How to get the IP address of the server on which my C# application is running on?

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?

Someon

Answer 1

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).

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

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

    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;
}

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

/// 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;
/// 
/// 
/// AddressFamily.InterNetwork = IPv4,  AddressFamily.InterNetworkV6 = IPv6
/// 
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;
}

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

/// Return the best guess of main ipAdress. To get it in the form aaa.bbb.ccc.ffffd just call 
/// '?.ToString() ?? ""' on the result.
/// 
/// 
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 GetAllUDPConnections()
        {
            return GetUDPConnections (AF_INET);
        }

        public static List GetAllUDPv6Connections()
        {
            return GetUDPConnections(AF_INET6);
        }

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

                // 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();

                // 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> GetAllTCPConnectionsAsync()
        {
            return Task.Run(() => GetTCPConnections(AF_INET));
        }

        public static List GetAllTCPConnections()
        {
            return GetTCPConnections(AF_INET);
        }

        public static Task> GetAllTCPv6ConnectionsAsync()
        {
            return Task.Run(()=>GetTCPConnections(AF_INET6));
        }

        public static List GetAllTCPv6Connections()
        {
            return GetTCPConnections(AF_INET6);
        }

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

                // 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();

                // 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 DicOfIpToHostName = new ConcurrentDictionary();

        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;
        }

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

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

            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;
        }

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

        /// 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;
        /// 
        /// 
        /// AddressFamily.InterNetwork = IPv4,  AddressFamily.InterNetworkV6 = IPv6
        /// 
        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;
        }

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

        /// Return the best guess of main ipAdress. To get it in the form aaa.bbb.ccc.ffffd just call 
        /// '?.ToString() ?? ""' on the result.
        /// 
        /// 
        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;
        }

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

    }
}