How to get the IP address of the server on which m

Question

I am running a server, and I want to display my own IP address.

What is the syntax for getting the computer's own (if possible, external) IP address?

Someone wrote the following code.

IPHostEntry host;
string localIP = "?";
host = Dns.GetHostEntry(Dns.GetHostName());
foreach (IPAddress ip in host.AddressList)
{
    if (ip.AddressFamily.ToString() == "InterNetwork")
    {
        localIP = ip.ToString();
    }
}
return localIP;

However, I generally distrust the author, and I don't understand this code. Is there a better way to do so?

Answer 1

Don't rely on InterNetwork all the time because you can have more than one device which also uses IP4 which would screw up the results in getting your IP. Now, if you would like you may just copy this and please review it or update it to how you see fit.

First I get the address of the router (gateway) If it comes back that I am connected to a gateway (which mean not connected directly into the modem wireless or not) then we have our gateway address as IPAddress else we a null pointer IPAddress reference.

Then we need to get the computer's list of IPAddresses. This is where things are not that hard because routers (all routers) use 4 bytes (...). The first three are the most important because any computer connected to it will have the IP4 address matching the first three bytes. Ex: 192.168.0.1 is standard for router default IP unless changed by the adminstrator of it. '192.168.0' or whatever they may be is what we need to match up. And that is all I did in IsAddressOfGateway function. The reason for the length matching is because not all addresses (which are for the computer only) have the length of 4 bytes. If you type in netstat in the cmd, you will find this to be true. So there you have it. Yes, it takes a little more work to really get what you are looking for. Process of elimination. And for God's sake, do not find the address by pinging it which takes time because first you are sending the address to be pinged and then it has to send the result back. No, work directly with .Net classes which deal with your system environment and you will get the answers you are looking for when it has to solely do with your computer.

Now if you are directly connected to your modem, the process is almost the same because the modem is your gateway but the submask is not the same because your getting the information directly from your DNS Server via modem and not masked by the router serving up the Internet to you although you still can use the same code because the last byte of the IP assigned to the modem is 1. So if IP sent from the modem which does change is 111.111.111.1' then you will get 111.111.111.(some byte value). Keep in mind the we need to find the gateway information because there are more devices which deal with internet connectivity than your router and modem.

Now you see why you DON'T change your router's first two bytes 192 and 168. These are strictly distinguished for routers only and not internet use or we would have a serious issue with IP Protocol and double pinging resulting in crashing your computer. Image that your assigned router IP is 192.168.44.103 and you click on a site with that IP as well. OMG! Your computer would not know what to ping. Crash right there. To avoid this issue, only routers are assigned these and not for internet usage. So leave the first two bytes of the router alone.

static IPAddress FindLanAddress()
{
    IPAddress gateway = FindGetGatewayAddress();
    if (gateway == null)
        return null;

    IPAddress[] pIPAddress = Dns.GetHostAddresses(Dns.GetHostName());

    foreach (IPAddress address in pIPAddress)            {
        if (IsAddressOfGateway(address, gateway))
                return address;
    return null;
}
static bool IsAddressOfGateway(IPAddress address, IPAddress gateway)
{
    if (address != null && gateway != null)
        return IsAddressOfGateway(address.GetAddressBytes(),gateway.GetAddressBytes());
    return false;
}
static bool IsAddressOfGateway(byte[] address, byte[] gateway)
{
    if (address != null && gateway != null)
    {
        int gwLen = gateway.Length;
        if (gwLen > 0)
        {
            if (address.Length == gateway.Length)
            {
                --gwLen;
                int counter = 0;
                for (int i = 0; i < gwLen; i++)
                {
                    if (address[i] == gateway[i])
                        ++counter;
                }
                return (counter == gwLen);
            }
        }
    }
    return false;

}
static IPAddress FindGetGatewayAddress()
{
    IPGlobalProperties ipGlobProps = IPGlobalProperties.GetIPGlobalProperties();

    foreach (NetworkInterface ni in NetworkInterface.GetAllNetworkInterfaces())
    {
        IPInterfaceProperties ipInfProps = ni.GetIPProperties();
        foreach (GatewayIPAddressInformation gi in ipInfProps.GatewayAddresses)
            return gi.Address;
    }
    return null;
}

