Develop Reference

Why UDP hole punching does not work for public IP address?

There are two Groovy sub programs below sending messages to each other via plain UDP sockets. They does receive the messages successfully when they are sent to 127.0.0.1. But the messages aren't received when sending them to the public IP address (the machine is behind NAT).
Why the hole is not punched? And how to fix that?
I tried querying a public STUN server via a Java library earlier but it responded with the same public IP address to me, so I use wtfismyip.com here.
class GroovyTest {
static String PUBLIC_IP = new URL('https://wtfismyip.com/text').text.trim()
//static String PUBLIC_IP = '127.0.0.1' // works fine
static void main(String[] args) {
runInstance(11111, 22222)
runInstance(22222, 11111)
}
static void runInstance(int thisPort, int anotherPort) {
def socket = new DatagramSocket(thisPort)
Thread.start {
// message listener
byte[] buf = new byte[1024]
while (true) {
DatagramPacket packet = new DatagramPacket(buf, buf.length);
socket.receive(packet);
InetAddress remoteAddr = packet.getAddress();
int remotePort = packet.getPort();
String sentence = new String(packet.getData(), 0, packet.length);
println("server-$thisPort: received [$sentence] from ${remoteAddr.hostAddress}:${remotePort}")
}
}
Thread.start {
// message sender
while (true) {
println("client-$thisPort: sending to ${PUBLIC_IP}:${anotherPort}...")
byte[] buf = ("Hello " + System.currentTimeMillis()).bytes
DatagramPacket packet = new DatagramPacket(buf, buf.length, InetAddress.getByName(PUBLIC_IP), anotherPort)
socket.send(packet)
Thread.sleep(2000)
}
}
}
}

Your problem stems from the fact that the IP address returned by wtfismyip is the IP address of the router on your network, which is not assigned to your computer. When you try and send a datagram to your router's public IP you'll probably get and ICMP Destination Unreachable error message from your router. If you need this behavior, your router may have some port forwarding capabilities that can forward inbound UDP traffic to your local IP address.

I have been successfully replying to UDP packets behind a NAT router by simply taking the address and port details from the UDP packet I'm responding to...
DatagramSocket socket = new DatagramSocket(port);
DatagramPacket receivePacket = new DatagramPacket(receiveBuffer, receiveBuffer.length);
socket.receive(receivePacket);
DatagramPacket sendPacket = new DatagramPacket(sendBuffer, sendBuffer.length,
receivePacket.getAddress(), receivePacket.getPort());
socket.send(sendPacket);
The code is more robust in that it doesn't matter where the packet came from, or any address translation which occurred along the way. It will always reply to the right place.
I'v also noticed you are using two different port numbers. "thisPort" and "anotherPort". As far as I know, the hole punching will only work if you reply on the same port number. This makes sense for security reasons.
The marine robot on top of my head, pictured in my avatar, uses this UDP hole punching technique.

