TRAFFIC_REPLAY(7)                User Commands               TRAFFIC_REPLAY(7)

NAME
       traffic_replay - Samba traffic generation tool.

SYNOPSIS
       traffic_replay [-F, --fixed-password <test-password>]
        [-T, --packets-per-second <number>]
        [-S, --scale-traffic <scale by factor>]
        [-r, --replay-rate <scale by factor>] [-D, --duration <seconds>]
        [--traffic-summary <output file>] [-I, --instance-id <id>]
        [-K, --prefer-kerberos] [-B, --badpassword-frequency <frequency>]
        [--dns-rate <rate>] [-t, --timing-data <file>] [--random-seed <seed>]
        [-U, --username user] [--password <password>]
        [-W --workgroup <workgroup>] [--realm <realm>]
        [-s, --config-file <file>] [-k, --kerberos <kerberos>]
        [--ipaddress <address>] [-P, --machine-pass] [--option <option>]
        [-d, --debuglevel <debug level>] [--conversation-persistence <0-1>]
        [--latency-timeout <seconds>] [--stop-on-any-error] {summary-file}
        {dns-hostname}

       traffic_replay [-G, --generate-users-only]
        [-F, --fixed-password <test-password>]
        [-n, --number-of-users <total users>]
        [--number-of-groups <total groups>]
        [--average-groups-per-user <average number>]
        [--group-memberships <total memberships>] [--max-members <group size>]
        {dns-hostname}

       traffic_replay {-c|--clean-up} {dns-hostname}

       traffic_replay [-h, --help] [-V, --version]

DESCRIPTION
       This tool is part of the samba(7) suite.

       This tool generates traffic in order to measure the performance of a
       Samba DC, and to test how well Samba will scale as a network increases
       in size. It can simulate multiple different hosts making multiple
       different types of requests to a DC.

       This tool is intended to run against a dedicated test DC (rather than a
       live DC that is handling real network traffic).

       Note that a side-effect of running this tool is that user accounts will
       be created on the DC, in order to test various Samba operations. As
       creating accounts can be very time-consuming, these users will remain
       on the DC by default. To remove these accounts, use the --clean-up
       option.

OPTIONS
       -h|--help
           Print a summary of command line options.

       summary-file
           File containing the network traffic to replay. This should be a
           traffic-model (generated by traffic_learner). Based on this file,
           this tool will generate 'conversations' which represent Samba
           activity between a network host and the DC.

       dns-hostname
           The full DNS hostname of the DC that's being tested. The Samba
           activity in the summary-file will be replicated and directed at
           this DC. It's recommended that you use a dedicated DC for testing
           and don't try to run this tool against a DC that's processing live
           network traffic.

       -F|--fixed-password <test-password>
           Test users are created when this tool is run, so that actual Samba
           activity, such as authorizing users, can be mimicked. This option
           specifies the password that will be used for any test users that
           are created.

           Note that any users created by this tool will remain on the DC
           until you run the --clean-up option. Therefore, the fixed-password
           option needs to be the same each time the tool is run, otherwise
           the test users won't authenticate correctly.

       random-seed
           A number to seed the random number generator with. When traffic is
           generated from a model-file, use this option to keep the traffic
           consistent across multiple test runs. This allows you to compare
           the performance of Samba between different releases.

       Traffic Model Options
           When the summary-file is a traffic-model (produced by
           traffic_learner), use these options to alter the traffic that gets
           generated.

           -D|--duration <seconds>
               Specifies the approximate duration in seconds to generate
               traffic for. The default is 60 seconds.

           -T|--packets-per-second <number>
               Generate this many packets per second, regardless of the
               traffic rate of the sample on which the model was based. This
               cannot be used with -S.

           -S|--scale-traffic <factor>
               Increases the number of conversations by this factor, relative
               to the original traffic sample on which the model was based.
               This option won't affect the rate at which packets get sent
               (which is still based on the traffic model), but it will mean
               more conversations get replayed. It cannot be combined with -T,
               which sets the traffic rate in a different way.