Answer 2

The only way to know your public IP is to ask someone else to tell you; this code may help you:

public string GetPublicIP()
{
    String direction = "";
    WebRequest request = WebRequest.Create("http://checkip.dyndns.org/");
    using (WebResponse response = request.GetResponse())
    using (StreamReader stream = new StreamReader(response.GetResponseStream()))
    {
        direction = stream.ReadToEnd();
    }

    //Search for the ip in the html
    int first = direction.IndexOf("Address: ") + 9;
    int last = direction.LastIndexOf("</body>");
    direction = direction.Substring(first, last - first);

    return direction;
}

Answer 3

Cleaner and an all in one solution :D

//This returns the first IP4 address or null
return Dns.GetHostEntry(Dns.GetHostName()).AddressList.FirstOrDefault(ip => ip.AddressFamily == AddressFamily.InterNetwork);

Answer 4

Get all IP addresses as strings using LINQ:

using System.Linq;
using System.Net.NetworkInformation;
using System.Net.Sockets;
...
string[] allIpAddresses = NetworkInterface.GetAllNetworkInterfaces()
    .SelectMany(c=>c.GetIPProperties().UnicastAddresses
        .Where(d=>d.Address.AddressFamily == AddressFamily.InterNetwork)
        .Select(d=>d.Address.ToString())
    ).ToArray();

TO FILTER OUT PRIVATE ONES...

First, define an extension method IsPrivate():

public static class IPAddressExtensions
{
    // Collection of private CIDRs (IpAddress/Mask) 
    private static Tuple<int, int>[] _privateCidrs = new []{"10.0.0.0/8", "172.16.0.0/12", "192.168.0.0/16"}
        .Select(c=>Tuple.Create(BitConverter.ToInt32(IPAddress
                                    .Parse(c.Split('/')[0]).GetAddressBytes(), 0)
                              , IPAddress.HostToNetworkOrder(-1 << (32-int.Parse(c.Split('/')[1])))))
        .ToArray();
    public static bool IsPrivate(this IPAddress ipAddress)
    {
        int ip = BitConverter.ToInt32(ipAddress.GetAddressBytes(), 0);
        return _privateCidrs.Any(cidr=>(ip & cidr.Item2)==(cidr.Item1 & cidr.Item2));           
    }
}

... And then use it to filter out private IPs:

string[] publicIpAddresses = NetworkInterface.GetAllNetworkInterfaces()
    .SelectMany(c=>c.GetIPProperties().UnicastAddresses
        .Where(d=>d.Address.AddressFamily == AddressFamily.InterNetwork
            && !d.Address.IsPrivate() // Filter out private ones
        )
        .Select(d=>d.Address.ToString())
    ).ToArray();

Answer 5

Nope, that is pretty much the best way to do it. As a machine could have several IP addresses you need to iterate the collection of them to find the proper one.

Edit: The only thing I would change would be to change this:

if (ip.AddressFamily.ToString() == "InterNetwork")

to this:

if (ip.AddressFamily == AddressFamily.InterNetwork)

There is no need to ToString an enumeration for comparison.

Answer 6

It works for me... and should be faster in most case (if not all) than querying a DNS server. Thanks to Dr. Wily's Apprentice (here).

// ************************************************************************
/// <summary>
/// Will search for the an active NetworkInterafce that has a Gateway, otherwise
/// it will fallback to try from the DNS which is not safe.
/// </summary>
/// <returns></returns>
public static NetworkInterface GetMainNetworkInterface()
{
    List<NetworkInterface> candidates = new List<NetworkInterface>();

    if (NetworkInterface.GetIsNetworkAvailable())
    {
        NetworkInterface[] NetworkInterfaces =
            NetworkInterface.GetAllNetworkInterfaces();

        foreach (
            NetworkInterface ni in NetworkInterfaces)
        {
            if (ni.OperationalStatus == OperationalStatus.Up)
                candidates.Add(ni);
        }
    }

    if (candidates.Count == 1)
    {
        return candidates[0];
    }

    // Accoring to our tech, the main NetworkInterface should have a Gateway 
    // and it should be the ony one with a gateway.
    if (candidates.Count > 1)
    {
        for (int n = candidates.Count - 1; n >= 0; n--)
        {
            if (candidates[n].GetIPProperties().GatewayAddresses.Count == 0)
            {
                candidates.RemoveAt(n);
            }
        }

        if (candidates.Count == 1)
        {
            return candidates[0];
        }
    }