Android can send udp but not receive

I've written a basic udp client server where one android sends message to the server and server relays it to the rest of the clients.
The issue is, the incoming udp messages get to the server and server relays them back but they never reach the rest of the devices.
Whats really amazing is that if I use the server as echo server (i.e relaying only to sender) then everything works. All client and server sockets use same port 2706
Server code
while (true) {
DatagramPacket packetToReceive = new DatagramPacket(new byte[2048], 2048);
try {
listenerSocket.receive(packetToReceive);
InetAddress senderAddress = packetToReceive.getAddress();
relayedBytes += packetToReceive.getLength();
if (!connectedClients.contains(senderAddress)) {
connectedClients.add(senderAddress);
}
for (InetAddress addr : connectedClients) {
// commenting this line will make it an echo server
if (!addr.equals(senderAddress))
{
//The following actually prints the ips of the android
//devices so it knows where to send
System.out.println(senderAddress.getHostAddress().toString() +
" to " + addr.getHostAddress().toString());
byte[] data = packetToReceive.getData();
packetToReceive.setData(data, 0, packetToReceive.getLength());
packetToReceive.setAddress(addr);
listenerSocket.send(packetToReceive);
}
}
} catch (IOException) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
android sender logic:
mainSocket=new DatagramSocket(homePort);
//targetAddressString is the public IP of server
target = InetAddress.getByName(targetAddressString);
while (true) {
byte[] data = getdata();
if (data == null)
continue;
DatagramPacket packet = new DatagramPacket(data, data.length, target, targetPort);
mainSocket.send(packet);
}
meanwhile on other thread the reciever just waits with the same udp socket:
while (true) {
Log.d("Player", "Waiting for data");
DatagramPacket packet = new DatagramPacket(new byte[2048], 2048);
try {
mainSocket.receive(packet);
Log.d("Player", "packet received");
//do something with the packet
} catch (IOException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
It never moves further than waiting for data since it'll block until it receives a packet
Moreover I can also see it in the wifi and Mobile data icons that no data is ever received but data sending is always on and is seen received on the server
**EDIT:- Echo server **
while (true) {
DatagramPacket receivedPacket = new DatagramPacket(new byte[2048], 2048);
try {
listenerSocket.receive(receivedPacket);
InetAddress senderAddress = receivedPacket.getAddress();
if (!connectedClients.contains(senderAddress)) {
connectedClients.add(senderAddress);
}
for (InetAddress addr : connectedClients) {
byte[] data = receivedPacket.getData();
DatagramPacket sendPacket= new DatagramPacket(data, 0, receivedPacket.getLength(), addr, receivedPacket.getPort());
listenerSocket.send(sendPacket);
}
} catch (IOException e) {
// ...
}
}
Basically it should relay the message to every single client who've ever sent any data but somehow it only sends its to its original sender the rest of clients miss it. the code is trolling with me

This is the NAT traversal problem as you have figured out.
Here's a few hints:
The server can be hardcoded to listen on port 2706. But it shouldn't make any assumptions about what source port of received packets are. From your code, it doesn't look like you ever attempt to call setPort. So even if the NAT wasn't mapping your port number differently, I'm not sure how your original code was even getting the any destination port set. But I think you figured this out based on your own answer and your updated code.
Don't hardcode a client port on the client's socket. Choose port "0" (or don't set one) on your socket to let the OS choose the first available port for you. If you have multiple clients behind the same NAT, this behavior will allow for quicker client restarts, multiple devices behind the same NAT, and other nice things.

Holly Molly! I finally figured it out , it was my own fault I wasn't considering my cellphone provider's Nat and was assuming 2706 port in public IP as well.
Turns out actually I was under my cellphone network's NAT and my port 2706 was converted to some hideous port number by the time it reached the server. So I had to consider the port no of the actual packet received rather than the one set on the phone.
In a nutshell it was like this
cellphone (port 2706)-> NAT (port 40234) -> Server (port 40234)
and so I was actually trying to send back data to 2706 instead of 40234 -_-'
Once I start to send back the packets at 40234 (or whatever came with the packet) instead of 2706 , it gracefully followed the path back to my android cellphone and everything was fine.

