Getting Started

JitterTrap is a real-time network analysis tool that runs on Linux. This guide covers installation and basic usage.

Requirements

  • Linux (kernel 3.x or later)
  • Root privileges or appropriate capabilities (for packet capture and traffic control)

Build Dependencies

  • libnl-3 and libnl-route-3 (Netlink library)
  • libwebsockets
  • libjansson (JSON library)
  • libpcap
  • Standard build tools (gcc, make)

On Debian/Ubuntu:

apt install build-essential libnl-3-dev libnl-route-3-dev \
    libwebsockets-dev libjansson-dev libpcap-dev

On Fedora:

dnf install gcc make libnl3-devel libwebsockets-devel \
    jansson-devel libpcap-devel

Building from Source

git clone https://github.com/acooks/jittertrap.git
cd jittertrap
make

Running JitterTrap

JitterTrap consists of a backend server and a web-based frontend.

Start the Server

sudo ./jt-server -p 8080

Or with specific interface:

sudo ./jt-server -p 8080 -i eth0

Access the Web Interface

Open a browser to http://localhost:8080

Basic Usage

  1. Select an interface from the dropdown (e.g., eth0, eno1)
  2. View the Charts tab for real-time traffic visualization
  3. Click Top Talkers to see per-flow breakdown
  4. Use the Impairments tab to inject network conditions
  5. Set up Traps to automatically capture packets when thresholds are exceeded

Next Steps