Big Network Info

Big Network Info is a modern GTK4 application to discover network devices, analyze WiFi networks, detect open services, and troubleshoot connectivity issues with ease.

Key Features

• Network Diagnostics:
  • Test network interface status and link connectivity.
  • Verify IP configuration, default gateway, and DNS settings.
  • Test DNS resolution and internet access.
  • Determine external IP address (IPv4 & IPv6).
  • Parallel execution of diagnostic steps for speed.
• Device Discovery (Network Scan):
  • Discover live hosts on the specified network range.
  • Enhanced host discovery using Ping, ARP table, and TCP probes.
  • Resolve hostnames using standard DNS and Avahi (mDNS for local devices).
  • Identify MAC addresses and vendor information (requires ieee-oui.txt).
• Service Detection:
  • Scan for common network services (HTTP, HTTPS, SSH, FTP, SMB, RDP, etc.).
  • Support for custom user-defined services and ports.
  • Parallel port scanning for faster results.
• Modern GTK4 Interface:
  • User-friendly GUI built with LibAdwaita for a clean, modern look.
  • Tabbed interface for Diagnostics, Device Scanning, and Settings.
  • Real-time progress updates for scans and diagnostics.
  • Interactive results display with options to open services, copy information, and ping devices.
  • Built-in ping utility.
• Configuration Management:
  • Adjust scan parameters: timeouts (ping, hostname, port scan), thread counts (discovery, port scan).
  • Manage custom services: add, edit, remove, import/export from JSON.
  • Persistent configuration stored in ~/.config/big-network-scanner/config.json.
• Reporting:
  • Export detailed network scan results to PDF.
  • Export network diagnostics reports to PDF.
• Internationalization:
  • Supports translations (uses gettext).
• Welcome Screen:
  • Provides an overview of features on first launch or when manually shown.
  • Option to disable welcome screen on startup.

📋 Requirements

Software

• Python 3.10+
• GTK4
• LibAdwaita

Python Libraries

These will be installed via pip. A requirements.txt should be created.

• netifaces
• requests
• reportlab
• PyGObject (usually installed with GTK bindings)

System Tools & Files

These tools are generally expected to be available on a Linux system. The application uses them via subprocess.

• ping
• ip (from iproute2 package: ip link, ip addr, ip route, ip neigh)
• arp (from net-tools package, used as a fallback if ip neigh fails or isn't preferred)
• avahi-resolve & avahi-browse (from avahi package, for enhanced local hostname resolution and service discovery)
• xdg-open (for opening URLs, SFTP, SMB links in default applications)
• A terminal emulator (e.g., gnome-terminal, konsole, xfce4-terminal, xterm) for SSH connections.
• (Highly Recommended for Vendor Info) ieee-oui.txt: Typically located at /usr/share/arp-scan/ieee-oui.txt or similar paths. This file is used for MAC address to vendor mapping. On Arch Linux, this is provided by the arp-scan package.

🚀 Installation

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/biglinux/big-network-info.git
   cd big-network-info

2. Set up a Python virtual environment (recommended):

   python -m venv .venv
   source .venv/bin/activate

3. Install system dependencies:

   • For Arch Linux / BigLinux:

     sudo pacman -Syu gtk4 libadwaita python-gobject \
                     python-netifaces python-requests python-reportlab \
                     iproute2 net-tools avahi arp-scan xdg-utils

     (Note: arp-scan provides ieee-oui.txt and arp-scan utility, net-tools provides arp)

   • For Debian/Ubuntu based systems:

     sudo apt update
     sudo apt install gir1.2-gtk-4.0 gir1.2-adw-1 \
                      python3-gi python3-gi-cairo \
                      python3-netifaces python3-requests python3-reportlab \
                      iproute2 net-tools avahi-daemon avahi-utils arp-scan xdg-utils

   • For Fedora:

     sudo dnf install gtk4 libadwaita python3-gobject \
                      python3-netifaces python3-requests python3-reportlab \
                      iproute net-tools avahi avahi-tools arp-scan xdg-utils

   Ensure you have a terminal emulator installed if you want to use the SSH "Open in Terminal" feature (e.g., gnome-terminal, konsole).

4. Install Python dependencies: Create a requirements.txt file in the project root:

   # requirements.txt
   netifaces
   requests
   reportlab
   # PyGObject is usually handled by system package manager, but can be listed if needed
   # PyGObject

   Then install them:

   pip install -r requirements.txt

🏃 Running the Application

Once all dependencies are installed, you can run the application from the project's root directory:

python main.py

⚙️ Configuration

• Application settings, including custom services and scan parameters, are stored in: ~/.config/big-network-scanner/config.json
• These settings can be managed through the "Settings" tab within the application.
• The "Show welcome on startup" preference is also stored here.

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! If you'd like to contribute, please:

1. Fork the repository.
2. Create a new branch for your feature or bug fix.
3. Make your changes.
4. Ensure your code follows the existing style.
5. Test your changes thoroughly.
6. Submit a pull request with a clear description of your changes.

📜 License

This project is licensed under the GNU General Public License v2.0. See the LICENSE file or link for details.