    // Fallback to try by getting my ipAdress from the dns
    IPAddress myMainIpAdress = null;
    IPHostEntry host = Dns.GetHostEntry(Dns.GetHostName());
    foreach (IPAddress ip in host.AddressList)
    {
        if (ip.AddressFamily == AddressFamily.InterNetwork) // Get the first IpV4
        {
            myMainIpAdress = ip;
            break;
        }
    }

    if (myMainIpAdress != null)
    {
        NetworkInterface[] NetworkInterfaces =
            NetworkInterface.GetAllNetworkInterfaces();

        foreach (NetworkInterface ni in NetworkInterfaces)
        {
            if (ni.OperationalStatus == OperationalStatus.Up)
            {
                IPInterfaceProperties props = ni.GetIPProperties();
                foreach (UnicastIPAddressInformation ai in props.UnicastAddresses)
                {
                    if (ai.Address.Equals(myMainIpAdress))
                    {
                        return ni;
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    }

    return null;
}

// ******************************************************************
/// <summary>
/// AddressFamily.InterNetwork = IPv4
/// Thanks to Dr. Wilys Apprentice at
/// http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1069103/how-to-get-the-ip-address-of-the-server-on-which-my-c-sharp-application-is-runni
/// using System.Net.NetworkInformation;
/// </summary>
/// <param name="mac"></param>
/// <param name="addressFamily">AddressFamily.InterNetwork = IPv4,  AddressFamily.InterNetworkV6 = IPv6</param>
/// <returns></returns>
public static IPAddress GetIpFromMac(PhysicalAddress mac, AddressFamily addressFamily = AddressFamily.InterNetwork)
{
    NetworkInterface[] NetworkInterfaces =
        NetworkInterface.GetAllNetworkInterfaces();

    foreach (NetworkInterface ni in NetworkInterfaces)
    {
        if (ni.GetPhysicalAddress().Equals(mac))
        {
            if (ni.OperationalStatus == OperationalStatus.Up)
            {
                IPInterfaceProperties props = ni.GetIPProperties();
                foreach (UnicastIPAddressInformation ai in props.UnicastAddresses)
                {
                    if (ai.DuplicateAddressDetectionState == DuplicateAddressDetectionState.Preferred)
                    {
                        if (ai.Address.AddressFamily == addressFamily)
                        {
                            return ai.Address;
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    }

    return null;
}

// ******************************************************************
/// <summary>
/// Return the best guess of main ipAdress. To get it in the form aaa.bbb.ccc.ffffd just call 
/// '?.ToString() ?? ""' on the result.
/// </summary>
/// <returns></returns>
public static IPAddress GetMyInternetIpAddress()
{
    NetworkInterface ni = GetMainNetworkInterface();
    IPAddress ipAddress = GetIpFromMac(ni.GetPhysicalAddress());
    if (ipAddress == null) // could it be possible ?
    {
        ipAddress = GetIpFromMac(ni.GetPhysicalAddress(), AddressFamily.InterNetworkV6);
    }

    return ipAddress;
}

// ******************************************************************

Just as reference this is the full class code where I defined it:

using System;
using System.Collections.Concurrent;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Diagnostics;
using System.Linq;
using System.Net;
using System.Net.NetworkInformation;
using System.Net.Sockets;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
using System.Threading.Tasks;

namespace TcpMonitor
{
    /*
        Usage:
                var cons = TcpHelper.GetAllTCPConnections();
                foreach (TcpHelper.MIB_TCPROW_OWNER_PID c in cons) ...
    */

    public class NetHelper
    {
        [DllImport("iphlpapi.dll", SetLastError = true)]
        static extern uint GetExtendedUdpTable(IntPtr pUdpTable, ref int dwOutBufLen, bool sort, int ipVersion, UDP_TABLE_CLASS tblClass, uint reserved = 0);

        public enum UDP_TABLE_CLASS
        {
            UDP_TABLE_BASIC,
            UDP_TABLE_OWNER_PID,
            UDP_TABLE_OWNER_MODULE
        }

