ntrace

A fast network port scanner, protocol analyzer, and traceroute utility written in Rust.

Features

Advanced Port Scanning: Asynchronous TCP/UDP port scanning with configurable concurrency and rate limiting
Service Detection: Identifies services running on open ports using multiple methods:
- Banner grabbing
- Active probing
- Well known port database
Protocol Analysis: Detects and analyzes protocols (HTTP, TLS, SSH, etc.)
Advanced Traceroute: Trace the network path to a target using various protocols (ICMP, TCP, UDP) with:
- Parallel tracing for up to 5x faster results
- Path MTU discovery
- Path asymmetry detection
- Detailed latency statistics (min/max/avg/std-dev)
- Packet loss calculation
- Adaptive timing for better reliability
Multiple Output Formats: JSON and CSV output for integration with other tools
Hostname Resolution: Supports both IP addresses and hostnames as targets
Flexible Port Selection: Scan specific ports, ranges, or use predefined groups (common, well known, all)

Installation

From Cargo

cargo install ntrace

From Source

git clone https://github.com/surajk-m/ntrace.git
cd ntrace
cargo build --release

The binary will be available at target/release/ntrace.

Using the Built Binary

After building the binary, you can use it directly:

# Port scanning
./target/release/ntrace -H wikipedia.org -p 80,443,8080

# Traceroute will automatically handle permissions for ICMP
./target/release/ntrace trace wikipedia.org

# The tool will automatically request sudo access to set CAP_NET_RAW capability if needed
# Or you can manually set the capability:
sudo setcap cap_net_raw+ep /path/to/ntrace

# UDP port scanning
./target/release/ntrace -H 192.168.1.1 -P udp -p 53,123,161 -v

You can also move the binary to a directory in your PATH for easier access:

# On Linux/macOS
sudo cp ./target/release/ntrace /usr/local/bin/
ntrace -h 

# On Windows (PowerShell with Administrator privileges)
Copy-Item .\target\release\ntrace.exe -Destination "C:\Windows\System32\"
ntrace -h

Platform Specific Examples

Linux

ntrace trace google.com

# Full port scan with service detection
./target/release/ntrace -H scanme.nmap.org -p well-known --service-detection

# Fast traceroute with table output and parallel processing
./target/release/ntrace trace cloudflare.com --table --fast-mode

Windows

# Scan a local network device
.\target\release\ntrace.exe -H 192.168.1.1 -p common

# TCP traceroute with parallel processing
.\target\release\ntrace.exe trace microsoft.com --tcp --fast-mode

macOS

# Scan multiple ports with JSON output
./target/release/ntrace -H apple.com -p 80,443,8080 -o results.json

# ICMP traceroute with maximum 20 hops
./target/release/ntrace trace github.com --max-hops 20

Advanced Command Examples

Here are some more advanced examples that combine multiple features:

# Comprehensive network analysis: port scan followed by traceroute to open ports
./target/release/ntrace -H wikipedia.org -p 80,443 -v
./target/release/ntrace trace wikipedia.org --port 80 --table

# Security audit: scan all well-known ports with aggressive service detection
./target/release/ntrace -H target-server.com -p well-known --aggressive --service-detection

# Network troubleshooting: compare fast TCP and standard ICMP traceroute results
./target/release/ntrace trace problem-server.com --tcp --fast-mode --port 443 -o tcp-trace.json
./target/release/ntrace trace problem-server.com -o icmp-trace.json

# Performance testing: scan with different batch sizes and compare
time ./target/release/ntrace -H performance-test.com -p 1-1000 --batch-size 50
time ./target/release/ntrace -H performance-test.com -p 1-1000 --batch-size 200

# Advanced traceroute with parallel processing for faster results
./target/release/ntrace trace google.com --tcp --fast-mode

# Comprehensive network path analysis
./target/release/ntrace trace cloudflare.com --tcp --fast-mode --max-hops 20 --table

