Network traffic analyzer

K.E. Society’s
RAJARAMBAPUINSTITUTEOFTECHNOLOGY
(POLYTECHNIC)LOHEGOAN, PUNE
Tal. Haveli, Dist.Pune411047
Year2024-25

A
MICRO PROJECT REPORT
ON

“Network traffic analyzer”

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements

for Diploma in COMPUTER ENGINEERING
Of
M.S.B.T.E., MUMBAI
Sr.No. Name Middle Surname Roll No.
1. Sudesh Ravi Raiwar 60
By

UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF

MRS.R.N. LOKHANDE

K.E.Society's
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Network traffic analyzer

RAJARAMBAPUINSTITUTEOFTECHNOLOGY
(POLYTECHNIC)LOHEGOAN,PUNE
Tal.Haveli,Dist.Pune411047
Year2024-25

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that

Sr.No. Name Middle Surname Roll No.
1. Sudesh Ravi Raiwar 60

Students of Rajaram Bapu Institute of Technology (Polytechnic)Lohegaon,

Pune have satisfactorily completed the Micro Project work on “Network traffic
analyzer” in partial fulfillment of Diploma in COMPUTER Engineering of
Maharashtra State Board of Technical Education, Mumbai during the
academicyear2024-2025.

MRS. R.N. LOKHANDE MR.V.B. JADHAV DR. K.H. MUNDE

GUIDE HOD PRINCIPAL

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Network traffic analyzer

Acknowledgement

We take this opportunity to thank all those who have contributed in successful completion of this
micro project work. We would like to express our sincere thanks to our guide, who has encouraged
us to work on this topic and valuable guidance wherever required.
We wish to express our thanks to MR.V. B. JADHAV, Head of Dept. &
Dr.K.H. Munde, Principal, R.I.T.P., for their support and the help extended.
Finally, we are thankful to all those who extended their help directly or indirectly in preparation of
this report.

Sr.No. Name Middle Surname Roll No.

1. Sudesh Ravi Raiwar 60

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Network traffic analyzer

INDEX

Sr. No. Title Page No.

1 Abstract 5

2 Introduction 6

3 Actual Methodology Followed 7

4 Literature Review 8

5 Actual Resources used 9

6 Outputs of micro projects 10

7 Advantages 11

8 Disadvantages 11

9 Conclusion 12

10 References 13

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Network traffic analyzer

Abstract
The growing demand for network infrastructure monitoring has necessitated the development
of advanced tools for network traffic analysis. A Network Traffic Analyzer (NTA) serves as
an essential tool for capturing, inspecting, and analysing network packets to ensure optimal
performance, security, and resource management. This project proposes the design and
implementation of an efficient NTA capable of real-time packet inspection, anomaly
detection, and performance optimization. The tool leverages advanced techniques, such as
deep packet inspection (DPI), flow analysis, and machine learning algorithms, to identify and
mitigate network bottlenecks, detect potential security threats, and provide detailed traffic
reports for administrators. The NTA can identify irregularities like DDoS attacks,
unauthorized access attempts, or bandwidth hogging, providing timely alerts. Additionally, it
supports the visualization of traffic patterns, which assists in decision-making regarding
network upgrades and optimizations. This tool aims to enhance network performance,
security, and overall management, empowering organizations to proactively handle issues
and make informed infrastructural decisions.

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Network traffic analyzer

Introduction
Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) is a critical component of modern net
w o r k s e c u r i t y strategies. It involves the monitoring, capture, and analysis of data packets
flowing across a network infrastructure. By scrutinizing network traffic patterns, NTA
enables organizations to identify anomalies, detect security threats, optimize
network performance, and ensure compliance with regulatory standards. This
brief aims to provide an overview of Network Traffic Analysis, its significance,
methodologies, and key tools used in the process.