        [StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential)]
        public struct MIB_UDPTABLE_OWNER_PID
        {
            public uint dwNumEntries;
            [MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.ByValArray, ArraySubType = UnmanagedType.Struct, SizeConst = 1)]
            public MIB_UDPROW_OWNER_PID[] table;
        }

        [StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential)]
        public struct MIB_UDPROW_OWNER_PID
        {
            public uint localAddr;
            [MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.ByValArray, SizeConst = 4)]
            public byte[] localPort;
            public uint owningPid;

            public uint ProcessId
            {
                get { return owningPid; }
            }

            public IPAddress LocalAddress
            {
                get { return new IPAddress(localAddr); }
            }

            public ushort LocalPort
            {
                get { return BitConverter.ToUInt16(localPort.Take(2).Reverse().ToArray(), 0); }
            }
        }

        [StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential)]
        public struct MIB_UDP6TABLE_OWNER_PID
        {
            public uint dwNumEntries;
            [MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.ByValArray, ArraySubType = UnmanagedType.Struct, SizeConst = 1)]
            public MIB_UDP6ROW_OWNER_PID[] table;
        }

        [StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential)]
        public struct MIB_UDP6ROW_OWNER_PID
        {
            [MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.ByValArray, SizeConst = 16)]
            public byte[] localAddr;
            public uint localScopeId;
            [MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.ByValArray, SizeConst = 4)]
            public byte[] localPort;
            public uint owningPid;
            public uint ProcessId
            {
                get { return owningPid; }
            }

            public IPAddress LocalAddress
            {
                get { return new IPAddress(localAddr, localScopeId); }
            }

            public ushort LocalPort
            {
                get { return BitConverter.ToUInt16(localPort.Take(2).Reverse().ToArray(), 0); }
            }
        }

        public static List<MIB_UDPROW_OWNER_PID> GetAllUDPConnections()
        {
            return GetUDPConnections<MIB_UDPROW_OWNER_PID, MIB_UDPTABLE_OWNER_PID> (AF_INET);
        }

        public static List<MIB_UDP6ROW_OWNER_PID> GetAllUDPv6Connections()
        {
            return GetUDPConnections<MIB_UDP6ROW_OWNER_PID, MIB_UDP6TABLE_OWNER_PID>(AF_INET6);
        }

        private static List<IPR> GetUDPConnections<IPR, IPT>(int ipVersion)//IPR = Row Type, IPT = Table Type
        {
            List<IPR> result = null;

            IPR[] tableRows = null;
            int buffSize = 0;

            var dwNumEntriesField = typeof(IPT).GetField("dwNumEntries");

            // how much memory do we need?
            uint ret = GetExtendedUdpTable(IntPtr.Zero, ref buffSize, true, ipVersion, UDP_TABLE_CLASS.UDP_TABLE_OWNER_PID);
            IntPtr udpTablePtr = Marshal.AllocHGlobal(buffSize);

            try
            {
                ret = GetExtendedUdpTable(udpTablePtr, ref buffSize, true, ipVersion, UDP_TABLE_CLASS.UDP_TABLE_OWNER_PID);
                if (ret != 0)
                    return new List<IPR>();

                // get the number of entries in the table
                IPT table = (IPT)Marshal.PtrToStructure(udpTablePtr, typeof(IPT));
                int rowStructSize = Marshal.SizeOf(typeof(IPR));
                uint numEntries = (uint)dwNumEntriesField.GetValue(table);

                // buffer we will be returning
                tableRows = new IPR[numEntries];

