SuperSimpleTcp
Simple wrapper for TCP client and server in C# with SSL support
SuperSimpleTcp provides simple methods for creating your own TCP-based sockets application, enabling easy integration of connection management, sending, and receiving data.
- If you need integrated framing, please use WatsonTcp (https://github.com/jchristn/WatsonTcp)
- If you need discrete control over the number of bytes read from or written to a socket, please use CavemanTcp (https://github.com/jchristn/CavemanTcp)
I would highly encourage you to fully understand what message framing is and why it's important before using this library: https://blog.stephencleary.com/2009/04/message-framing.html
New in v3.0.0
- Breaking change, allocation-free receive (thank you @joreg)
Special Thanks
A special thanks to the community of people that have contributed to or otherwise improved this project!
@tinohager @u1035 @cmeeren @pha3z @opnop @kopkarmecoindo @simonhaines @matt1tk @lukeacat @exergist @maynardsi @sector13371 @loganwoodxyz @jwfxpr @IanPNewson @EGirardi @redrabbit007 @eatyouroats @joreg @CetinOzdil @tautvilis
Help or Feedback
Need help or have feedback? Please file an issue here!
Simple Examples
Server Example
using SuperSimpleTcp;
void Main(string[] args)
{
// instantiate
SimpleTcpServer server = new SimpleTcpServer("127.0.0.1:9000");
// set events
server.Events.ClientConnected += ClientConnected;
server.Events.ClientDisconnected += ClientDisconnected;
server.Events.DataReceived += DataReceived;
// let's go!
server.Start();
// once a client has connected...
server.Send("[ClientIp:Port]", "Hello, world!");
Console.ReadKey();
}
static void ClientConnected(object sender, ConnectionEventArgs e)
{
Console.WriteLine($"[{e.IpPort}] client connected");
}
static void ClientDisconnected(object sender, ConnectionEventArgs e)
{
Console.WriteLine($"[{e.IpPort}] client disconnected: {e.Reason}");
}
static void DataReceived(object sender, DataReceivedEventArgs e)
{
Console.WriteLine($"[{e.IpPort}]: {Encoding.UTF8.GetString(e.Data.Array, 0, e.Data.Count)}");
}
Client Example
using SuperSimpleTcp;
void Main(string[] args)
{
// instantiate
SimpleTcpClient client = new SimpleTcpClient("127.0.0.1:9000");
// set events
client.Events.Connected += Connected;
client.Events.Disconnected += Disconnected;
client.Events.DataReceived += DataReceived;
// let's go!
client.Connect();
// once connected to the server...
client.Send("Hello, world!");
Console.ReadKey();
}
static void Connected(object sender, ConnectionEventArgs e)
{
Console.WriteLine($"*** Server {e.IpPort} connected");
}
static void Disconnected(object sender, ConnectionEventArgs e)
{
Console.WriteLine($"*** Server {e.IpPort} disconnected");
}
static void DataReceived(object sender, DataReceivedEventArgs e)
{
Console.WriteLine($"[{e.IpPort}] {Encoding.UTF8.GetString(e.Data.Array, 0, e.Data.Count)}");
}
Connect With Retries
The ConnectWithRetries
method on SimpleTcpClient can be used instead of Connect
to continually attempt to establish connections with the server for a given period of time. Like Connect
, ConnectWithRetries
will throw a TimeoutException
if it is unable to successfully establish a connection.
client.ConnectWithRetries(10000); // try for up to 10000 milliseconds
Additional Configuration Options
Both SimpleTcpClient and SimpleTcpServer have settable values for:
Logger
- method to invoke to send log messages from either SimpleTcpClient or SimpleTcpServerSettings.MutuallyAuthenticate
- only used if SSL is enabled, demands that both client and server mutually authenticateSettings.AcceptInvalidCertificates
- accept and allow certificates that are invalid or cannot be validatedKeepalive
- to enable/disable keepalives and set specific parameters (disabled by default)
SimpleTcpServer also has:
Settings.IdleClientTimeoutSeconds
- automatically disconnect a client if data is not received within the specified number of seconds
Additionally, both SimpleTcpClient and SimpleTcpServer offer a statistics object under SimpleTcpClient.Statistics
and SimpleTcpServer.Statistics
. These values (other than start time and uptime) can be reset using the Statistics.Reset()
API.
Local vs External Connections
IMPORTANT
- If you specify
127.0.0.1
as the listener IP address, it will only be able to accept connections from within the local host. - To accept connections from other machines:
- Use a specific interface IP address, or
- Use
null
,*
,+
, or0.0.0.0
for the listener IP address (requires admin privileges to listen on any IP address)
- Make sure you create a permit rule on your firewall to allow inbound connections on that port
- If you use a port number under 1024, admin privileges will be required
Testing with SSL
A certificate named simpletcp.pfx
is provided for simple testing. It should not expire for a really long time. It's a self-signed certificate and you should NOT use it in production. Its export password is simpletcp
.
Disconnection Handling
The project TcpTest (https://github.com/jchristn/TcpTest) was built specifically to provide a reference for SuperSimpleTcp to handle a variety of disconnection scenarios. The disconnection tests for which SimpleTcp is evaluated include:
Test case | Description | Pass/Fail |
---|---|---|
Server-side dispose | Graceful termination of all client connections | PASS |
Server-side client removal | Graceful termination of a single client | PASS |
Server-side termination | Abrupt termination due to process abort or CTRL-C | PASS |
Client-side dispose | Graceful termination of a client connection | PASS |
Client-side termination | Abrupt termination due to a process abort or CTRL-C | PASS |
Network interface down | Network interface disabled or cable removed | Partial (see below) |
Additionally, as of v2.1.0, support for TCP keepalives has been added to SimpleTcp, primarily to address the issue of a network interface being shut down, the cable unplugged, or the media otherwise becoming unavailable. It is important to note that keepalives are supported in .NET Core and .NET Framework, but NOT .NET Standard. As of this release, .NET Standard provides no facilities for TCP keepalives.
TCP keepalives are disabled by default. To enable them:
server.Keepalive.EnableTcpKeepAlives = true;
server.Keepalive.TcpKeepAliveInterval = 5; // seconds to wait before sending subsequent keepalive
server.Keepalive.TcpKeepAliveTime = 5; // seconds to wait before sending a keepalive
server.Keepalive.TcpKeepAliveRetryCount = 5; // number of failed keepalive probes before terminating connection
Some important notes about TCP keepalives:
- Keepalives only work in .NET Core and .NET Framework
- Keepalives can be enabled on either client or server, but are implemented and enforced in the underlying operating system, and may not work as expected
Keepalive.TcpKeepAliveRetryCount
is only applicable to .NET Core; for .NET Framework, this value is forced to 10- Your mileage may vary; please remember that these are managed by the underlying operating system and not by this library
Running under Mono
.NET Core is the preferred environment for cross-platform deployment on Windows, Linux, and Mac. For those that use Mono, SimpleTcp should work well in Mono environments. It is recommended that you execute the containing EXE using --server and after using the Mono Ahead-of-Time Compiler (AOT).
mono --aot=nrgctx-trampolines=8096,nimt-trampolines=8096,ntrampolines=4048 --server myapp.exe
mono --server myapp.exe
Version History
Please refer to CHANGELOG.md.