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Network traffic analyzer

Methodology
1. Data Collection & Packet Capture:
 Description: This step involves collecting raw network traffic from various sources. It
is achieved through packet capture tools like Wireshark, tcpdump, or using packet
capture libraries like libpcap.
 Method: The system listens to network traffic in promiscuous mode to capture all
packets across the network and gathers flow data via protocols such as NetFlow or
sFlow for aggregated traffic summaries.
2. Traffic Preprocessing & Filtering:
 Description: Raw traffic data is processed to extract useful information. This includes
parsing packets, filtering unnecessary data, and focusing on relevant network traffic.
 Method: Techniques like deep packet inspection (DPI), protocol classification, and
traffic aggregation are applied to normalize data, eliminate noise, and extract key
metrics like source/destination IP, protocol type, and flow statistics.
3. Traffic Analysis & Anomaly Detection:
 Description: Once the data is pre-processed, it is analysed for performance monitoring
and security threats.
 Method: This involves statistical analysis of traffic patterns (e.g., packet rates,
bandwidth usage), along with anomaly detection through threshold-based methods or
machine learning models for identifying unusual patterns (e.g., spikes in traffic,
unauthorized access).
4. Real-time Monitoring & Alerting:
 Description: The NTA continuously monitors traffic and generates alerts for any
abnormal events or security incidents.
 Method: Real-time analysis helps detect incidents like DDoS attacks, port scanning,
or unusual bandwidth usage. Alerts are triggered based on predefined thresholds or
abnormal behaviour, and notifications are sent to administrators for immediate
response.
5. Visualization & Reporting:
 Description: The analysis results are visualized for easier interpretation and decision-
making.
 Method: Dashboards (e.g., Grafana, Kibana) are used to visualize traffic patterns,
protocol usage, and security events. Automated reports provide summaries of network
health, performance metrics, and security logs, allowing administrators to track long-
term trends and make data-driven decisions.
6. Testing & Validation:
 Real-world Simulation: Test the NTA in a controlled environment or with simulated
network traffic to evaluate how it handles real-time traffic, performs under heavy
loads, and detects security threats.
 Benchmarking: Test the system for performance, including packet capture rates,
analysis speeds, and the accuracy of anomaly detection algorithms.
 Continuous Improvement: The system is continually tested and improved based on
feedback from real-world use, new network protocols, and emerging threats.

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Network traffic analyzer

Literature review
1. Early Approaches to Network Traffic Analysis:
Early network traffic analysers focused on basic packet capture and protocol analysis,
often using tools like tcpdump and Wireshark. These tools allowed network administrators to
capture raw packet data and perform detailed protocol analysis (Jacobson, 1988). The focus
was primarily on capturing traffic and manually inspecting packets for network performance
issues and troubleshooting. However, this approach lacked automation and scalability,
particularly for large networks.
2. Flow-Based Traffic Analysis:
Flow-based traffic analysis became more prominent in the late 1990s with the
development of NetFlow by Cisco (Fomenkov et al., 2003). Flow analysis enables network
monitoring by summarizing flows of data rather than capturing every individual packet. This
significantly reduces the volume of data to be analysed while still providing useful
information for traffic monitoring, such as top talkers (most active users), traffic patterns, and
application usage. Tools like sFlow and IPFIX provide similar functionality, offering scalable
and efficient methods for large-scale network analysis. Flow-based methods are now widely
used for performance monitoring and anomaly detection in enterprise networks.
3. Real-time Monitoring and Alerting:
Real-time monitoring and alerting are vital components of modern NTAs, enabling
administrators to act quickly upon detecting network issues or security breaches. Tools like
Snort and Suricata offer real-time Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS), which analyze network
traffic for suspicious activities and generate immediate alerts. Moreover, the integration of
SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) systems, such as Splunk or ELK Stack,
enables centralized collection, analysis, and visualization of network traffic and security logs
(Zhou et al., 2018).
Real-time monitoring also involves creating dashboards for data visualization, which has
become a key aspect of modern NTAs. Grafana and Kibana are often used to visualize traffic
patterns, providing an interactive and intuitive interface for network administrators to monitor
and troubleshoot issues.
4. Security and Privacy Concerns in Traffic Analysis:
While network traffic analysers are essential for security and performance monitoring,
they also raise significant privacy concerns. DPI and flow analysis can expose sensitive
information about user activities, such as browsing habits, application usage, and personal
data. To mitigate these concerns, encryption methods like SSL/TLS are used to secure traffic,
making it more difficult for NTAs to inspect encrypted packets (Luo et al., 2019). Moreover,
ethical considerations and compliance with privacy regulations, such as GDPR (General Data
Protection Regulation), have become important when implementing NTAs in public and
enterprise networks.
5. Challenges and Future Directions:
Despite significant advancements, several challenges remain in the development and
deployment of NTAs:
 Scalability: Handling large-scale traffic data in real-time without overloading system
resources remains a challenge, particularly in high-traffic networks.
 Encrypted Traffic: Increasing use of SSL/TLS encryption poses difficulties for
traffic analysis tools, as it limits the visibility of payload data.
 False Positives: Machine learning-based anomaly detection models may still generate
false positives, requiring fine-tuning and continual retraining.
 Real-time Performance: Real-time analysis of high-throughput networks demands
efficient data processing and low-latency alerting mechanisms.