                IntPtr rowPtr = (IntPtr)((long)udpTablePtr + 4);
                for (int i = 0; i < numEntries; i++)
                {
                    IPR tcpRow = (IPR)Marshal.PtrToStructure(rowPtr, typeof(IPR));
                    tableRows[i] = tcpRow;
                    rowPtr = (IntPtr)((long)rowPtr + rowStructSize);   // next entry
                }
            }
            finally
            {
                result = tableRows?.ToList() ?? new List<IPR>();

                // Free the Memory
                Marshal.FreeHGlobal(udpTablePtr);
            }

            return result;
        }

        [DllImport("iphlpapi.dll", SetLastError = true)]
        static extern uint GetExtendedTcpTable(IntPtr pTcpTable, ref int dwOutBufLen, bool sort, int ipVersion, TCP_TABLE_CLASS tblClass, uint reserved = 0);



        public enum MIB_TCP_STATE
        {
            MIB_TCP_STATE_CLOSED = 1,
            MIB_TCP_STATE_LISTEN = 2,
            MIB_TCP_STATE_SYN_SENT = 3,
            MIB_TCP_STATE_SYN_RCVD = 4,
            MIB_TCP_STATE_ESTAB = 5,
            MIB_TCP_STATE_FIN_WAIT1 = 6,
            MIB_TCP_STATE_FIN_WAIT2 = 7,
            MIB_TCP_STATE_CLOSE_WAIT = 8,
            MIB_TCP_STATE_CLOSING = 9,
            MIB_TCP_STATE_LAST_ACK = 10,
            MIB_TCP_STATE_TIME_WAIT = 11,
            MIB_TCP_STATE_DELETE_TCB = 12
        }

        public enum TCP_TABLE_CLASS
        {
            TCP_TABLE_BASIC_LISTENER,
            TCP_TABLE_BASIC_CONNECTIONS,
            TCP_TABLE_BASIC_ALL,
            TCP_TABLE_OWNER_PID_LISTENER,
            TCP_TABLE_OWNER_PID_CONNECTIONS,
            TCP_TABLE_OWNER_PID_ALL,
            TCP_TABLE_OWNER_MODULE_LISTENER,
            TCP_TABLE_OWNER_MODULE_CONNECTIONS,
            TCP_TABLE_OWNER_MODULE_ALL
        }

        [StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential)]
        public struct MIB_TCPTABLE_OWNER_PID
        {
            public uint dwNumEntries;
            [MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.ByValArray, ArraySubType = UnmanagedType.Struct, SizeConst = 1)]
            public MIB_TCPROW_OWNER_PID[] table;
        }

        [StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential)]
        public struct MIB_TCP6TABLE_OWNER_PID
        {
            public uint dwNumEntries;
            [MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.ByValArray, ArraySubType = UnmanagedType.Struct, SizeConst = 1)]
            public MIB_TCP6ROW_OWNER_PID[] table;
        }

        [StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential)]
        public struct MIB_TCPROW_OWNER_PID
        {
            public uint state;
            public uint localAddr;
            [MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.ByValArray, SizeConst = 4)]
            public byte[] localPort;
            public uint remoteAddr;
            [MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.ByValArray, SizeConst = 4)]
            public byte[] remotePort;
            public uint owningPid;

            public uint ProcessId
            {
                get { return owningPid; }
            }

            public IPAddress LocalAddress
            {
                get { return new IPAddress(localAddr); }
            }

            public ushort LocalPort
            {
                get
                {
                    return BitConverter.ToUInt16(new byte[2] { localPort[1], localPort[0] }, 0);
                }
            }

            public IPAddress RemoteAddress
            {
                get { return new IPAddress(remoteAddr); }
            }

            public ushort RemotePort
            {
                get
                {
                    return BitConverter.ToUInt16(new byte[2] { remotePort[1], remotePort[0] }, 0);
                }
            }

            public MIB_TCP_STATE State
            {
                get { return (MIB_TCP_STATE)state; }
            }
        }


