Phase 4 Archive

Duration: September - October 2025 Status: Complete Tests at Completion: 1,166

Overview

Phase 4 focused on performance optimization and advanced networking capabilities, transforming ProRT-IP from a functional scanner into a high-performance tool.

Goals

  1. Implement zero-copy packet processing
  2. Add NUMA-aware memory allocation
  3. Create PCAPNG output format
  4. Develop firewall evasion techniques
  5. Establish IPv6 foundation

Achievements

Zero-Copy Processing

Implemented zero-copy packet handling for packets larger than 10KB:

  • Direct memory mapping
  • Reduced CPU overhead by 15-20%
  • Lower memory bandwidth usage

NUMA Optimization

Added NUMA-aware memory allocation:

  • Thread-local allocators
  • IRQ affinity configuration
  • Cross-socket penalty avoidance

PCAPNG Output

Full PCAPNG format support:

  • Interface descriptions
  • Packet timestamps
  • Comment blocks
  • Wireshark compatibility

Evasion Techniques

Implemented 5 evasion techniques:

TechniqueFlagPurpose
IP Fragmentation-fSplit packets
Custom MTU--mtuControl fragment sizes
TTL Manipulation--ttlSet Time-To-Live
Decoy Scanning-DHide among decoys
Bad Checksums--badsumInvalid checksums

Metrics

MetricStartEndChange
Tests3911,166+198%
Coverage~30%37.26%+7.26%
Throughput5M pps10M+ pps+100%

Key Decisions

  1. Raw sockets over libpcap - Better performance
  2. DashMap for state - Concurrent access
  3. Tokio runtime - Async I/O
  4. pnet crate - Cross-platform packets

Lessons Learned

  • NUMA awareness critical for high-performance
  • Zero-copy only beneficial above threshold
  • Evasion techniques need careful testing
  • IPv6 more complex than anticipated

See Also