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Network traffic analyzer

Actual Resources used

1. Hardware Resources:
 Network Interface Card (NIC): A NIC is essential to capture network traffic on a
physical network. High-performance NICs, like those with dedicated processors for
offloading, can help in analyzing high-speed traffic efficiently.
 CPU: The processor is used for data packet processing, including capturing, decoding,
filtering, and analyzing traffic.
 Memory (RAM): Sufficient RAM is required to buffer and store network packets
temporarily. The amount of memory needed increases with the volume of traffic
being captured.
 Storage: Disk space is used to store network capture files (such as PCAP files). For
long-term analysis or high-volume traffic capture, large storage volumes are needed.
 Network Switches and Routers: In some network analysis setups, traffic might be
mirrored or redirected through a network tap, switch port mirror, or a router that
supports traffic monitoring features.
2. Software Resources:
 Packet Capture Software: Tools like Wireshark, tcpdump, or specialized appliances
are used for capturing packets from the network. These tools interface with the NIC to
capture network traffic.
 Traffic Analysis Software: After the packets are captured, analysis tools process and
analyze the captured data. Some examples include Wireshark for detailed analysis,
ntopng for network monitoring, and commercial solutions like SolarWinds or PRTG.
 Protocols and Filtering Engines: Network analyzers often rely on built-in protocol
analyzers for parsing different types of network protocols (e.g., TCP/IP, HTTP, DNS)
and filtering engines to isolate traffic based on specific criteria (IP address, port
number, etc.).
 Databases: For long-term storage and historical analysis, captured network traffic data
might be stored in databases for easy retrieval, aggregation, and reporting.
3. Networking Infrastructure:
 Taps or Port Mirroring: Hardware devices like network taps or port mirroring on
switches enable non-intrusive traffic capturing. This allows analyzers to observe
traffic without affecting the flow of data on the network.
 VLANs: Virtual LANs might be used to segment network traffic in a way that isolates
certain data streams for analysis, especially in larger enterprise networks.
4. Network Traffic Data:
 Packet Data: This includes the raw packet captures, which contain all the information
sent across the network, including headers and payload data.
 Flow Data: Flow-based monitoring (e.g., NetFlow, sFlow, IPFIX) aggregates traffic
data into "flows" rather than individual packets, providing summary information
about the traffic patterns.
 Logs and Metrics: Logs from network devices (routers, firewalls, switches) and
metrics like bandwidth usage, round-trip time, packet loss, etc., are also crucial for
network traffic analysis.