        [StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential)]
        public struct MIB_TCP6ROW_OWNER_PID
        {
            [MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.ByValArray, SizeConst = 16)]
            public byte[] localAddr;
            public uint localScopeId;
            [MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.ByValArray, SizeConst = 4)]
            public byte[] localPort;
            [MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.ByValArray, SizeConst = 16)]
            public byte[] remoteAddr;
            public uint remoteScopeId;
            [MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.ByValArray, SizeConst = 4)]
            public byte[] remotePort;
            public uint state;
            public uint owningPid;

            public uint ProcessId
            {
                get { return owningPid; }
            }

            public long LocalScopeId
            {
                get { return localScopeId; }
            }

            public IPAddress LocalAddress
            {
                get { return new IPAddress(localAddr, LocalScopeId); }
            }

            public ushort LocalPort
            {
                get { return BitConverter.ToUInt16(localPort.Take(2).Reverse().ToArray(), 0); }
            }

            public long RemoteScopeId
            {
                get { return remoteScopeId; }
            }

            public IPAddress RemoteAddress
            {
                get { return new IPAddress(remoteAddr, RemoteScopeId); }
            }

            public ushort RemotePort
            {
                get { return BitConverter.ToUInt16(remotePort.Take(2).Reverse().ToArray(), 0); }
            }

            public MIB_TCP_STATE State
            {
                get { return (MIB_TCP_STATE)state; }
            }
        }


        public const int AF_INET = 2;    // IP_v4 = System.Net.Sockets.AddressFamily.InterNetwork
        public const int AF_INET6 = 23;  // IP_v6 = System.Net.Sockets.AddressFamily.InterNetworkV6

        public static Task<List<MIB_TCPROW_OWNER_PID>> GetAllTCPConnectionsAsync()
        {
            return Task.Run(() => GetTCPConnections<MIB_TCPROW_OWNER_PID, MIB_TCPTABLE_OWNER_PID>(AF_INET));
        }

        public static List<MIB_TCPROW_OWNER_PID> GetAllTCPConnections()
        {
            return GetTCPConnections<MIB_TCPROW_OWNER_PID, MIB_TCPTABLE_OWNER_PID>(AF_INET);
        }

        public static Task<List<MIB_TCP6ROW_OWNER_PID>> GetAllTCPv6ConnectionsAsync()
        {
            return Task.Run(()=>GetTCPConnections<MIB_TCP6ROW_OWNER_PID, MIB_TCP6TABLE_OWNER_PID>(AF_INET6));
        }

        public static List<MIB_TCP6ROW_OWNER_PID> GetAllTCPv6Connections()
        {
            return GetTCPConnections<MIB_TCP6ROW_OWNER_PID, MIB_TCP6TABLE_OWNER_PID>(AF_INET6);
        }

        private static List<IPR> GetTCPConnections<IPR, IPT>(int ipVersion)//IPR = Row Type, IPT = Table Type
        {
            List<IPR> result = null;

            IPR[] tableRows = null;
            int buffSize = 0;

            var dwNumEntriesField = typeof(IPT).GetField("dwNumEntries");

            // how much memory do we need?
            uint ret = GetExtendedTcpTable(IntPtr.Zero, ref buffSize, true, ipVersion, TCP_TABLE_CLASS.TCP_TABLE_OWNER_PID_ALL);
            IntPtr tcpTablePtr = Marshal.AllocHGlobal(buffSize);

            try
            {
                ret = GetExtendedTcpTable(tcpTablePtr, ref buffSize, true, ipVersion, TCP_TABLE_CLASS.TCP_TABLE_OWNER_PID_ALL);
                if (ret != 0)
                    return new List<IPR>();

                // get the number of entries in the table
                IPT table = (IPT)Marshal.PtrToStructure(tcpTablePtr, typeof(IPT));
                int rowStructSize = Marshal.SizeOf(typeof(IPR));
                uint numEntries = (uint)dwNumEntriesField.GetValue(table);

                // buffer we will be returning
                tableRows = new IPR[numEntries];

                IntPtr rowPtr = (IntPtr)((long)tcpTablePtr + 4);
                for (int i = 0; i < numEntries; i++)
                {
                    IPR tcpRow = (IPR)Marshal.PtrToStructure(rowPtr, typeof(IPR));
                    tableRows[i] = tcpRow;
                    rowPtr = (IntPtr)((long)rowPtr + rowStructSize);   // next entry
                }
            }
            finally
            {
                result = tableRows?.ToList() ?? new List<IPR>();

