IP_Resolver_Utility

Snippet Name: IP_Resolver_Utility

Tags:

Created Date: 2025-06-16 13:12:49
Last Modified Date: 2025-05-31 10:32:16

Dependencies:

DBA Notes:

Sample Output:

Title: IP Resolver Utility
Author: user
help me write a utility  similar to fastresolver.exe, which quickly interrogates every IP in a given range, say 10.0.0.1 to 10.0.0.255. it tries to resovle the IP address, Hostname,OriginalName,Mac Address And Company name(of the nic card?)  I would like it to have an enhancement where if it finds the mac address from a previous scan, it populates any empty values from the previous scan. that way, in my example, where i found 10.0.0.7 had a specific mac address, and I knew what the device was, i could update teh history witht he Hostname, so my scans are more clear in the future

Author: ChatGPT
That???s a great project idea! I can help you write a **Python utility script** that works like a lightweight `FastResolver.exe`.  

It will do the following:  
??? Scan an IP range (like `10.0.0.1-10.0.0.255`)  
??? Resolve **IP ??? Hostname**  
??? Get **MAC address** (using ARP or similar methods)  
??? Look up **Vendor / Company name** from MAC (via local OUI file or online API)  
??? Save results into a **history file** (like JSON or CSV)  
??? On future runs, **populate missing fields from history**

Here???s a clear starting point:

---

### ???? Requirements

- Python 3.x  
- `scapy` ??? for ARP ping + MAC detection  
- `socket` ??? for DNS reverse lookup  
- `requests` ??? if we use an external API for MAC vendor lookup  
- Local JSON file ??? for history

You can install dependencies:
```bash
pip install scapy requests
```

---

### ???? Script skeleton

```python
import json
import socket
import ipaddress
import subprocess
from scapy.all import ARP, Ether, srp
import requests

HISTORY_FILE = 'scan_history.json'

# Load or initialize history
def load_history():
    try:
        with open(HISTORY_FILE, 'r') as f:
            return json.load(f)
    except FileNotFoundError:
        return {}

def save_history(history):
    with open(HISTORY_FILE, 'w') as f:
        json.dump(history, f, indent=2)

# Get MAC vendor using external API (can be swapped for local DB)
def get_mac_vendor(mac):
    try:
        resp = requests.get(f'https://api.macvendors.com/{mac}')
        if resp.status_code == 200:
            return resp.text
    except:
        pass
    return None

# Resolve hostname
def resolve_hostname(ip):
    try:
        return socket.gethostbyaddr(ip)[0]
    except socket.herror:
        return None

# Scan IP range
def scan_ip_range(network):
    history = load_history()
    arp = ARP(pdst=network)
    ether = Ether(dst="ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff")
    packet = ether/arp
    result = srp(packet, timeout=2, verbose=0)[0]

    scan_results = {}

    for sent, received in result:
        ip = received.psrc
        mac = received.hwsrc
        hostname = resolve_hostname(ip)
        vendor = get_mac_vendor(mac)

        if mac in history:
            # Fill missing from history
            previous = history[mac]
            hostname = hostname or previous.get('hostname')
            vendor = vendor or previous.get('vendor')

        scan_results[mac] = {
            'ip': ip,
            'hostname': hostname,
            'vendor': vendor
        }

    # Update history
    history.update(scan_results)
    save_history(history)

    return scan_results

def main():
    # Example range: 10.0.0.1/24
    network = '10.0.0.1/24'
    results = scan_ip_range(network)

    print(f"{'IP':15} {'Hostname':30} {'MAC':20} {'Vendor'}")
    print('-' * 80)
    for mac, info in results.items():
        print(f"{info['ip']:15} {info['hostname'] or '':30} {mac:20} {info['vendor'] or ''}")

if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()
```

---

### ??? What it does:

??? ARP sweep on the range  
??? Reverse DNS lookup ??? hostname  
??? MAC address extraction  
??? Vendor lookup using macvendors.com API  
??? Local history caching in `scan_history.json`  
??? Fills missing info next time

---

### ???? Enhancements you can add later

- Add `--range` argument to specify IP range dynamically  
- Add `--update-name` to manually assign friendly names to MACs in the history  
- Save results to CSV for easier viewing  
- Use a local OUI database (like `oui.txt`) instead of hitting an API

---

### Example command to run:

```bash
python fastresolver.py
```

---

If you like, I can also:
??? Write the local **OUI vendor parser**  
??? Add **command-line arguments**  
??? Package this into a **single EXE** using `pyinstaller`  

Would you like me to prepare any of those next? Let me know! ????

