How to Implement Packet Flooding Attack in NS2

To implement the packet flooding attack within NS2 that can be implemented by set up one or more malicious nodes to create and forward an excessive number of packets to overwhelm a target node or the network. This kind of attack mimics a Denial-of-Service (DoS) or Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attack in which the excessive packet generation ingests the target’s resources like bandwidth, processing power, and so on that reducing the overall network performance. In the simulator NS2, use agents such as UDP or TCP, we can simulate a packet flooding attack that to produce high-rate traffic from one or more attacker nodes are directed at a target node. The stages below show how to setup and simulate the packet flooding attack in NS2:

Steps to Implement a Packet Flooding Attack in NS2:

  1. Set Up the Network Topology:
  • Describe several nodes in the network, with the attacker nodes and the target node.
  • We can use the TCP or UDP agents to replicate the communication among the nodes.
  1. Configure the Attacker Nodes:
  • Connect a traffic-generating application, like CBR (Constant Bit Rate), to the attacker nodes.
  • Placed the interval among the packet generations to a too low value to mimic a high-rate flood attack.
  1. Monitor the Impact on the Target Node:
  • Monitor how the target node is impacted by the excessive traffic, like increased packet loss, high latency, and minimized throughput.
  • We can use the trace file and Network Animator (NAM) to envision the effect of the attack on the network.

Tcl Script Example for Packet Flooding Attack Simulation in NS2:

# Create a new simulator

set ns [new Simulator]

# Open the trace file for output

set tracefile [open out.tr w]

$ns trace-all $tracefile

# Define network nodes

set n0 [$ns node]  ;# Target node (victim)

set n1 [$ns node]  ;# Attacker node 1

set n2 [$ns node]  ;# Attacker node 2

set n3 [$ns node]  ;# Attacker node 3

# Create duplex links between attackers and the target

$ns duplex-link $n1 $n0 1Mb 10ms DropTail

$ns duplex-link $n2 $n0 1Mb 10ms DropTail

$ns duplex-link $n3 $n0 1Mb 10ms DropTail

# Set up UDP agents for the flood attack

set udp1 [new Agent/UDP]

set udp2 [new Agent/UDP]

set udp3 [new Agent/UDP]

set sink [new Agent/Null]

# Attach UDP agents to attacker nodes

$ns attach-agent $n1 $udp1

$ns attach-agent $n2 $udp2

$ns attach-agent $n3 $udp3

$ns attach-agent $n0 $sink

# Connect the UDP agents to the sink at the target node

$ns connect $udp1 $sink

$ns connect $udp2 $sink

$ns connect $udp3 $sink

# Create CBR traffic to generate high-rate flood attack from attacker nodes

set cbr1 [new Application/Traffic/CBR]

$cbr1 attach-agent $udp1

$cbr1 set packetSize_ 512

$cbr1 set interval_ 0.001  ;# High-rate traffic generation (very small interval)

set cbr2 [new Application/Traffic/CBR]

$cbr2 attach-agent $udp2

$cbr2 set packetSize_ 512

$cbr2 set interval_ 0.001  ;# High-rate traffic generation

set cbr3 [new Application/Traffic/CBR]

$cbr3 attach-agent $udp3

$cbr3 set packetSize_ 512

$cbr3 set interval_ 0.001  ;# High-rate traffic generation

# Start the packet flooding attack

$ns at 1.0 “$cbr1 start”

$ns at 1.0 “$cbr2 start”

$ns at 1.0 “$cbr3 start”

# Stop the attack after 10 seconds

$ns at 10.0 “$cbr1 stop”

$ns at 10.0 “$cbr2 stop”

$ns at 10.0 “$cbr3 stop”

# End the simulation after 12 seconds

$ns at 12.0 “finish”

proc finish {} {

global ns tracefile

$ns flush-trace

close $tracefile

exit 0

}

# Run the simulation

$ns run

Explanation of the Script:

  1. Nodes:
    • The target node or victim node n0 which will be flooded with traffic.
    • The attacker nodes are n1, n2, and n3 that produce high-rate traffic focused at the target node.
  2. Links:
    • Duplex links are made among the attacker nodes and the target node. These links have a bandwidth of 1 Mb and a propagation latency of 10 ms.
  3. UDP Agents:
    • UDP agents are attached to the attacker nodes such as n1, n2, n3 to produce the attack traffic.
    • A Null agent is connected to the target node (n0) that performs as the sink for the incoming packets.
  4. CBR Traffic:
    • CBR (Constant Bit Rate) traffic sources are connected to each attacker node to produce the high-rate traffic. The packet size is place to 512 bytes, and the interval among the packet generation is set to a too small value that is 0.001 seconds, mimicking a packet flooding attack.
  5. Timing:
    • The flood attack begins at 1.0 seconds and continues up to 10.0 seconds.
    • The simulation destinations at 12.0 seconds to permit time for any lingering impacts of the attack to be captured.

Post-Simulation Analysis:

  1. Trace File Analysis:
    • Test the trace file (out.tr) to observe the packets forwarded from the attackers to the target, after running the simulation. We can estimate the parameters like packet loss, throughput, and latency to observe how the target node is impact by the flood.
  2. Visualizing the Attack:
    • We can use the NAM (Network Animator) to envision the attack. We should observe a large number of packets being forwarded from the attacker nodes to the target node, overwhelming it.
  3. Impact on Network Performance:
    • Packet Loss: If its queue is filled because of the excessive traffic, the target node might drop packets.
    • Throughput: The legitimate traffic could be delayed or lost by reason of the flood attack, minimizing the network’s efficient throughput.
    • Delays: The packet flooding might launch delays, increasing latency for legitimate communication in the network.

Example of Visualizing the Flood Attack in NAM:

We can use the NAM (Network Animator), then we can envision the packet flows from the attackers to the target. The target node may become overwhelmed including a continuous stream of packets that replicating a Denial-of-Service (DoS) attack.

Enhancing the Attack Simulation:

  1. Multiple Targets:
    • We can mimic a dispersed DoS (DDoS) attack by set up several target nodes and having numerous attacker nodes flood various portions of the network.
  2. Legitimate Traffic:
    • Launch the legitimate traffic among non-attacking nodes to see how the flood attack impacts normal network operations such as increased latency, packet loss.
  3. Different Traffic Patterns:
    • Rather than the CBR traffic, we can use the Exponential or Poisson traffic models that to produce the bursty or variable traffic patterns to replicate more difficult attack performance.
  4. TCP-Based Flooding:
    • We can swap the UDP agents with TCP agents to replicate a TCP SYN flood attack in which the attackers forward numerous SYN requests to the target node, conjunction it.

We demonstrated comprehensive techniques that helps on how to configure and replicate the Packet flooding attack in the simulation platform NS2. Further details and specific information on this topic will be presented as well.

To successfully carry out a Packet Flooding Attack in NS2, contact us for the best results. You can also check out project ideas at ns2project.com, where we offer guidance to help you finish your research with comparison analysis support. We work on UDP agents with TCP agents.