                // Free the Memory
                Marshal.FreeHGlobal(tcpTablePtr);
            }

            return result;
        }

        public static string GetTcpStateName(MIB_TCP_STATE state)
        {
            switch (state)
            {
                case MIB_TCP_STATE.MIB_TCP_STATE_CLOSED:
                    return "Closed";
                case MIB_TCP_STATE.MIB_TCP_STATE_LISTEN:
                    return "Listen";
                case MIB_TCP_STATE.MIB_TCP_STATE_SYN_SENT:
                    return "SynSent";
                case MIB_TCP_STATE.MIB_TCP_STATE_SYN_RCVD:
                    return "SynReceived";
                case MIB_TCP_STATE.MIB_TCP_STATE_ESTAB:
                    return "Established";
                case MIB_TCP_STATE.MIB_TCP_STATE_FIN_WAIT1:
                    return "FinWait 1";
                case MIB_TCP_STATE.MIB_TCP_STATE_FIN_WAIT2:
                    return "FinWait 2";
                case MIB_TCP_STATE.MIB_TCP_STATE_CLOSE_WAIT:
                    return "CloseWait";
                case MIB_TCP_STATE.MIB_TCP_STATE_CLOSING:
                    return "Closing";
                case MIB_TCP_STATE.MIB_TCP_STATE_LAST_ACK:
                    return "LastAck";
                case MIB_TCP_STATE.MIB_TCP_STATE_TIME_WAIT:
                    return "TimeWait";
                case MIB_TCP_STATE.MIB_TCP_STATE_DELETE_TCB:
                    return "DeleteTCB";
                default:
                    return ((int)state).ToString();
            }
        }

        private static readonly ConcurrentDictionary<string, string> DicOfIpToHostName = new ConcurrentDictionary<string, string>();

        public const string UnknownHostName = "Unknown";

        // ******************************************************************
        public static string GetHostName(IPAddress ipAddress)
        {
            return GetHostName(ipAddress.ToString());
        }

        // ******************************************************************
        public static string GetHostName(string ipAddress)
        {
            string hostName = null;

            if (!DicOfIpToHostName.TryGetValue(ipAddress, out hostName))
            {
                try
                {
                    if (ipAddress == "0.0.0.0" || ipAddress == "::")
                    {
                        hostName = ipAddress;
                    }
                    else
                    {
                        hostName = Dns.GetHostEntry(ipAddress).HostName;
                    }
                }
                catch (Exception ex)
                {
                    Debug.Print(ex.ToString());
                    hostName = UnknownHostName;
                }

                DicOfIpToHostName[ipAddress] = hostName;
            }

            return hostName;
        }

        // ************************************************************************
        /// <summary>
        /// Will search for the an active NetworkInterafce that has a Gateway, otherwise
        /// it will fallback to try from the DNS which is not safe.
        /// </summary>
        /// <returns></returns>
        public static NetworkInterface GetMainNetworkInterface()
        {
            List<NetworkInterface> candidates = new List<NetworkInterface>();

            if (NetworkInterface.GetIsNetworkAvailable())
            {
                NetworkInterface[] NetworkInterfaces =
                    NetworkInterface.GetAllNetworkInterfaces();

                foreach (
                    NetworkInterface ni in NetworkInterfaces)
                {
                    if (ni.OperationalStatus == OperationalStatus.Up)
                        candidates.Add(ni);
                }
            }

            if (candidates.Count == 1)
            {
                return candidates[0];
            }

            // Accoring to our tech, the main NetworkInterface should have a Gateway 
            // and it should be the ony one with a gateway.
            if (candidates.Count > 1)
            {
                for (int n = candidates.Count - 1; n >= 0; n--)
                {
                    if (candidates[n].GetIPProperties().GatewayAddresses.Count == 0)
                    {
                        candidates.RemoveAt(n);
                    }
                }

                if (candidates.Count == 1)
                {
                    return candidates[0];
                }
            }

