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NetMonitor Project Roadmap

This roadmap outlines the path from initial scaffolding to a production-ready Linux network monitoring utility.

Phase 1: Foundation (Infrastructure & eBPF Core)

Goal: Establish the communication bridge between the Linux Kernel and Rust.

  • Project Scaffolding: Initialize Cargo workspace, documentation structure, and Git repository.
  • Toolchain Configuration: Setup rust-toolchain.toml for nightly/stable selection and install bpf-linker.
  • eBPF Build System (xtask): Implement an xtask to automate eBPF compilation and userspace execution (Standard aya workflow).
  • Kernel Scaffolding: Create the initial eBPF program with kprobes for tcp_sendmsg and udp_sendmsg.
  • Data Pipeline: Implement BPF Maps (Hash Maps) to store bandwidth stats per PID.
  • Observability: Integrate aya-log for kernel-space logging and debugging.
  • Capability Management: Implement logic to verify CAP_BPF and CAP_NET_ADMIN at startup.
  • Embedded Bytecode: Configure include_bytes! to bundle the eBPF object into the Rust binary.

Phase 2: MVP (Core Features & TUI)

Goal: A functional Terminal UI displaying real-time process bandwidth.

  • Process Resolver: Build a /proc crawler to map PIDs to human-readable application names.
  • TUI Scaffolding: Initialize Ratatui with a basic layout (Header, Process Table, Footer).
  • Real-time Refresh: Implement a 1Hz (or higher) refresh loop that pulls data from BPF maps.
  • Sorting & Filtering: Add ability to sort by "Upload"/"Download" and filter by process name.
  • Cumulative Stats: Track total data consumed since the application started.
  • TUI Polish: Make the UI more beautiful with advanced Ratatui widgets (Sparklines, Alignment, Dialogs).

Phase 3: Advanced Power-User Features (Completed)

Goal: Add intelligence, control, and deep-packet insights.

  • The "Kill-Switch": Implement the k hotkey to send SIGKILL to a selected bandwidth-hogging process.
  • Protocol Expansion: Implement udp_sendmsg and icmp tracking to cover non-TCP traffic.
  • Connection Deep-Dive: Add a "Socket View" to see individual IP:Port connections for a specific PID.
  • Reverse DNS Resolution: Resolve destination IPs to hostnames (e.g., 172.217.16.14 -> google.com).
  • Geo-IP & ASN Mapping: Map IPs to countries and organizations (e.g., "Dublin, IE - Amazon.com").
  • Protocol Heuristics: Identify common traffic types (HTTPS, DNS, SSH, Bittorrent) based on port and pattern analysis.
  • Traffic Persistence: Save and reload session history to track bandwidth across app restarts.
  • Interactive Graphs: Full-screen historical graph mode for specific processes.
  • Smart Alerts: System notifications for when a process exceeds a defined bandwidth threshold.
  • Help Overlay: A dedicated ? screen explaining all keybindings and features.
  • TUI Refinement:
    • Custom Themes: Support for selectable color schemes (e.g., Dracula, Solarized, Monokai).
    • Mouse Support: Basic click-to-select and scroll support for the process table.
    • Extended Mouse Support: Clickable table headers for sorting and interactive dialog elements.
    • Time-Travel/Historical Analysis: Ability to select specific time frames from the database to analyze past network activity.
    • Global Dashboard (Overall View): Comprehensive system-wide analysis with aggregated protocol stats, top-talkers, and network health metrics.
    • Tabbed Navigation: Implement a tabbed interface to seamlessly switch between "Global Dashboard", "Process Monitor", and "Alerts".
    • Graph UI Overhaul: Enhanced visualization with better axes, legends, and multi-process overlay support with logarithmic scaling.
    • Adaptive Theming: Support for terminal default colors (transparency/ANSI) and system-wide theme detection.
  • Persistent Configuration: Implement ~/.config/netmonitor/config.toml for saving user preferences and thresholds.
  • Container & Service Context: Resolve and display systemd service, Docker container, and K8s pod names for PIDs.
  • Active Traffic Shaping: "Throttling" process bandwidth directly from the TUI using cgroup_skb eBPF.
  • Writing the ReadMe: Comprehensive documentation of new features, configuration, and advanced usage.
  • Phase 3 Final Review: A comprehensive, project-wide code review and refactor session to ensure stability before Phase 4.

Phase 4: Stability & Testing (Current)

Goal: Professional-grade reliability and automated verification.

  • Automated Testing Suite:
    • Implement unit tests for userspace logic (Resolver, Config, TUI state).
    • Implement eBPF integration tests (using aya-test or similar).
  • Headless Data Exporting: Implement --json and --csv output modes for scripting/automation.
  • Performance Audit: Verify CPU usage remains <1% under heavy network load.
  • CO-RE Validation: Test the binary on multiple kernel versions (BTF support).
  • Headless Mode: Implement a mode for JSON/CSV output or Prometheus exporting.
  • Background Mode: Implement netmonitord (Systemd service) for continuous logging.
  • CI/CD Pipeline: Setup GitHub Actions for automated linting (clippy), formatting (fmt), and workspace testing.
  • Automated Packaging: Integrate cargo-deb to generate .deb artifacts in CI/CD and xtask.
  • Documentation Expansion:
    • Create initial man pages for terminal-based help.
    • Generate API/Kernel technical specifications.
  • Milestone: Tag v0.1.0-beta.1 (Beta Release)

Phase 5: Beta Feedback & Refinement

Goal: Getting NetMonitor into the hands of early users for real-world testing.

  • Community Feedback Loop: Establish a Beta/Release Candidate (RC) phase for real-world user feedback.
  • Packaging Validation:
    • Verify .deb package installs across different Debian/Ubuntu versions.
    • Test static binary portability.
  • User Manual: Finalize a compelling README.md with high-quality GIFs and usage examples.

Phase 6: Hardening & Ecosystem

Goal: Long-term sustainability, security, and official stable release.

  • Security Audit: Detailed review of eBPF capability usage and memory safety in userspace.
  • Graceful Degradation: Implement fallback logic for legacy kernels or missing system dependencies.
  • Least Privilege Hardening: Ensure the application runs with the absolute minimum required Linux capabilities.
  • Open Source Readiness: Draft CONTRIBUTING.md and establish public issue tracking.
  • Maintenance Strategy: Define the release cycle and LTS (Long Term Support) goals.
  • Milestone: Tag v0.1.0 (Official Stable Release & Distribution)