THE ENGINE UNDER THE HOOD

Packet Capture SDKs
for Java

Two SDKs. One for maximum performance. One for maximum portability. Both share the same token-stream architecture — the same foundation that powers Lynx, Sentinel, Quarry, and the Vantage Platform.

jNetWorks SDK jNetPcap SDK
jNetWorksjNetPcap
Throughput800 Gbps targetlibpcap speed (kernel-limited)
Capture engineDPDK, Napatech, libpcaplibpcap only
Protocol analysisL2–L7 (100+ protocols, in progress)L2–L4 core protocols (expanding)
Token streamFull — out-of-band, line rateCore tokens included
Zero-copyFull (kernel bypass)Native memory access
PlatformLinux (DPDK/Napatech require it)Linux, Windows, macOS
LicenseApache 2.0 (core) + CommercialApache 2.0 — open source
Choose Your SDK

Same Foundation. Different Scale.

Both SDKs share the same protocol dissection engine, spec lifecycle, and token stream format. Start where your requirements are today. Upgrade without rewriting.

High Performance

jNetWorks

Designed for 800 Gbps line-rate capture with DPDK and Napatech SmartNIC backends and full L2–L7 dissection. The out-of-band token stream feeds Lynx, persistent storage, and ML pipelines simultaneously — without touching the packet path. Core API is Apache 2.0; hardware backends are commercial.

  • ✓ DPDK and Napatech backends
  • ✓ libpcap backend, Apache 2.0
  • → Full L2–L7, 100+ protocols — in progress
  • → Token stream: IDS, flow, TLS, ML, custom — in progress
  • → Quarry native, RDMA block storage — planned
  • ✓ Linux · Apache 2.0 + Commercial
Full Details Configure License
Portable & Open

jNetPcap

The original Java packet library. libpcap wrapper with L2–L4 protocol dissection, expanding toward full coverage. 17+ years, 1M+ installs, Fortune 500 deployments. Cross-platform, open source, fluent modern API built on Java 22+ Panama FFI. Version 3.0.0 is on Maven Central under Apache 2.0.

  • ✓ Linux · Windows · macOS
  • ✓ libpcap via Panama FFI
  • ✓ L2–L4 dissection (expanding), zero-copy access
  • ✓ Core token stream included
  • ✓ 17+ years · 1M+ installs
  • ✓ Apache 2.0 — free & open source
Full Details GitHub
Start with jNetPcap. Scale to jNetWorks.
Same token stream. Same dissection engine. No rewrite.

Both SDKs share the same protocol packs and token format by design, so application logic, analyzer plugins, and token consumers carry forward when you change backends. jNetPcap is released today; jNetWorks hardware backends are available commercially.

jNetWorks Architecture → jNetPcap Documentation →

Ready to Build?

jNetPcap is free and open source on Maven Central. Talk to us about jNetWorks hardware backends.

Configure & Price jNetPcap on GitHub Talk to an Engineer