TCPCopy - A TCP Stream Replay Tool
TCPCopy is a TCP stream replay tool for realistic testing of Internet server applications.
Getting to Know TCPCopy
An Overview of TCPCopy for Beginners
A General Overview of TCPCopy Architecture
TCPCopy Testing Use Cases
TCPCopy Pre-Warming Examples
Description
Although real live traffic is crucial for testing Internet server applications, accurately simulating it is challenging due to the complexity of online environments. To enable more realistic testing, TCPCopy was developed as a live flow reproduction tool that generates test workloads closely resembling production workloads. TCPCopy is widely used by companies in China.
TCPCopy minimally impacts the production system, consuming only additional CPU, memory, and bandwidth. The reproduced workload mirrors the production environment in terms of request diversity, network latency, and resource usage.
Use Cases
- Distributed Stress Testing
- Use TCPCopy to replicate real-world traffic for stress testing your server software, uncovering bugs that only appear under high-stress conditions.
- Live Testing
- Validate the stability of new systems and identify bugs that only manifest in real-world scenarios
- Regression testing
- Ensure that recent changes have not introduced new issues.
- Performance comparison
- Compare system performance across different versions or configurations.
Architecture
Figure 1. Overview of the TCPCopy Architecture.
As shown in Figure 1, TCPCopy is composed of two components: tcpcopy and intercept. The tcpcopy component runs on the online server, capturing live requests, while intercept operates on the assistant server, performing tasks such as passing response information to tcpcopy. The test application itself runs on the target server.
By default, tcpcopy uses raw sockets to capture packets at the network layer (depicted by the orange arrows in the figure). It handles processes such as TCP interaction simulation, network latency control, and upper-layer interaction simulation. It then sends packets to the target server using raw sockets for output (shown by the light red arrows in the figure).
The only required task on the target server is configuring route rules to direct response packets (shown by light green arrows in the figure) to the assistant server.
The intercept component's role is to forward the response header (by default) to tcpcopy. It captures the response packets, extracts the response header information, and sends this information to tcpcopy via a dedicated channel (represented by light blue arrows in the figure). Upon receiving the response header, tcpcopy uses the information to modify the attributes of online packets and proceeds to send subsequent packets.
It is important to note that responses from the target server are routed to the assistant server, which functions as a black hole.
Quick Start
For intercept, you have two options:
- Download the latest intercept release.
- Clone the repository:
git clone git://github.com/session-replay-tools/intercept.git.
For tcpcopy, you also have two options
- Download the latest tcpcopy release.
- Clone the repository:
git clone git://github.com/session-replay-tools/tcpcopy.git.
Installing intercept on the Assistant Server
- Navigate to the
intercept directory:
cd intercept
- Run the configuration script:
./configure
Optionally, specify any necessary configuration options.
- Compile the source code:
make
- Install the
intercept tool:
make install
Configure Options for intercept
-
--single
Run intercept in non-distributed mode.
-
--with-pfring=PATH
Specify the path to the PF_RING library sources.
-
--with-debug
Compile intercept with debug support, with logs saved to a file.
Installing tcpcopy on the Online Server
- Navigate to the
tcpcopy directory:
cd tcpcopy
- Run the configuration script:
./configure
Include any necessary configuration options as needed.
- Compile the source code:
make
- Install the
tcpcopy tool:
make install
Configure Options for tcpcopy
-
--offline
Replay TCP streams from a pcap file.
-
--pcap-capture
Capture packets at the data link layer.
-
--pcap-send
Send packets at the data link layer instead of the IP layer.
-
--with-pfring=PATH
Specify the path to the PF_RING library sources.
-
--set-protocol-module=PATH
Set tcpcopy to work with an external protocol module.
-
--single
If both intercept and tcpcopy are configured with the --single option, only one tcpcopy instance will work with intercept, leading to better performance.
-
--with-tcmalloc
Use tcmalloc instead of malloc.
-
--with-debug
Compile tcpcopy with debug support, with logs saved to a file.
Running TCPCopy
Assume that both tcpcopy and intercept are configured using ./configure.