           -r|--replay-rate <factor>
               Replays the traffic faster by this factor. This option won't
               affect the number of packets sent, but it will squeeze them
               into fewer conversations, which may reduce resource usage.

           --traffic-summary <output-file>
               Instead of replaying a traffic-model, this option generates a
               traffic-summary file based on what traffic would be sent. Using
               a traffic-model allows you to scale the packet rate and number
               of packets sent. However, using a traffic-model introduces some
               randomness into the traffic generation. So running the same
               traffic_replay command multiple times using a model file may
               result in some differences in the actual traffic sent. However,
               running the same traffic_replay command multiple times with a
               traffic-summary file will always result in the same traffic
               being sent.

               For taking performance measurements over several test runs,
               it's recommended to use this option and replay the traffic from
               a traffic-summary file, or to use the --random-seed option.

           --stop-on-any-error
               Any client error causes the whole run to stop.

           --conversation-persistence <0-1>
               Conversation termination (as decided by the model) is
               re-interpreted as a long pause with this probability.

           --latency-timeout <seconds>
               Wait this long at the end of the run for outstanding reply
               packets. The number of conversations that have not finished at
               the end of the timeout is a failure metric.

       --generate-users-only
           Add extra user/groups on the DC to increase the DB size. By
           default, this tool automatically creates test users that map to the
           traffic conversations being generated. This option allows extra
           users to be created on top of this. Note that these extra users may
           not actually used for traffic generation - the traffic generation
           is still based on the number of conversations from the
           model/summary file.

           Generating a large number of users can take a long time, so it this
           option allows this to be done only once.

           Note that the users created will remain on the DC until the tool is
           run with the --clean-up option. This means that it is best to only
           assign group memberships once, i.e. run --clean-up before assigning
           a different allocation of group memberships.

           -n|--number-of-users <total-users>
               Specifies the total number of test users to create (excluding
               any machine accounts required for the traffic). Note that these
               extra users simply populate the DC's DB - the actual user
               traffic generated is still based on the summary-file.

           --number-of-groups <total-groups>
               Creates the specified number of groups, for assigning the test
               users to. Note that users are not automatically assigned to
               groups - use either --average-groups-per-user or
               --group-memberships to do this.

           --average-groups-per-user <average-groups>
               Randomly assigns the test users to the test groups created. The
               group memberships are distributed so that the overall average
               groups that a user is member of matches this number. Some users
               will belong to more groups and some users will belong to fewer
               groups. This option is incompatible with the --group-membership
               option.

           --group-memberships <total-memberships>
               Randomly assigns the test users to the test groups created. The
               group memberships are distributed so that the total groups that
               a user is member of, across all users, matches this number. For
               example, with 100 users and 10 groups, --group-memberships=300
               would assign a user to 3 groups on average. Some users will
               belong to more groups and some users will belong to fewer
               groups, but the total of all member linked attributes would be
               300. This option is incompatible with the
               --average-groups-per-user option.

           --max-members <group size>
               Limit the largest group to this size, even if the other group
               options would have it otherwise.


       --clean-up
           Cleans up any users and groups that were created by previously
           running this tool. It is recommended you always clean up after
           running the tool.

       -I|--instance-id <id>
           Use this option to run multiple instances of the tool on the same
           DC at the same time. This adds a prefix to the test users generated
           to keep them separate on the DC.

       -K|--prefer-kerberos
           Use Kerberos to authenticate the test users.

       -B|--badpassword-frequency <frequency>
           Use this option to simulate users trying to authenticate with an
           incorrect password.

       --dns-rate <rate>
           Increase the rate at which DNS packets get sent.

       -t|--timing-data <file>
           This writes extra timing data to the file specified. This is mostly
           used for reporting options, such as generating graphs.

