpClient;
var receivedResults = await udpClient.ReceiveAsync();
if ( !_isRunning )
{
break;
}
ProcessUdpMessage( receivedResults.Buffer, receivedResults.RemoteEndPoint );
}
catch ( SocketException ex )
{
// do something here...
}
catch ( Exception ex )
{
Console.WriteLine( $"Error: {ex.Message}" );
}
}
}
private static void ProcessUdpMessage( byte[] buffer, IPEndPoint remoteEndPoint )
{
// if server sent partner's endpoinps, we will store it and (IMPORTANT) close "puncher"
if ( UdpProtocol.PeerAddressMessage.TryParse( buffer, out UdpProtocol.PeerAddressMessage peerAddressMessage ) )
{
Console.WriteLine( " <<< Got response from server" );
_partnerPublicUdpEndPoint = new IPEndPoint( peerAddressMessage.PublicIp, peerAddressMessage.PublicPort );
_partnerLocalUdpEndPoint = new IPEndPoint( peerAddressMessage.LocalIp, peerAddressMessage.LocalPort );
_udpPuncher.Close();
}
// since we got this message we know partner's endpoint for sure,
// and we can "connect" UdpClient to it, so it will work faster
else if ( UdpProtocol.P2PKeepAliveMessage.TryParse( buffer ) )
{
Console.WriteLine( $" IT WORKS!!! WOW!!! [ {remoteEndPoint.Address} : {remoteEndPoint.Port} ]" );
_extraUdpClientConnected = true;
_extraUdpClient.Connect( remoteEndPoint );
}
else
{
Console.WriteLine( "???" );
}
}
}
}
Protocol.cs
I'm not sure how good this approach, maybe something like protobuf can do it better
using System;
using System.Linq;
using System.Net;
using System.Text;
namespace HolePunching.Common
{
public static class UdpProtocol
{
public static readonly int GuidLength = 16;
public static readonly int PeerIdLength = 1;
public static readonly int IpLength = 4;
public static readonly int IntLength = 4;
public static readonly byte[] Prefix = { 12, 23, 34, 45 };
private static byte[] JoinBytes( params byte[][] bytes )
{
var result = new byte[bytes.Sum( x => x.Length )];
int pos = 0;
for ( int i = 0; i < bytes.Length; i++ )
{
for ( int j = 0; j < bytes[i].Length; j++, pos++ )
{
result[pos] = bytes[i][j];
}
}
return result;
}
#region Helper extensions
private static bool StartsWith( this byte[] #this, byte[] value, int offset = 0 )
{
if ( #this == null || value == null || #this.Length < offset + value.Length )
{
return false;
}
for ( int i = 0; i < value.Length; i++ )
{
if ( #this[i + offset] < value[i] )
{
return false;
}
}
return true;
}
private static byte[] ToUnicodeBytes( this string #this )
{
return Encoding.Unicode.GetBytes( #this );
}
private static byte[] Take( this byte[] #this, int offset, int length )
{
return #this.Skip( offset ).Take( length ).ToArray();
}
public static bool IsSuitableUdpMessage( this byte[] #this )
{
return #this.StartsWith( Prefix );
}
public static int GetInt( this byte[] #this )
{
if ( #this.Length != 4 )
throw new ArgumentException( "Byte array must be exactly 4 bytes to be convertible to uint." );
return ( ( ( #this[0] << 8 ) + #this[1] << 8 ) + #this[2] << 8 ) + #this[3];
}
public static byte[] ToByteArray( this int value )
{
return new[]
{
(byte)(value >> 24),
(byte)(value >> 16),
(byte)(value >> 8),
(byte)value
};
}
#endregion
#region Messages
public abstract class UdpMessage
{
public byte[] Data { get; }
protected UdpMessage( byte[] data )
{
Data = data;
}
}
public class UdpInfoMessage : UdpMessage
{
private static readonly byte[] MessagePrefix = { 41, 57 };
private static readonly int MessageLength = Prefix.Length + MessagePrefix.Length + PeerIdLength + IpLength + IntLength;
public byte Id { get; }
public IPAddress LocalIp { get; }
public int LocalPort { get; }
