pcap_lookupnet(3pcap)

pcap_lookupnet3pcap

Find the ipv4 network number and netmask for a device

Usage

#include <pcap/pcap.h>
char errbuf[PCAP_ERRBUF_SIZE];

int pcap_lookupnet(const char *device, bpf_u_int32 *netp,
bpf_u_int32 *maskp, char *errbuf);

Overview

pcap_lookupnet() is used to determine the IPv4 network number and mask associated with the network device device. Both netp and maskp are bpf_u_int32 pointers, on success both values will be set in network byte order. errbuf is a buffer large enough to hold at least PCAP_ERRBUF_SIZE chars.

This function is not available on Windows. It supports neither IPv6 nor multiple IPv4 addresses per interface, which obviously is not practical in modern networks. See pcap_findalldevs(3PCAP) for a more elaborate solution to the problem.

Return value

pcap_lookupnet() returns 0 on success and PCAP_ERROR on failure. If PCAP_ERROR is returned, errbuf is filled in with an appropriate error message.

Releases

9 releases since Debian 6.0 (Squeeze); the text changed 5 times.

  1. 6.0–7
  2. 8
  3. 9–10
  4. 11–12
  5. 13
  6. Arch

From libpcap 1.11.0-1 in Arch Linux 2026-11-01. Parsed by carta from the page's man source.