       Samba Common Options

           -d|--debuglevel=DEBUGLEVEL
               level is an integer from 0 to 10. The default value if this
               parameter is not specified is 1 for client applications.

               The higher this value, the more detail will be logged to the
               log files about the activities of the server. At level 0, only
               critical errors and serious warnings will be logged. Level 1 is
               a reasonable level for day-to-day running - it generates a
               small amount of information about operations carried out.

               Levels above 1 will generate considerable amounts of log data,
               and should only be used when investigating a problem. Levels
               above 3 are designed for use only by developers and generate
               HUGE amounts of log data, most of which is extremely cryptic.

               Note that specifying this parameter here will override the log
               level parameter in the /etc/samba/smb.conf file.

           --debug-stdout
               This will redirect debug output to STDOUT. By default all
               clients are logging to STDERR.

           --configfile=<configuration file>
               The file specified contains the configuration details required
               by the client. The information in this file can be general for
               client and server or only provide client specific like options
               such as client smb encrypt. See /etc/samba/smb.conf for more
               information. The default configuration file name is determined
               at compile time.

           --option=<name>=<value>
               Set the smb.conf(5) option "<name>" to value "<value>" from the
               command line. This overrides compiled-in defaults and options
               read from the configuration file. If a name or a value includes
               a space, wrap whole --option=name=value into quotes.

           --realm=REALM
               Set the realm name

           -V|--version
               Prints the program version number.


       Credential Options

           --simple-bind-dn=DN
               DN to use for a simple bind

           --password=PASSWORD
               Password

           -U USERNAME|--username=USERNAME
               Username

           -W WORKGROUP|--workgroup=WORKGROUP
               Workgroup

           --use-kerberos=desired|required|off
               This parameter determines whether Samba client tools will try
               to authenticate using Kerberos. For Kerberos authentication you
               need to use dns names instead of IP addresses when connecting
               to a service.

               Note that specifying this parameter here will override the
               client use kerberos parameter in the /etc/samba/smb.conf file.

           --ipaddress=IPADDRESS
               IP address of the server

           -P|--machine-pass
               Use stored machine account password.


OPERATIONS
   Generating a traffic-summary file
       To use this tool, you need either a traffic-summary file or a
       traffic-model file. To generate either of these files, you will need a
       packet capture of actual Samba activity on your network.

       Use Wireshark to take a packet capture on your network of the traffic
       you want to generate. For example, if you want to simulate lots of
       users logging on, then take a capture at 8:30am when users are logging
       in.

       Next, you need to convert your packet capture into a traffic summary
       file, using traffic_summary.pl. Basically this removes any sensitive
       information from the capture and summarizes what type of packet was
       sent and when.

       Refer to the traffic_summary.pl --help help for more details, but the
       basic command will look something like:

       tshark -r capture.pcapng -T pdml | traffic_summary.pl >
       traffic-summary.txt

   Replaying a traffic-summary file
       Once you have a traffic-summary file, you can use it to generate
       traffic. The traffic_replay tool gets passed the traffic-summary file,
       along with the full DNS hostname of the DC being tested. You also need
       to provide some user credentials, and possibly the Samba realm and
       workgroup (although the realm and workgroup may be determined
       automatically, for example from the /etc/smb.conf file, if one is
       present). E.g.

       traffic_replay traffic-summary.txt my-dc.samdom.example.com
       -UAdmin%password -W samdom --realm=samdom.example.com
       --fixed-password=blahblah123!

       This simply regenerates Samba activity seen in the traffic summary. The
       traffic is grouped into 'conversations' between a host and the DC. A
       user and machine account is created on the DC for each conversation, in
       order to allow logon and other operations to succeed. The script
       generates the same types of packets as those seen in the summary.

       Creating users can be quite a time-consuming process, especially if a
       lot of conversations are being generated. To save time, the test users
       remain on the DC by default. You will need to run the --clean-up option
       to remove them, once you have finished generating traffic. Because the
       same test users are used across multiple runs of the tool, a consistent
       password for these users needs to be used - this is specified by the
       --fixed-password option.

