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hdds_viewer Network Analyzer

hdds_viewer is a military-grade observability tool for DDS/RTPS networks. It provides real-time capture, ML-powered anomaly detection, and visual debugging for robotics, defense, automotive, and medical applications.

Features

  • Live capture - Record DDS traffic in real-time
  • PCAP import - Analyze existing network captures
  • ML anomaly detection - 15 automated detection rules
  • QoS advisor - Detect DDS misconfigurations
  • Visual topology - Interactive node graph
  • Timeline analysis - Latency tracking with percentiles
  • Multi-format export - JSON, CSV, YAML, Markdown

Quick Start

# Install
cargo install hdds-viewer

# Open a capture file (GUI mode)
hdds-viewer capture.hddscap

# Headless analysis with JSON output
hdds-viewer --analyze capture.hddscap --format json

# Live capture
hdds-viewer --live

CLI Options

hdds-viewer [OPTIONS] [FILE]

Arguments:
[FILE] Path to .hddscap file to analyze

Options:
-a, --analyze Run headless analysis (no GUI)
-f, --format <FMT> Output format: json, yaml, text (default: text)
--dump-features Dump ML features to CSV
-h, --help Print help
-V, --version Print version

Exit Codes

CodeMeaning
0No issues detected
1Low severity anomalies
2Medium severity anomalies
3High severity anomalies
4Critical issues or file errors

Capture Formats

FormatExtensionDescription
HDDSCAP.hddscapNative format, optimized for ML analysis
PCAP.pcap, .pcapngWireshark-compatible network capture

ML Detection Rules

hdds_viewer implements 15 detection rules for DDS-specific anomalies:

RuleDescriptionSeverity
GC SpikePeriodic latency from garbage collectionMedium-High
Cascade FailureDownstream failures from upstream issuesCritical
Deadline ViolationDDS Deadline QoS not metHigh
Resource ExhaustionMemory/CPU depletion predictionCritical
Periodic PatternRegular timing patterns (informational)Low

See full detection rules →

GUI Panels

PanelPurpose
Frame TableBrowse messages with filtering
TopologyInteractive node graph
TimelineLatency analysis with p50/p95/p99
QoS AdvisorConfiguration issue detection
MetricsThroughput and latency dashboards
InspectorPayload hex/JSON view

Performance

  • Write throughput: 625 MB/s
  • Message ingestion: 41M msg/s
  • UI framerate: 60 FPS at all message rates
  • Memory: Adaptive sampling for large captures

Themes

8 built-in themes including Dark Pro, Cyberpunk, High Contrast, and more.

Next Steps