            // Fallback to try by getting my ipAdress from the dns
            IPAddress myMainIpAdress = null;
            IPHostEntry host = Dns.GetHostEntry(Dns.GetHostName());
            foreach (IPAddress ip in host.AddressList)
            {
                if (ip.AddressFamily == AddressFamily.InterNetwork) // Get the first IpV4
                {
                    myMainIpAdress = ip;
                    break;
                }
            }

            if (myMainIpAdress != null)
            {
                NetworkInterface[] NetworkInterfaces =
                    NetworkInterface.GetAllNetworkInterfaces();

                foreach (NetworkInterface ni in NetworkInterfaces)
                {
                    if (ni.OperationalStatus == OperationalStatus.Up)
                    {
                        IPInterfaceProperties props = ni.GetIPProperties();
                        foreach (UnicastIPAddressInformation ai in props.UnicastAddresses)
                        {
                            if (ai.Address.Equals(myMainIpAdress))
                            {
                                return ni;
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            }

            return null;
        }

        // ******************************************************************
        /// <summary>
        /// AddressFamily.InterNetwork = IPv4
        /// Thanks to Dr. Wilys Apprentice at
        /// http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1069103/how-to-get-the-ip-address-of-the-server-on-which-my-c-sharp-application-is-runni
        /// using System.Net.NetworkInformation;
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="mac"></param>
        /// <param name="addressFamily">AddressFamily.InterNetwork = IPv4,  AddressFamily.InterNetworkV6 = IPv6</param>
        /// <returns></returns>
        public static IPAddress GetIpFromMac(PhysicalAddress mac, AddressFamily addressFamily = AddressFamily.InterNetwork)
        {
            NetworkInterface[] NetworkInterfaces =
                NetworkInterface.GetAllNetworkInterfaces();

            foreach (NetworkInterface ni in NetworkInterfaces)
            {
                if (ni.GetPhysicalAddress().Equals(mac))
                {
                    if (ni.OperationalStatus == OperationalStatus.Up)
                    {
                        IPInterfaceProperties props = ni.GetIPProperties();
                        foreach (UnicastIPAddressInformation ai in props.UnicastAddresses)
                        {
                            if (ai.DuplicateAddressDetectionState == DuplicateAddressDetectionState.Preferred)
                            {
                                if (ai.Address.AddressFamily == addressFamily)
                                {
                                    return ai.Address;
                                }
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            }

            return null;
        }

        // ******************************************************************
        /// <summary>
        /// Return the best guess of main ipAdress. To get it in the form aaa.bbb.ccc.ffffd just call 
        /// '?.ToString() ?? ""' on the result.
        /// </summary>
        /// <returns></returns>
        public static IPAddress GetMyInternetIpAddress()
        {
            NetworkInterface ni = GetMainNetworkInterface();
            IPAddress ipAddress = GetIpFromMac(ni.GetPhysicalAddress());
            if (ipAddress == null) // could it be possible ?
            {
                ipAddress = GetIpFromMac(ni.GetPhysicalAddress(), AddressFamily.InterNetworkV6);
            }

            return ipAddress;
        }

        // ******************************************************************
        public static bool IsBroadcastAddress(IPAddress ipAddress)
        {
            if (ipAddress.AddressFamily == AddressFamily.InterNetwork)
            {
                return ipAddress.GetAddressBytes()[3] == 255;
            }

            if (ipAddress.AddressFamily == AddressFamily.InterNetworkV6)
            {
                return false; // NO broadcast in IPv6
            }

            return false;
        }

        // ******************************************************************
        public static bool IsMulticastAddress(IPAddress ipAddress)
        {
            if (ipAddress.AddressFamily == AddressFamily.InterNetwork)
            {
                // Source: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc772041(v=ws.10).aspx
                return ipAddress.GetAddressBytes()[0] >= 224 && ipAddress.GetAddressBytes()[0] <= 239;
            }

            if (ipAddress.AddressFamily == AddressFamily.InterNetworkV6)
            {
                return ipAddress.IsIPv6Multicast;
            }

            return false;
        }

        // ******************************************************************

    }
}