       The benefit of this tool over simply using tcprelay is that the traffic
       generated is independent of any specific network. No setup is needed
       beforehand on the test DC. The traffic no longer contains sensitive
       details, so the traffic summary could be potentially shared with other
       Samba developers.

       However, replaying a traffic-summary directly is somewhat limited in
       what you can actually do. A more flexible approach is to generate the
       traffic using a model file.

   Generating a traffic-model file
       To create a traffic-model file, simply pass the traffic-summary file to
       the traffic_learner script. E.g.

       traffic_learner traffic-summary.txt -o traffic-model.txt

       This generates a model of the Samba activity in your network. This
       model-file can now be used to generate traffic.

   Replaying the traffic-model file
       Packet generation using a traffic-model file uses the same command as a
       traffic-summary file, e.g.

       traffic_replay traffic-model.txt my-dc.samdom.example.com
       -UAdmin%password

       By default, this will generate 60 seconds worth of traffic based on the
       model. You can specify longer using the --duration parameter.

       The traffic generated is an approximation of what was seen in the
       network capture. The traffic generation involves some randomness, so
       running the same command multiple times may result in slightly
       different traffic being generated (although you can avoid this, by
       specifying the --random-seed option).

       As well as changing how long the model runs for, you can also change
       how many conversations get generated and how fast the traffic gets
       replayed. To roughly double the number of conversations that get
       replayed, use --scale-traffic=2 or to approximately halve the number
       use --scale-traffic=0.5. To approximately double how quickly the
       conversations get replayed, use --replay-rate=2, or to halve this use
       --replay-rate=0.5

       For example, to generate approximately 10 times the amount of traffic
       seen over a two-minute period (based on the network capture), use:

       traffic_replay traffic-model.txt my-dc.samdom.example.com
       -UAdmin%password --fixed-password=blahblah123! --scale-traffic=10
       --duration=120

   Scaling the number of users
       The performance of a Samba DC running a small subset of test users will
       be different to a fully-populated Samba DC running in a network. As the
       number of users increases, the size of the DB increases, and a very
       large DB will perform worse than a smaller DB.

       To increase the size of the Samba DB, this tool can also create extra
       users and groups. These extra users are basically 'filler' for the DB.
       They won't actually be used to generate traffic, but they may slow down
       authentication of the test users.

       For example, to populate the DB with an extra 5000 users (note this
       will take a while), use the command:

       traffic_replay my-dc.samdom.example.com -UAdmin%password
       --generate-users-only --fixed-password=blahblah123!
       --number-of-users=5000

       You can also create groups and assign users to groups. The users can be
       randomly assigned to groups - this includes any extra users created as
       well as the users that map to conversations. Use either
       --average-groups-per-user or --group-memberships to specify how many
       group memberships should be assigned to the test users.

       For example, to assign the users in the replayed conversations into 10
       groups on average, use a command like:

       traffic_replay traffic-model.txt my-dc.samdom.example.com
       -UAdmin%password --fixed-password=blahblah123! --generate-users-only
       --number-of-groups=25 --average-groups-per-user=10

       The users created by the test will have names like STGU-0-xyz. The
       groups generated have names like STGG-0-xyz.

VERSION
       This man page is complete for version 4.20.0 of the Samba suite.

SEE ALSO
       traffic_learner(7).

AUTHOR
       The original Samba software and related utilities were created by
       Andrew Tridgell. Samba is now developed by the Samba Team as an Open
       Source project similar to the way the Linux kernel is developed.

       The traffic_replay tool was developed by the Samba team at Catalyst IT
       Ltd.

       The traffic_replay manpage was written by Tim Beale.

Samba 4.20.0                      04/14/2024                 TRAFFIC_REPLAY(7)