-
On the Target Server Running Server Applications:
Configure the route rules to direct response packets to the assistant server. For example, if 61.135.233.161 is the IP address of the assistant server, use the following route command to direct all responses from clients in the 62.135.200.x range to the assistant server:
route add -net 62.135.200.0 netmask 255.255.255.0 gw 61.135.233.161
-
On the Assistant Server Running intercept (Root Privilege or CAP_NET_RAW Capability Required):
./intercept -F <filter> -i <device>
Note that the filter format is the same as the pcap filter. For example:
./intercept -i eth0 -F 'tcp and src port 8080' -d
In this example, intercept will capture response packets from a TCP-based application listening on port 8080, using the eth0 network device.
Please note that ip_forward is not enabled on the assistant server.
-
On the Online Source Server (Root Privilege or CAP_NET_RAW Capability Required):
./tcpcopy -x localServerPort-targetServerIP:targetServerPort -s <intercept server> [-c <ip range>]
For example (assuming 61.135.233.160 is the IP address of the target server):
./tcpcopy -x 80-61.135.233.160:8080 -s 61.135.233.161 -c 62.135.200.x
In this example, tcpcopy captures packets on port 80 from the current server, changes the client IP address to one from the 62.135.200.x range, and sends these packets to port 8080 on the target server (61.135.233.160). It also connects to 61.135.233.161 to request intercept to forward response packets. While the -c parameter is optional, it is used here to simplify route rules.
Note
- Platform: Tested only on Linux (kernel 2.6 or above).
- Packet Loss: TCPCopy may lose packets, which could result in lost requests.
- Permissions: Requires root privilege or the
CAP_NET_RAW capability (e.g., setcap CAP_NET_RAW=ep tcpcopy).
- Connection Type: Currently supports only client-initiated connections.
- SSL/TLS: Does not support replay for applications using SSL/TLS.
- Due to the additional layer of forwarding in tcpcopy, the throughput of a single application connection cannot be too high; otherwise, it won't match the native connection throughput, especially in performance tests like sysbench or ab.
- If the volume of replicated requests is too large, tcpcopy may become unstable, with the single thread overwhelmed by packet capture, significantly reducing replication effectiveness. In such cases, other auxiliary methods can be used, such as leveraging switch mirroring with a divide-and-conquer packet capture strategy or using offline replay.
- MySQL Session Replay: For details, visit mysql-replay-module or mysql-sgt-replay-module.
- The
./configure --with-resp-payload option for intercept cannot be used together with the ./configure option for tcpcopy.
- IP Forwarding: Ensure
ip_forward is not enabled on the assistant server.
- Help: For more information, run
./tcpcopy -h or ./intercept -h.
Influential Factors
Several factors can impact TCPCopy, as detailed in the following sections.
1. Capture Interface
By default, tcpcopy uses a raw socket input interface to capture packets at the network layer on the online server. Under high load, the system kernel may drop some packets.
If configured with --pcap-capture, tcpcopy captures packets at the data link layer and can filter packets in the kernel. Using PF_RING with pcap capturing can reduce packet loss.
For optimal capture, consider mirroring ingress packets via a switch and distributing the traffic across multiple machines with a load balancer.
2. Sending Interface
tcpcopy defaults to using a raw socket output interface to send packets at the network layer to the target server. To avoid ip_conntrack issues or improve performance, use --pcap-send to send packets at the data link layer instead.
3. On the Way to the Target Server
Packets sent by tcpcopy may face challenges before reaching the target server. If the source IP address is the end-user's IP (by default), security devices may drop the packet as invalid or forged. To test this, use tcpdump on the target server. If packets are successfully sent within the same network segment but not across segments, packets may be dropped midway.
To address this, deploy tcpcopy, target applications, and intercept within the same network segment. Alternatively, use a proxy in the same segment to forward packets to the target server in another segment.
Deploying the target server’s application on a virtual machine within the same segment may still encounter these issues.
