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RANDPKT(1)							      RANDPKT(1)

NAME
     randpkt - Random packet generator

SYNOPSIS
     randpkt  [  -b  <maxbytes>  ]  [  -c  <count> ] [ -F <file format> ] [ -r ]
     [ -t <type> ] <filename>

     randpkt -h|--help

     randpkt -v|--version

DESCRIPTION
     randpkt is a small utility that creates a trace file full of  random  pack-
     ets.

     By  creating many randomized packets of a certain type, you can test packet
     sniffers to see how well they handle malformed  packets.  The  sniffer  can
     never  trust  the	data  that  it sees in the packet because you can always
     sniff a very bad packet that conforms to no standard. randpkt produces very
     bad packets.

     When creating packets of a certain type, randpkt uses a sample packet  that
     is  stored  internally  to  randpkt. It uses this as the starting point for
     your random packets, and then adds extra random bytes to the  end	of  this
     sample packet.

     For  example, if you choose to create random ARP packets, randpkt will cre-
     ate a packet which contains a predetermined Ethernet II  header,  with  the
     Type  field  set to ARP. After the Ethernet II header, it will put a random
     number of bytes with random values.

OPTIONS
     -b <maxbytes>

	 Default 5000.

	 Defines the maximum number of bytes added to the sample packet. If  you
	 choose  a  maxbytes  value  that  is  less  than the size of the sample
	 packet, then your packets would contain only the sample  packet...  not
	 much variance there! randpkt exits on that condition.

     -c <count>

	 Default 1000.

	 Defines the number of packets to generate.

     -F <file format>

	 Default pcapng.

	 Sets  the file format of the output capture file. randpkt can write the
	 file in several formats; randpkt -F provides a list  of  the  available
	 output  formats.  Note  that  not all output formats support all packet
	 types.

     -h|--help
	 Print the version number and options and exit.

     -r

	 The packet type is determined randomly for each packet.  This	requires
	 an  output format that can support different encapsulations per packet,
	 like pcapng.

     -t <type>

	 Default Ethernet II frame.

	 Defines the type of packet to generate:

	     arp	     Address Resolution Protocol
	     bgp	     Border Gateway Protocol
	     bvlc	     BACnet Virtual Link Control
	     dns	     Domain Name Service
	     eth	     Ethernet
	     fddi	     Fiber Distributed Data Interface
	     giop	     General Inter-ORB Protocol
	     icmp	     Internet Control Message Protocol
	     ip 	     Internet Protocol
	     ipv6	     Internet Protocol Version 6
	     llc	     Logical Link Control
	     m2m	     WiMAX M2M Encapsulation Protocol
	     megaco	     MEGACO
	     nbns	     NetBIOS-over-TCP Name Service
	     ncp2222	     NetWare Core Protocol
	     sctp	     Stream Control Transmission Protocol
	     syslog	     Syslog message
	     tds	     TDS NetLib
	     tcp	     Transmission Control Protocol
	     tr 	     Token-Ring
	     udp	     User Datagram Protocol
	     usb	     Universal Serial Bus
	     usb-linux	     Universal Serial Bus with Linux specific header

     -v|--version
	 Print the full version information and exit.

DIAGNOSTIC OPTIONS
     --log-level <level>
	 Set the active log level. Supported levels in lowest to  highest  order
	 are  "noisy",	"debug",  "info",  "message", "warning", "critical", and
	 "error". Messages at each level and higher will be printed, for example
	 "warning"  prints  "warning",	"critical",  and  "error"  messages  and
	 "noisy" prints all messages. Levels are case insensitive.

     --log-fatal <level>
	 Abort	the program if any messages are logged at the specified level or
	 higher. For example, "warning" aborts on any "warning", "critical",  or
	 "error" messages.

     --log-domains <list>
	 Only  print messages for the specified log domains, e.g. "GUI,Epan,ssh-
	 dump". List of domains must be comma-separated. Can be negated with "!"
	 as the first character (inverts the match).

     --log-debug <list>
	 Force the specified domains to log at the "debug" level.  List  of  do-
	 mains	must  be  comma-separated.  Can be negated with "!" as the first
	 character (inverts the match).

     --log-noisy <list>
	 Force the specified domains to log at the "noisy" level.  List  of  do-
	 mains	must  be  comma-separated.  Can be negated with "!" as the first
	 character (inverts the match).

     --log-fatal-domains <list>
	 Abort the program if any messages are logged for the specified log  do-
	 mains. List of domains must be comma-separated.

     --log-file <path>
	 Write log messages and stderr output to the specified file.

EXAMPLES
     To see a description of the randpkt options use:

	 randpkt

     To generate a capture file with 1000 DNS packets use:

	 randpkt -b 500 -t dns rand_dns.pcapng

     To generate a small capture file with just a single LLC frame use:

	 randpkt -b 100 -c 1 -t llc single_llc.pcapng

SEE ALSO
     pcap(3), editcap(1)

				   2026-05-19			      RANDPKT(1)

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