Peer to Peer discovery on LAN

So, as the title might have suggested I am having a bit of trouble in my Java project. What I want to do is this:
I have two Computers running application X
Also have another three Computers running application Y
What i need to do is to establish a connection between a X and an Y. For example, someone uses the computer running X, and after the discovrey process, they will be returned a list of computers running the Y app, and their IP, and the other way around.
I've done this using UDP broadcasting, but sometimes it fails. The computers are connected via WiFi, so basically through a router. On many occasions, any of the X computers can see the Y ones via my UDP discovery method, but sometimes not, unless I manually point the IP, sometimes not even then.
Here is a code for discovering servers listening on a specific port:
public static ArrayList<InetAddress> searchComputer() {
ArrayList<InetAddress> targets = new ArrayList<InetAddress>();
try {
c = new DatagramSocket();
c.setBroadcast(true);
byte[] sendData = "DISCOVER_PC_SERVER_REQUEST".getBytes();
try {
DatagramPacket sendPacket = new DatagramPacket(sendData, sendData.length, InetAddress.getByName("255.255.255.255"), 2005);
c.send(sendPacket);
} catch (Exception e) {}
Enumeration interfaces = NetworkInterface.getNetworkInterfaces();
while (interfaces.hasMoreElements()) {
NetworkInterface networkInterface = (NetworkInterface) interfaces.nextElement();
if (networkInterface.isLoopback() || !networkInterface.isUp()) {
continue;
}
for (InterfaceAddress interfaceAddress : networkInterface.getInterfaceAddresses()) {
InetAddress broadcast = interfaceAddress.getBroadcast();
if (broadcast == null) {
continue;
}
try {
DatagramPacket sendPacket = new DatagramPacket(sendData, sendData.length, broadcast, 8888);
c.send(sendPacket);
} catch (Exception e) { }
}
}
byte[] recvBuf = new byte[15000];
DatagramPacket receivePacket = new DatagramPacket(recvBuf, recvBuf.length);
if (useInstant) {
c.setSoTimeout(500);
}
else {
c.setSoTimeout(4000); //EXECUTE THE WHILE FOR 4 SECONDS, THEN RETURN WHATEVER THE RESULTS ARE.
}
while (true) {
c.receive(receivePacket);
String message = new String(receivePacket.getData()).trim();
if (message.equals("DISCOVER_PC_SERVER_RESPONSE")) {
// return receivePacket.getAddress();
targets.add(receivePacket.getAddress());
}
}
// c.close();
} catch (IOException ex){}
return targets;
}
And here is my "server":
private void start_Discovery() throws Exception {
//Keep a socket open to listen to all the UDP trafic that is destined for this port
socket = new DatagramSocket(2005, InetAddress.getByName("0.0.0.0"));
socket.setBroadcast(true);
while (true) {
// System.out.println(getClass().getName() + ">>>Ready to receive broadcast packets!");
//Receive a packet
byte[] recvBuf = new byte[15000];
DatagramPacket packet = new DatagramPacket(recvBuf, recvBuf.length);
socket.receive(packet);
//Packet received
// System.out.println(getClass().getName() + ">>>Discovery packet received from: " + packet.getAddress().getHostAddress());
// System.out.println(getClass().getName() + ">>>Packet received; data: " + new String(packet.getData()));
//See if the packet holds the right command (message)
String message = new String(packet.getData()).trim();
if (message.equals("DISCOVER_ANDROID_SERVER_REQUEST")) {
byte[] sendData = "DISCOVER_ANDROID_SERVER_RESPONSE".getBytes();
//Send a response
DatagramPacket sendPacket = new DatagramPacket(sendData, sendData.length, packet.getAddress(), packet.getPort());
socket.send(sendPacket);
// System.out.println(getClass().getName() + ">>>Sent packet to: " + sendPacket.getAddress().getHostAddress());
}
}
}
Why sometimes they can't see each other, even if they are connected to the same router?
EXTRA: Is there a special case, the X computers are connected via LAN, and the Y ones via WiFi?

Why sometimes they can't see each other, even if they are connected to
the same router?
Because Broadcasting is done using UDP services which are connectionless protocols. With UDP you just send packets of data (datagrams) to some IP address on the network. You have no guarantee that the data will arrive.
Is there a special case, the X computers are connected via LAN, and
the Y ones via WiFi?
Even, the X cmputers are connected via LAN and the Y ones via WiFi, they all belong to the same network of router. Hence,network-discovery and network-services will be available. There won't be any problem with that. It's all fair and not different than the case which you're having!

Datagram sockets with Java client and Python server

I am triying to comunicate 2 machines through datagram sockets but I guess I am missing something...
Machine A is runs an Android App (client)
Machine B is a server writen in Python
I can send a message from A to B without any problem, but A never gets the answer from B, the code is the following:
Client (Java) :
InetAddress serverAddr = InetAddress.getByName("10.0.0.10");
DatagramSocket socket = new DatagramSocket();
byte[] bufSent = "register".getBytes();
DatagramPacket dpSent = new DatagramPacket(bufSent,bufSent.length, serverAddr, 8088);
socket.send(dpSent);
byte[] bufRecv = new byte[1024];
DatagramPacket dpReceive = new DatagramPacket(bufRecv, bufRecv.length);
socket.receive(dpReceive);
String serverMessage = new String(dpReceive.getData(), 0, dpReceive.getLength());
Log.v(LOGTAG, "Received " + serverMessage);
Server (Python):
import socket
UDP_IP_DEST = "10.0.0.11"
UDP_IP = "10.0.0.10"
UDP_PORT = 8088
sock = socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_DGRAM) # UDP
sock.bind((UDP_IP, UDP_PORT))
while True:
data, addr = sock.recvfrom(1024) # buffer size is 1024 bytes
if data:
print "received message:", data
sock.sendto("I got the message", (UDP_IP_DEST, UDP_PORT))
Does anyone see where is the mistake? The point is that I have tried to send the answer to another machine instead of the mobile and it works fine.
Thanks a lot.