Usage

Basic Usage

# Scan default ports (1-1000) on a target
ntrace -H 192.168.1.1

# Scan specific ports
ntrace -H 192.168.1.1 -p 80,443

# Scan a port range
ntrace -H 192.168.1.1 -p 1-100

# Scan common ports
ntrace -H 192.168.1.1 -p common

Traceroute Usage

# Basic ICMP traceroute (requires sudo/root privileges)
ntrace trace google.com

# TCP traceroute (can work without sudo for basic functionality)
ntrace trace google.com --tcp

# UDP traceroute
ntrace trace google.com --udp

# Specify maximum hops
ntrace trace google.com --max-hops 15

# Specify port for TCP/UDP traceroute
ntrace trace google.com --tcp --port 443

# Output trace results as table
ntrace trace google.com --table

# Save trace results to a file
ntrace trace google.com --output trace-results.json

# Fast mode with parallel tracing (up to 5x faster)
ntrace trace google.com --fast-mode

# Combine options for optimal performance
ntrace trace cloudflare.com --tcp --fast-mode --max-hops 20

Advanced Options

# Verbose output (show closed ports)
ntrace -H 192.168.1.1 -v

# Set custom timeout
ntrace -H 192.168.1.1 --timeout 5.0

# Set batch size for parallel scanning
ntrace -H 192.168.1.1 --batch-size 200

# Use UDP protocol instead of TCP
ntrace -H 192.168.1.1 -P udp

# Skip host discovery (ping)
ntrace -H 192.168.1.1 --skip-discovery

# Save results to a file (JSON or CSV)
ntrace -H 192.168.1.1 -o results.json
ntrace -H 192.168.1.1 -o results.csv

# Aggressive scan (more intrusive probes)
ntrace -H 192.168.1.1 --aggressive

# Ultra fast scanning mode
ntrace -H 192.168.1.1 --fast

Advanced Traceroute Features

ntrace offers several advanced traceroute capabilities that make it more powerful than traditional traceroute tools:

# Parallel traceroute for faster results (up to 5x faster)
ntrace trace example.com --fast-mode

# Combine parallel processing with TCP for reliable results
ntrace trace example.com --tcp --fast-mode

# Detailed statistics with table output
ntrace trace example.com --tcp --fast-mode --table

# Control the number of parallel requests
ntrace trace example.com --fast-mode --parallel-requests 24

# Customize timing parameters for better reliability
ntrace trace example.com --send-time 5 --ttl-time 5 --timeout 800

These advanced features provide:

Parallel Processing: Trace multiple hops simultaneously for faster results
Detailed Statistics: Min/max/avg latency, standard deviation, packet loss
Adaptive Timing: Automatically adjust timing based on network conditions
Flexible Protocol Support: Choose between TCP, UDP, and ICMP based on your needs

Port Selection Options

common: Scans commonly used ports
well-known: Scans well known ports (1-1023)
all: Scans all ports (1-65535)
registered: Scans registered ports (1024-49151)
dynamic: Scans dynamic ports (49152-65535)

Scan Examples

Basic TCP Scan

Scan the most common ports on a web server:

ntrace -H wikipedia.org -p common

Output:

=============================================================
  _   _ _____                    
 | \ | |_   _| __ __ _  ___ ___ 
 |  \| | | || '__/ _` |/ __/ _ \
 | |\  | | || | | (_| | (_|  __/
 |_| \_| |_||_|  \__,_|\___\___|
                                 
 Network Port Scanner & Protocol Analyzer v0.1.0
=============================================================

Starting scan of 20 ports on wikipedia.org...
[00:00:02] Scan completed in 2.34s

Results for wikipedia.org (resolved to 93.184.216.34):
PORT    STATE   SERVICE         PROTOCOL    LATENCY
80      open    http            TCP         124.3ms
443     open    https           TLS/SSL     125.1ms

Summary: 2 open ports, 18 closed ports out of 20 scanned

Traceroute Example

Trace the network path to Google using ICMP:

ntrace trace google.com

Or use the faster parallel traceroute with TCP:

ntrace trace google.com --tcp --fast-mode

Output:

╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║                                                          ║
║   _   _ _____                                            ║
║  | \ | |_   _| __ __ _  ___ ___                          ║
║  |  \| | | || '__/ _` |/ __/ _ \                         ║
║  | |\  | | || | | (_| | (_|  __/                         ║
║  |_| \_| |_||_|  \__,_|\___\___|                         ║
║                                                          ║
║  Traceroute & Network Path Analyzer v0.1.3               ║
║                                                          ║
╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝

Starting traceroute to google.com using Icmp...

╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║  TRACEROUTE RESULTS                                                ║
╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣
║ Target: google.com                                                 ║
║ Protocol: Icmp                                                     ║
║ Duration: 15.77 seconds                                            ║
║ Hops: 16                                                           ║
║ Destination Reached: Yes                                           ║
╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣
║ HOP        IP                HOSTNAME           LATENCY            ║
╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣
║    1     172.21.96.1                 -               0.44ms        ║
║    2    192.168.29.1                 -               3.19ms        ║
║    3     10.50.144.1                 -               5.26ms        ║
║    4    172.31.5.101                 -               4.87ms        ║
║    5   192.168.86.238                -               3.96ms        ║
║    6    172.26.104.52                -               3.99ms        ║
║    7   172.26.104.146                -               8.50ms        ║
║    8    192.168.85.56                -               5.13ms        ║
║    9          *                      -                 *           ║
║   10          *                      -                 *           ║
║   11          *                      -                 *           ║
║   12          *                      -                 *           ║
║   13    173.194.121.8                -              34.54ms        ║
║   14   192.178.110.227               -              33.98ms        ║
║   15    72.14.233.59                 -              33.37ms        ║
║   16 → 142.250.183.110 ←             -              35.66ms        ║
╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝

Comprehensive Web Server Analysis

Scan all web-related ports with verbose output:

ntrace -H wikipedia.org -p 80,443,8080,8443 -v

Network Service Discovery

Discover all services on a local network device:

ntrace -H 192.168.1.1 -p well-known --service-detection

Fast Network Sweep

Quickly check if common services are running:

ntrace -H 192.168.1.1 --fast -p common

Ultra Fast Scanning

For maximum speed (up to 10x faster than regular scanning), use fast mode:

ntrace -H 192.168.1.1 --fast -p 1-10000

UDP Service Detection

Scan for common UDP services:

ntrace -H 192.168.1.1 -P udp -p 53,67,123,161

Note about UDP scanning: Unlike TCP, UDP is connectionless and doesn't have a handshake mechanism. This makes it difficult to determine if a port is truly open or closed. In UDP scanning:

open: The port sent back a UDP response (definite open)

open|filtered: No response was received, which could mean either the port is open but the service didn't respond, or a firewall is filtering the port

closed: An ICMP "port unreachable" message was received

Output:

=============================================================
  _   _ _____                    
 | \ | |_   _| __ __ _  ___ ___ 
 |  \| | | || '__/ _` |/ __/ _ \
 | |\  | | || | | (_| | (_|  __/
 |_| \_| |_||_|  \__,_|\___\___|
                                 
 Network Port Scanner & Protocol Analyzer v0.1.0
=============================================================

Starting scan of 4 ports on 192.168.1.1...
[00:00:03] Scan completed in 3.12s

Results for 192.168.1.1:
PORT    STATE           SERVICE         PROTOCOL    LATENCY
53      open            domain          DNS         45.7ms
123     open            ntp             NTP         67.2ms
67      open|filtered   dhcp            UDP         -
161     open|filtered   snmp            UDP         -

Summary: 2 open ports, 2 open|filtered ports out of 4 scanned

Exporting Scan Results

Scan and save results in JSON format for further analysis:

ntrace -H wikipedia.org -p 1-1000 -o scan-results.json

Library Usage

ntrace can also be used as a library in your Rust projects:

use ntrace::{Scanner, ScanConfig, Protocol, Target};
use std::net::IpAddr;
use std::str::FromStr;
use std::time::Duration;

#[tokio::main]
async fn main() -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
    // Configure the scanner
    let config = ScanConfig {
        target: Target::Ip(IpAddr::from_str("192.168.1.1")?),
        ports: vec![80, 443, 8080],
        timeout: Duration::from_secs(2),
        protocol: Protocol::Tcp,
        batch_size: 100,
        max_retries: 3,
        retry_delay: Duration::from_millis(500),
        fail_fast: false,
    };

    // Create and configure the scanner
    let scanner = Scanner::new(config)
        .with_rate_limit(1000)
        .with_concurrency_limit(50)
    
    // Run the scan
    let results = scanner.scan().await?;
    
    // Process results
    for result in results {
        if result.is_open {
            println!(
                "Port {}: Open - Service: {}, Protocol: {}, Latency: {:?}",
                result.port,
                result.service.unwrap_or_else(|| "Unknown".to_string()),
                result.protocol_info.unwrap_or_else(|| "Unknown".to_string()),
                result.latency
            );
        }
    }

    Ok(())
}

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

ntrace 0.2.0

ntrace

Features

Installation

From Cargo

From Source

Using the Built Binary

Platform Specific Examples

Linux

Windows

macOS

Advanced Command Examples

Usage

Basic Usage

Traceroute Usage

Advanced Options

Advanced Traceroute Features

Port Selection Options

Scan Examples

Basic TCP Scan

Traceroute Example

Comprehensive Web Server Analysis

Network Service Discovery

Fast Network Sweep

Ultra Fast Scanning

UDP Service Detection

Exporting Scan Results

Library Usage

Contributing

License