WebSocket Server and Client with UDP Broadcasting

This project demonstrates a WebSocket server and client application pair written in C++. The server broadcasts messages received from clients to all connected clients using WebSocket (TCP) and allows the client to broadcast these messages over UDP to a specified endpoint.

Requirements

• C++ compiler that supports C++11 or later
• Boost C++ Libraries (specifically Boost.Asio)
• websocketpp library

Setup and Compilation

1. Install Dependencies:

   • Ensure you have Boost installed. If not, you can download it from Boost website and follow their installation instructions.
   • websocketpp can be downloaded or cloned from its GitHub repository.

2. Compilation:

   • Compile websocket_server.cpp and websocket_client.cpp with your C++ compiler. For example, using g++:

     g++ -std=c++11 -I path/to/websocketpp -lboost_system -lboost_thread websocket_server.cpp -o websocket_server
     g++ -std=c++11 -I path/to/websocketpp -lboost_system -lboost_thread websocket_client.cpp -o websocket_client

   • Compile websocket_msg_server.cpp and websocket_msg_client.cpp similarly:

     g++ -std=c++11 -I path/to/websocketpp -lboost_system -lboost_thread websocket_msg_server.cpp -o websocket_msg_server
     g++ -std=c++11 -I path/to/websocketpp -lboost_system -lboost_thread websocket_msg_client.cpp -o websocket_msg_client

WebSocket Server (websocket_server.cpp)

Usage

1. Running the WebSocket Server:

   • Run the compiled websocket_server executable. It listens on port 9002 by default.

     ./websocket_server

   • The server accepts WebSocket connections from clients and broadcasts received messages to all connected clients.

2. Connection Method:

   • The server initializes a WebSocket server using websocketpp with Boost.Asio configuration (asio_no_tls).
   • It listens for WebSocket connections on port 9002.

3. Threading:

   • Threading is managed internally within the WebSocket server using std::thread. The run() method starts a separate thread for the WebSocket server event loop (m_server.run()).

4. Protocols Used:

   • WebSocket (TCP): The server communicates with WebSocket clients using the WebSocket protocol over TCP/IP.

Explanation

• WebSocket Server Initialization (WebSocketServer class in websocket_server.cpp):

  • Initializes a WebSocket server using websocketpp and Boost.Asio (websocketpp::config::asio).
  • Handles WebSocket connection events (on_open, on_close, on_message) to manage client connections and message broadcasting.

• Event Handlers (WebSocketServer class):

  • on_open(connection_hdl hdl): Called when a new WebSocket connection is established. Adds the connection to the list of active connections.
  • on_close(connection_hdl hdl): Called when a WebSocket connection is closed. Removes the connection from the list of active connections.
  • on_message(connection_hdl hdl, server::message_ptr msg): Called when a message is received from a WebSocket client. Broadcasts the message to all connected clients.

• Thread Management:

  • Uses std::thread to manage concurrent execution of WebSocket server operations (m_server.run()).

WebSocket Client (websocket_client.cpp)

Usage

1. Running the WebSocket Client:

   • Run the compiled websocket_client executable. Ensure it is provided with appropriate command-line arguments.

     ./websocket_client

   • The client connects to the WebSocket server (ws://localhost:9002 by default) and broadcasts received messages over UDP to 127.0.0.1:9003.

2. Connection Method:

   • The client establishes a WebSocket connection (ws://localhost:9002) using the websocketpp library's asio_client configuration.

3. Threading:

   • Threading is managed internally within the WebSocket client using std::thread. The run() method starts a separate thread for the WebSocket client event loop (m_client.run()).

4. Protocols Used:

   • WebSocket (TCP): The client communicates with the WebSocket server using the WebSocket protocol over TCP/IP.
   • UDP: Received WebSocket messages are broadcasted over UDP to the specified endpoint (127.0.0.1:9003).

Explanation

• WebSocket Client Initialization (WebSocketClient class in websocket_client.cpp):

  • Initializes a WebSocket client using websocketpp and Boost.Asio (websocketpp::config::asio_client).
  • Connects to the WebSocket server (ws://localhost:9002 by default).
  • Sets up UDP socket (boost::asio::ip::udp::socket) and endpoint (boost::asio::ip::udp::endpoint) for broadcasting received WebSocket messages.

• Event Handlers (WebSocketClient class):

  • on_open(websocketpp::connection_hdl hdl): Triggered when the WebSocket connection is established.
  • on_message(websocketpp::connection_hdl hdl, client::message_ptr msg): Triggered when a message is received from the WebSocket server. Broadcasts the message over UDP.

• Thread Management:

  • Uses std::thread to manage concurrent execution of WebSocket client operations (m_client.run()).

WebSocket Server with Message Logging (websocket_msg_server.cpp)

Usage

1. Running the WebSocket Message Server:

   • Run the compiled websocket_msg_server executable. It listens on port 9002 by default.

     ./websocket_msg_server

   • The server accepts WebSocket connections from clients, logs received messages, and broadcasts them to all connected clients.

2. Logging Messages:

   • The server logs the body of each message received from clients.

Explanation

• WebSocket Server Initialization (WebSocketMsgServer class in websocket_msg_server.cpp):

  • Initializes a WebSocket server using websocketpp and Boost.Asio (websocketpp::config::asio).
  • Handles WebSocket connection events (on_open, on_close, on_message) to manage client connections, log received messages, and broadcast messages to all connected clients.

• Event Handlers (WebSocketMsgServer class):

  • on_open(connection_hdl hdl): Called when a new WebSocket connection is established. Adds the connection to the list of active connections.
  • on_close(connection_hdl hdl): Called when a WebSocket connection is closed. Removes the connection from the list of active connections.
  • on_message(connection_hdl hdl, server::message_ptr msg): Called when a message is received from a WebSocket client. Logs the message body and broadcasts it to all connected clients.

WebSocket Client with UDP and WebSocket Broadcasting (websocket_msg_client.cpp)

Usage

1. Running the WebSocket Message Client:

   • Run the compiled websocket_msg_client executable.

     ./websocket_msg_client

   • The client connects to the WebSocket server (ws://localhost:9002 by default) and broadcasts received messages over UDP to 127.0.0.1:9003.

2. Broadcasting Messages:

   • The client sends input messages over UDP and WebSocket and consumes broadcasted messages from the server.

Explanation

• WebSocket Client Initialization (WebSocketMsgClient class in websocket_msg_client.cpp):

  • Initializes a WebSocket client using websocketpp and Boost.Asio (websocketpp::config::asio_client).
  • Connects to the WebSocket server (ws://localhost:9002 by default).
  • Sets up UDP socket (boost::asio::ip::udp::socket) and endpoint (boost::asio::ip::udp::endpoint) for broadcasting received WebSocket messages.

• Event Handlers (WebSocketMsgClient class):

  • on_open(websocketpp::connection_hdl hdl): Triggered when the WebSocket connection is established.
  • on_message(websocketpp::connection_hdl hdl, client::message_ptr msg): Triggered when a message is received from the WebSocket server. Logs and broadcasts the message over UDP.

• Thread Management:

  • Uses std::thread to manage concurrent execution of WebSocket client operations (m_client.run()).

• Additional Functionality:

  • Logs received messages.
  • Handles input from the console and sends it over both UDP and WebSocket.

Summary

This project demonstrates a WebSocket server-client pair where the server broadcasts messages to all connected clients, and the client broadcasts received messages over UDP. The enhanced versions (websocket_msg_server.cpp and websocket_msg_client.cpp) include logging of received messages and functionality to send and consume messages over both.