To use Python for network diagnostics like ping and traceroute, we can make use of built-in and external Python libraries. I'll guide you through the process step by step.
1. Setting Up Your Environment
First, ensure you have Python installed on your system. You will also need to install external libraries like ping3 and scapy for network diagnostics.
To install the necessary libraries, use pip:
pip install ping3 scapy
2. Using Python for Ping
The ping3 library is a lightweight tool for performing a "ping" to check the availability of a host.
Step 1: Import the required library
from ping3 import ping, verbose_ping
Step 2: Ping a server (e.g., Google's DNS server)
# Ping a host (IP or domain)
response = ping('8.8.8.8')
print(f"Ping response time: {response} seconds")
The output is:
Ping response time: 0.14790630340576172 seconds
ping('8.8.8.8'): Pings Google's DNS server at IP 8.8.8.8.
The result will be the time in seconds it took for the packet to reach the server and come back.
Step 3: Verbose Ping (optional)
To ping the host multiple times and display more information:
verbose_ping('8.8.8.8', count=4) # Ping 4 times with verbose output
You can add error handling to manage exceptions if the network is unreachable.
try:
response = ping('172.16.11.20')
if response is None:
print("Host is unreachable.")
else:
print(f"Ping response time: {response} seconds")
except Exception as e:
print(f"Error: {e}")
The output is:
Host is unreachable.
3. Using Python for Traceroute
For traceroute, we can use the scapy library to implement a simple version of it. Traceroute is used to trace the path packets take to reach a destination.
Step 1: Import the necessary library
from scapy.all import traceroute
Step 2: Run a traceroute
# Perform a traceroute
result, _ = traceroute(['www.google.com'], verbose=True)
The output is:
Received 45 packets, got 29 answers, remaining 1 packets
216.239.38.120:tcp80
1 192.168.1.1 11
2 100.123.0.1 11
3 172.19.16.33 11
4 172.19.17.214 11
5 172.19.17.209 11
6 172.19.17.161 11
7 172.19.17.37 11
8 10.202.6.184 11
9 10.21.212.10 11
10 10.21.21.10 11
12 213.202.5.239 11
13 216.239.48.133 11
14 192.178.87.255 11
15 216.239.38.120 SA
16 216.239.38.120 SA
17 216.239.38.120 SA
18 216.239.38.120 SA
19 216.239.38.120 SA
20 216.239.38.120 SA
21 216.239.38.120 SA
22 216.239.38.120 SA
23 216.239.38.120 SA
24 216.239.38.120 SA
25 216.239.38.120 SA
26 216.239.38.120 SA
27 216.239.38.120 SA
28 216.239.38.120 SA
29 216.239.38.120 SA
30 216.239.38.120 SA
traceroute(): It sends packets with incremented TTL values to trace the route taken by packets to reach the destination.
Step 3: Display Results
The result will show each hop the packet takes to reach the destination.
4. Complete Example: Combining Ping and Traceroute
You can combine both functions (Ping and Traceroute) into a single script for better network diagnostics.
from ping3 import ping, verbose_ping
from scapy.all import traceroute
def network_diagnostics():
# Ping Test
print("Starting Ping Test:")
ping_result = ping('8.8.8.8')
if ping_result is None:
print("Host is unreachable.")
else:
print(f"Ping response time: {ping_result} seconds")
print("\nStarting Traceroute Test:")
result, _ = traceroute(['www.google.com'], verbose=True)
if __name__ == '__main__':
network_diagnostics()
The output is:
Starting Ping Test:
Ping response time: 0.045973777770996094 seconds
Starting Traceroute Test:
Received 30 packets, got 30 answers, remaining 0 packets
216.239.38.120:tcp80
1 192.168.1.1 11
2 100.123.0.1 11
3 172.19.16.33 11
4 172.19.17.214 11
5 172.19.17.209 11
6 172.19.17.161 11
7 172.19.17.37 11
8 10.202.6.184 11
9 10.21.212.10 11
10 10.21.21.10 11
11 134.0.220.186 11
12 213.202.5.239 11
13 216.239.48.87 11
14 108.170.233.243 11
15 216.239.38.120 SA
16 216.239.38.120 SA
17 216.239.38.120 SA
18 216.239.38.120 SA
19 216.239.38.120 SA
20 216.239.38.120 SA
21 216.239.38.120 SA
22 216.239.38.120 SA
23 216.239.38.120 SA
24 216.239.38.120 SA
25 216.239.38.120 SA
26 216.239.38.120 SA
27 216.239.38.120 SA
28 216.239.38.120 SA
29 216.239.38.120 SA
30 216.239.38.120 SA
5. Advanced Usage: Customizing Ping and Traceroute
You can also customize the behavior of ping and traceroute:
Ping timeout: By default, the ping3 library uses a timeout of 1 second. You can change this using ping('host', timeout=2) for a 2-second timeout.
Traceroute max hops: The scapy library's traceroute function has a max_hops parameter that you can adjust.
Received 25 packets, got 19 answers, remaining 1 packets
216.239.38.120:tcp80
1 192.168.1.1 11
2 100.123.0.1 11
3 172.19.16.33 11
4 172.19.17.214 11
5 172.19.17.209 11
6 172.19.17.161 11
7 172.19.17.37 11
8 10.202.6.186 11
9 10.21.212.10 11
10 10.21.21.10 11
12 213.202.5.239 11
13 216.239.48.87 11
14 192.178.96.7 11
15 216.239.38.120 SA
16 216.239.38.120 SA
17 216.239.38.120 SA
18 216.239.38.120 SA
19 216.239.38.120 SA
20 216.239.38.120 SA
6. Error Handling and Troubleshooting
For robust code, it's good practice to handle possible exceptions and errors:
Ping errors: Ensure the host is reachable before pinging.
Traceroute errors: Handle issues if scapy cannot perform the traceroute due to permissions or network issues.
try:
ping_result = ping('8.8.8.8')
if ping_result is None:
print("Host is unreachable.")
else:
print(f"Ping response time: {ping_result} seconds")
except Exception as e:
print(f"Ping Error: {e}")
try:
result, _ = traceroute(['www.google.com'], verbose=True)
except Exception as e:
print(f"Traceroute Error: {e}")
The output is:
Ping response time: 0.046968936920166016 seconds
Received 45 packets, got 29 answers, remaining 1 packets
216.239.38.120:tcp80
1 192.168.1.1 11
2 100.123.0.1 11
3 172.19.16.33 11
4 172.19.17.214 11
5 172.19.17.209 11
6 172.19.17.161 11
7 172.19.17.37 11
8 10.202.6.188 11
9 10.21.212.10 11
10 10.21.21.10 11
12 213.202.5.239 11
13 216.239.48.87 11
14 72.14.239.49 11
15 216.239.38.120 SA
16 216.239.38.120 SA
17 216.239.38.120 SA
18 216.239.38.120 SA
19 216.239.38.120 SA
20 216.239.38.120 SA
21 216.239.38.120 SA
22 216.239.38.120 SA
23 216.239.38.120 SA
24 216.239.38.120 SA
25 216.239.38.120 SA
26 216.239.38.120 SA
27 216.239.38.120 SA
28 216.239.38.120 SA
29 216.239.38.120 SA
30 216.239.38.120 SA
Conclusion
By using Python libraries like ping3 and scapy, you can easily perform network diagnostics like ping and traceroute. This helps you monitor and troubleshoot network issues effectively.