4. OS of the Target Server
The target server might use rpfilter to verify the legitimacy of source IP addresses, dropping packets deemed forged. If packets are captured by tcpdump but not processed, check rpfilter settings and adjust or remove them as needed. Other issues like iptables settings may also affect tcpcopy.
5. Applications on the Target Server
Applications on the target server may not process all requests promptly. Bugs or limitations in the application can lead to delayed responses or unprocessed requests in the socket buffer.
6. OS of the Assistant Server
Ensure that ip_forward is set to false on the assistant server to prevent it from routing packets and ensure it functions as a black hole.
Logical Analysis of the Issue Where the Test Server Fails to Receive Data
First, use telnet on the online server to connect to the test server's port. This will check if the network path is accessible. If the connection fails, resolve this issue before proceeding with the following diagnostics.
Assume that during the tcpcopy test, the application on the test server does not receive any requests. Determine if the initial handshake packet (i.e., the SYN packet) reaches the test server.
1. If the SYN packet reaches the test server, the following scenarios are possible:
1.1 Only SYN Packets Captured:
If you use tcpdump on the test server and see that the replicated SYN packets are arriving, it indicates that they have reached the data link layer of the test server. If netstat shows no connections for the application, it means the packets were dropped at the IP layer. Check if rpfilter is configured—if so, remove this setting, and the issue should generally be resolved. If rpfilter is not set, confirm that there are no conflicts in the iptables settings and adjust the relevant rules if necessary.
1.2 SYN Followed by RST Packet:
If the SYN packet is immediately followed by a reset (RST) packet (with less than 1 second between them in the same session), it indicates a routing issue or conflict, causing the response packet to be sent directly back to the real client.
1.3 Test Server Responds with the Second Handshake Packet:
Capture packets on the assistant server to check if the second handshake packet has reached it.
-
If the packet hasn't reached the assistant server, it suggests that the routing setup is not effective, and therefore intercept cannot capture the second handshake packet, preventing further replay. A potential solution is to run intercept directly on the test server (note: keep the routing setup unchanged, and ensure that the -c parameter in tcpcopy is not set to the IP address used by tcpcopy to connect to intercept, or else tcpcopy won’t connect to intercept).
-
If the second handshake packet is captured, check if ip_forward is enabled. If it is, disable this setting, as it may cause the response packets to be sent directly back to the client, interfering with the test.
2. If the SYN packet does not reach the test server, there are two possible scenarios:
2.1 tcpcopy Packets Captured on the Online Server:
If you capture tcpcopy's forwarded packets using tcpdump on the online server, but the packets do not reach the test server, it indicates that they were dropped along the way. You can try using the -c parameter in tcpcopy to modify the client IP address to a valid one. In extreme cases, set the client IP to the IP address of the machine running tcpcopy (note: NAT issues may arise, and if intercept is running on the test server, ensure the -c parameter in tcpcopy is not set to the IP address used by tcpcopy to connect to intercept, or else tcpcopy won’t connect to intercept).
2.2 tcpcopy Packets Not Captured on the Online Server:
-
If no all clt:xx information is found in tcpcopy's log, it indicates that tcpcopy is unable to capture packets at the IP layer. In this case, use the --pcap-capture option to capture packets at the data link layer. Set the -F parameter (e.g., 'tcp and dst port 80 and dst host 10.100.1.2') and the -i parameter (network interface) to bypass IP layer capturing.
-
If all clt:xx, where xx > 0, is seen in tcpcopy's log, it means tcpcopy successfully captured the packet, but it was filtered out by the IP layer on the online server. Check iptables restrictions on the output chain, among other settings. If iptables is the problem and cannot be modified on the online server, use the --pcap-send option to send packets from the data link layer.
Release History
- 2014.09 v1.0 TCPCopy released
- 2024.09 v1.0 Open source fully uses English
Bugs and Feature Requests
Have a bug or a feature request? Please open a new issue. Before opening any issue, please search for existing issues.
Support
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Copyright and License
Copyright 2025 under the BSD license.
Acknowledgments
Several individuals have been crucial in the writing of this document by reviewing drafts and offering feedback. I am especially grateful for the contributions of Hongshen Wang.