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Network traffic analyzer

OUTPUTS OF MICRO PROJECTS

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Network traffic analyzer

Advantages & Disadvantages

Advantages:
 Real-time Monitoring – Provides live tracking of network traffic, helping
detect anomalies and performance issues.
 Security Enhancement – Identifies suspicious activities, potential cyber
threats (DDoS, malware, unauthorized access), and helps in intrusion
detection.
 Bandwidth Optimization – Helps in analysing data flow to optimize
bandwidth usage and reduce network congestion.
 Protocol Analysis – Classifies network traffic by protocol (TCP, UDP,
HTTP, DNS) to understand usage patterns.
 Customizable & Scalable – Can be modified to include alerts, logs, or
visualization dashboards based on project needs. Cost-effective – Open-
source tools and custom scripts reduce costs compared to commercial
network monitoring solutions.
 Troubleshooting & Diagnostics – Helps network administrators quickly
pinpoint connectivity issues and resolve them efficiently.

Disadvantages:

 High Resource Consumption – Analysing real-time network traffic can require

significant CPU and memory, especially for large-scale networks.
 Privacy & Legal Concerns – Capturing network packets may expose sensitive data,
raising ethical and legal issues if done without authorization.
 Complex Setup & Configuration – Requires knowledge of networking, packet analysis,
and security protocols to configure and interpret results correctly.
 Storage Limitations – Large volumes of captured traffic can consume significant disk
space, requiring efficient data management strategies.
 Potential False Positives – Traffic anomalies detected may not always indicate an actual
security threat, leading to unnecessary alerts and investigations.
 Encryption Challenges – Encrypted traffic (e.g., HTTPS, VPN) limits deep packet
inspection, reducing visibility into specific data content.

Conclusion
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Network traffic analyzer

A Network Traffic Analyzer Microproject is a valuable tool for monitoring,

analysing, and optimizing network performance. It provides real-time insights into traffic
patterns, enhances security by detecting anomalies, and helps in troubleshooting network
issues.
However, it comes with challenges such as high resource consumption, privacy
concerns, and complexity in setup. Effective implementation requires a balance between
functionality and efficiency while ensuring compliance with legal and ethical guidelines.
Overall, this project serves as a strong foundation for network analysis, cybersecurity
research, and IT infrastructure optimization. Future enhancements could include AI-driven
anomaly detection, automated alerts, and improved data visualization for better decision-
making.

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Network traffic analyzer

REFRENCE
Wireshark Documentation – https://www.wireshark.org/docs/
Scapy Python Library – https://scapy.readthedocs.io/en/latest/
RFC 793 (TCP Specification) – https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc793
Elasticsearch for Network Monitoring – https://www.elastic.co/
TShark (Command-line Wireshark) –
https://www.wireshark.org/docs/man-pages/tshark.html

Action Plan

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Network traffic analyzer

Sr. No. Details of Planned Started Planned Name of

Date Finished Date Responsible
Activity Team Member

1. Sudesh Raiwar
Create the group

2. Sudesh Raiwar
Searched on
internet to select
the topic
3. Sudesh Raiwar
Searching
information about
the topic
4. Sudesh Raiwar

Prepare Abstract

5. Sudesh Raiwar

Prepare Report

6. Sudesh Raiwar
Correct the
Correction as per
suggestion

7. Sudesh Raiwar
Prepare final
report
8. Sudesh Raiwar
Submit with hard
copy to guide

Sign of Faculty

EVALUVTION SHEET

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Network traffic analyzer

Academic Year: 2024-25 Name of faculty: MS .R .N. LOKHANDE

Course: CO Course code: 22620

Semester: VI

COs Addressed by Micro Project:

1. Security and Privacy Challenges in Emerging Technologies
2. Ethical Considerations in AI and IT Innovations
a. Practical Outcomes:
1. Identify data privacy risks in emerging IT trends.
2. Enhance critical thinking in technology ethics and security.
Unit Outcomes in Cognitive Domain:
1. Analyze the impact of emerging technologies in IT.
2. Apply security and privacy best practices in modern IT applications.
Outcomes in Affective Domain:
1. Develop awareness of ethical challenges in IT innovations.
2. Demonstrate commitment to responsible and secure technology adoption.

Marks for Marks for

Roll no Student's Name performance in performance in Total out of 10

group activity oral/presentation

(out of 6) (out of 4)

Sudesh Raiwar

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