Advanced Bash-Scripting Guide:

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Chapter 30. Network Programming

The Net's a cross between an elephant and a
white elephant sale: it never forgets, and it's
always crap.
--Nemo
A Linux system has quite a number of tools for accessing, manipulating, and
troubleshooting network connections. We can incorporate some of these tools into
scripts -- scripts that expand our knowledge of networking, useful scripts that can
facilitate the administration of a network.
Here is a simple CGI script that demonstrates connecting to a remote server.
Example 30-1. Print the server environment
#!/bin/bash
# test-cgi.sh
# by Michael Zick
# Used with permission

# May have to change the location for your site.

# (At the ISP's servers, Bash may not be in the usual place.)
# Other places: /usr/bin or /usr/local/bin
# Might even try it without any path in sha-bang.

# Disable filename globbing.

set -f

# Header tells browser what to expect.

echo Content-type: text/plain
echo

echo CGI/1.0 test script report:

echo

echo environment settings:

set
echo

echo whereis bash?

whereis bash
echo

echo who are we?

echo ${BASH_VERSINFO[*]}
echo

echo argc is $#. argv is "$*".

echo

# CGI/1.0 expected environment variables.

echo SERVER_SOFTWARE = $SERVER_SOFTWARE

echo SERVER_NAME = $SERVER_NAME
echo GATEWAY_INTERFACE = $GATEWAY_INTERFACE
echo SERVER_PROTOCOL = $SERVER_PROTOCOL
echo SERVER_PORT = $SERVER_PORT
echo REQUEST_METHOD = $REQUEST_METHOD
echo HTTP_ACCEPT = "$HTTP_ACCEPT"
echo PATH_INFO = "$PATH_INFO"
echo PATH_TRANSLATED = "$PATH_TRANSLATED"
echo SCRIPT_NAME = "$SCRIPT_NAME"
echo QUERY_STRING = "$QUERY_STRING"
echo REMOTE_HOST = $REMOTE_HOST
echo REMOTE_ADDR = $REMOTE_ADDR
echo REMOTE_USER = $REMOTE_USER
echo AUTH_TYPE = $AUTH_TYPE
 echo CONTENT_TYPE = $CONTENT_TYPE
echo CONTENT_LENGTH = $CONTENT_LENGTH

exit 0

# Here document to give short instructions.

:<<-'_test_CGI_'

1) Drop this in your http://domain.name/cgi-bin directory.

2) Then, open http://domain.name/cgi-bin/test-cgi.sh.

_test_CGI_

For security purposes, it may be helpful to identify the IP addresses a computer is

accessing.
Example 30-2. IP addresses
 #!/bin/bash
# ip-addresses.sh
# List the IP addresses your computer is connected to.

# Inspired by Greg Bledsoe's ddos.sh script,

# Linux Journal, 09 March 2011.
# URL:
# http://www.linuxjournal.com/content/back-dead-simple-bash-complex-ddos
# Greg licensed his script under the GPL2,
#+ and as a derivative, this script is likewise GPL2.

connection_type=TCP # Also try UDP.

field=2 # Which field of the output we're interested in.
no_match=LISTEN # Filter out records containing this. Why?
lsof_args=-ni # -i lists Internet-associated files.
# -n preserves numerical IP addresses.
# What happens without the -n option? Try it.
router="[0-9][0-9][0-9][0-9][0-9]->"
# Delete the router info.

lsof "$lsof_args" | grep $connection_type | grep -v "$no_match" |

awk '{print $9}' | cut -d : -f $field | sort | uniq |
sed s/"^$router"//

# Bledsoe's script assigns the output of a filtered IP list,

# (similar to lines 19-22, above) to a variable.
# He checks for multiple connections to a single IP address,
# then uses:
#
# iptables -I INPUT -s $ip -p tcp -j REJECT --reject-with tcp-reset
#
# ... within a 60-second delay loop to bounce packets from DDOS attacks.

# Exercise:
# --------
# Use the 'iptables' command to extend this script
#+ to reject connection attempts from well-known spammer IP domains.

More examples of network programming:

1. Getting the time from nist.gov (devref1.html#NPREF)
2. Downloading a URL (devref1.html#NW001)
3. A GRE tunnel (system.html#IPSCRIPT0)
4. Checking if an Internet server is up (communications.html#PING0)
5. Example 16-41 (communications.html#ISSPAMMER)
6. Example A-28 (contributed-scripts.html#ISSPAMMER2)
 7. Example A-29 (contributed-scripts.html#WHX)
8. Example 29-1 (devref1.html#DEVTCP)
See also the networking commands (system.html#NETWORKSYS1) in the System
and Administrative Commands (system.html) chapter and the communications
commands (communications.html) in the External Filters, Programs and Commands
(external.html) chapter.

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