private UdpInfoMessage( byte[] data, byte id, IPAddress localIp, int localPort )
: base( data )
{
Id = id;
LocalIp = localIp;
LocalPort = localPort;
}
public static UdpInfoMessage GetMessage( byte id, IPAddress localIp, int localPort )
{
var data = JoinBytes( Prefix, MessagePrefix, new[] { id }, localIp.GetAddressBytes(), localPort.ToByteArray() );
return new UdpInfoMessage( data, id, localIp, localPort );
}
public static bool TryParse( byte[] data, out UdpInfoMessage message )
{
message = null;
if ( !data.StartsWith( Prefix ) )
return false;
if ( !data.StartsWith( MessagePrefix, Prefix.Length ) )
return false;
if ( data.Length != MessageLength )
return false;
int index = Prefix.Length + MessagePrefix.Length;
byte id = data[index];
index += PeerIdLength;
byte[] localIpBytes = data.Take( index, IpLength );
var localIp = new IPAddress( localIpBytes );
index += IpLength;
byte[] localPortBytes = data.Take( index, IntLength );
int localPort = localPortBytes.GetInt();
message = new UdpInfoMessage( data, id, localIp, localPort );
return true;
}
}
public class PeerAddressMessage : UdpMessage
{
private static readonly byte[] MessagePrefix = { 36, 49 };
private static readonly int MessageLength = Prefix.Length + MessagePrefix.Length + PeerIdLength + ( IpLength + IntLength ) * 2;
public byte Id { get; }
public IPAddress PublicIp { get; }
public int PublicPort { get; }
public IPAddress LocalIp { get; }
public int LocalPort { get; }
private PeerAddressMessage( byte[] data, byte id, IPAddress publicIp, int publicPort, IPAddress localIp, int localPort )
: base( data )
{
Id = id;
PublicIp = publicIp;
PublicPort = publicPort;
LocalIp = localIp;
LocalPort = localPort;
}
public static PeerAddressMessage GetMessage( byte id, IPAddress publicIp, int publicPort, IPAddress localIp, int localPort )
{
var data = JoinBytes( Prefix, MessagePrefix, new[] { id },
publicIp.GetAddressBytes(), publicPort.ToByteArray(),
localIp.GetAddressBytes(), localPort.ToByteArray() );
return new PeerAddressMessage( data, id, publicIp, publicPort, localIp, localPort );
}
public static bool TryParse( byte[] data, out PeerAddressMessage message )
{
message = null;
if ( !data.StartsWith( Prefix ) )
return false;
if ( !data.StartsWith( MessagePrefix, Prefix.Length ) )
return false;
if ( data.Length != MessageLength )
return false;
int index = Prefix.Length + MessagePrefix.Length;
byte id = data[index];
index += PeerIdLength;
byte[] publicIpBytes = data.Take( index, IpLength );
var publicIp = new IPAddress( publicIpBytes );
index += IpLength;
byte[] publicPortBytes = data.Take( index, IntLength );
int publicPort = publicPortBytes.GetInt();
index += IntLength;
byte[] localIpBytes = data.Take( index, IpLength );
var localIp = new IPAddress( localIpBytes );
index += IpLength;
byte[] localPortBytes = data.Take( index, IntLength );
int localPort = localPortBytes.GetInt();
message = new PeerAddressMessage( data, id, publicIp, publicPort, localIp, localPort );
return true;
}
}
public class P2PKeepAliveMessage : UdpMessage
{
private static readonly byte[] MessagePrefix = { 11, 19 };
private static P2PKeepAliveMessage _message;
private P2PKeepAliveMessage( byte[] data )
: base( data )
{
}
public static bool TryParse( byte[] data )
{
if ( !data.StartsWith( Prefix ) )
return false;
if ( !data.StartsWith( MessagePrefix, Prefix.Length ) )
return false;
return true;
}
public static P2PKeepAliveMessage GetMessage()
{
if ( _message == null )
{
var data = JoinBytes( Prefix, MessagePrefix );
_message = new P2PKeepAliveMessage( data );
}
return _message;
}
}
#endregion
}
}