I had a similar problem with receiving, here's some code we use in our app for Datagrams modified with your values, you can see we do a few things differently in the socket set up. mSocket is just a private DatagramSocket member variable. Give it a try. I think you might need to bind, and possible set the reuse address flag.
try
{
mSocket = new DatagramSocket(null);
mSocket.setReuseAddress(true);
mSocket.setBroadcast(false);
mSocket.bind(new InetSocketAddress(8088));
//Set a 1.5 second timeout for the coming receive calls
mSocket.setSoTimeout(1500);
String data = "myData";
DatagramPacket udpPacket = new DatagramPacket(data.getBytes(), data.length(), InetAddress.getByName("10.0.0.10"), 8088);
mSocket.send(udpPacket);
byte[] buf = new byte[1024];
DatagramPacket recvPacket = new DatagramPacket(buf, buf.length);
mSocket.receive(recvPacket);
String response = new String(recvPacket.getData());
}
catch (SocketException e)
{
e.printStackTrace();
}
catch (UnknownHostException e)
{
e.printStackTrace();
}
catch (IOException e)
{
e.printStackTrace();
}

Broadcast server discovery

I'm creating a game in Java that simulates the classic 5 cards Poker with 2 to 4 players.
Most of the data will be processed by a server, but since I can't use an online server, my idea is to allow a user to host a game by creating a local one.
Now, I don't want to force the use of IPs to connect to a game, so I created a "discovery" interface within the user can see all avaible games. This is done using the UDP protocol and a broadcast research on a common group:
(code is simplified to show only the actions that are executed, may not work as it is showed here)
Client
MulticastSocket socket = new MulticastSocket(6020);
InetAddress group = InetAddress.getByName("226.0.0.1");
socket.joinGroup(group);
DatagramPacket packet = new DatagramPacket(new byte[] {(byte) 0xF0}, 1, group, 6020);
socket.send(packet);
while(true) {
buf = new byte[1];
packet = new DatagramPacket(buf, buf.length);
socket.receive(packet);
if(packet.getData()[0] == 15) {
Socket client = new Socket(packet.getAddress(), 6020);
}
}
Server
MulticastSocket socket = new MulticastSocket(6020);
InetAddress group = InetAddress.getByName("226.0.0.1");
socket.joinGroup(group);
// new thread listening on port 6020 TCP
ServerSocket server = new ServerSocket(6020);
new Thread(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
while(true) {
// new thread communicating with client and back listening on port 6020
new ServerThread(server.accept());
}
}
}).start();
// listening on port 6020 UDP
byte[] buf;
DatagramPacket packet;
while(true) {
buf = new byte[1];
packet = new DatagramPacket(buf, buf.length);
socket.receive(packet);
if(packet.getData()[0] == -16) {
DatagramPacket packet = new DatagramPacket(new byte[] {(byte) 0x0F}, 1, packet.getSocketAddress());
socket.send(packet);
}
}
The client sends an UDP broadcast packet on the port 6020. When a server receive this packet if it's composed by a byte 0xF0, he sends back a byte 0x0F to the client. Every client is also listening on the port 6020 and when receive a packet composed by a byte 0x0F it starts a new connection TCP to the server on the port 6020.
My question: is there a better way to achieve this "discovery" system?
I know this is going to work only in local networks, is it possible to extend the discovery "outside" using a local server?

Unless you want to set up some sort of known broker that can connect players with servers (or give them a listing of servers), you may be out of luck. As you discovered, multicast and broadcast is generally not sent to the WAN by most switches (and definitely cannot traverse the Internet).
If your issue with setting up a known server/broker is that you have a home connection and so a dynamic ip, I would recommend looking into dynamic DNS. There are a number of providers out there that will allow you to set up a sub-domain on their system that is automatically changed to point to your IP as your IP changes.