Author: user
codelooks like a minor dependancy is needed, as i get the following error: RuntimeError: Sniffing and sending packets is not available at layer 2: winpcap is not installed. You may use conf.L3socket or conf.L3socket6 to access layer 3

Author: ChatGPT
Great catch ??? you???re absolutely right!  

That error happens because **Scapy** on Windows needs **Npcap** or **WinPcap** installed to send and sniff packets at Layer 2 (for ARP scanning). Without it, Scapy can???t send raw Ethernet frames, which is why the script fails on:

```python
result = srp(packet, timeout=2, verbose=0)[0]
```

### ??? How to fix it on Windows

1. **Install Npcap (recommended over WinPcap)**
   
   ??? Download Npcap from:  
   [https://npcap.com/#download](https://npcap.com/#download)

   ??? During install:
   - Check **???Install Npcap in WinPcap API-compatible Mode???** ??? this ensures legacy compatibility.
   - You can leave the other options as defaults.

2. **Re-run your script.**

---

### ??? Alternative: Use Layer 3 scanning fallback

If you don???t want to require Npcap, you can switch the scan to a **ping sweep** or **TCP connect scan**, which only needs regular socket access.

Here???s an updated lightweight fallback:

```python
import subprocess

def ping_sweep(ip_range):
    live_hosts = []
    for ip in ip_range:
        result = subprocess.run(['ping', '-n', '1', '-w', '500', str(ip)],
                                stdout=subprocess.DEVNULL)
        if result.returncode == 0:
            live_hosts.append(str(ip))
    return live_hosts
```

Replace the Scapy ARP section with a loop like:
```python
ip_net = ipaddress.ip_network('10.0.0.1/24')
live_ips = ping_sweep(ip_net.hosts())

for ip in live_ips:
    hostname = resolve_hostname(ip)
    mac = None  # You may need to use arp -a parsing as a fallback
    vendor = None

    # Populate from history
    # ...
```

---

### ???? Summary

- ??? **Recommended** ??? Install [Npcap](https://npcap.com/#download) with WinPcap mode ??? keep using Scapy ARP scans  
- ??? **Alternative** ??? Switch to ping or TCP connect sweep + parse `arp -a` for MACs  

---

If you want, I can prepare:
??? A full **ping + arp -a fallback script**  
??? A **combined script** that tries Scapy first, then falls back to ping if needed  

Would you like me to write one of those versions for you? ???? Let me know!

Author: user
i received some excellent output, however, the python file i know was executed from this location, "G:\My Drive\_Data\Python", but the history output file was not created there

Author: ChatGPT
Great observation ??? this happens because the script is currently using:  

```python
HISTORY_FILE = 'scan_history.json'
```

This writes the file **to the ???current working directory??? (CWD)** where the Python process is running, which is not always the same as the directory where the script file (`.py`) is located.

In your case, even though you executed:
```bash
python G:\My Drive\_Data\Python\fastresolver.py
```

if you ran it from, say,  
```bash
cd C:\Users\Lowell
python G:\My Drive\_Data\Python\fastresolver.py
```

the `scan_history.json` would end up in `C:\Users\Lowell` ??? because that???s the current working directory.

---

### ??? Fix: Make sure the script writes history next to itself

Modify the code like this:

```python
import os

# Get directory where script is located
SCRIPT_DIR = os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))
HISTORY_FILE = os.path.join(SCRIPT_DIR, 'scan_history.json')
```

Full snippet for context:

```python
import json
import socket
import ipaddress
import subprocess
import os
from scapy.all import ARP, Ether, srp
import requests

# Ensure history saves next to script
SCRIPT_DIR = os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))
HISTORY_FILE = os.path.join(SCRIPT_DIR, 'scan_history.json')

def load_history():
    try:
        with open(HISTORY_FILE, 'r') as f:
            return json.load(f)
    except FileNotFoundError:
        return {}

def save_history(history):
    with open(HISTORY_FILE, 'w') as f:
        json.dump(history, f, indent=2)
```

---

### ???? Result

No matter **where** you run the script from, the history file will always be saved in:

```
G:\My Drive\_Data\Python\scan_history.json
```

if that???s where your `.py` script lives.

---

??? Let me know if you want me to package the **full updated script** for you!

Author: user
that change was effective, thank you. lets change he final output to save an html page named scan_history, but append a timestamp to the name, in the same location, and open the page after execution

Author: ChatGPT
Perfect! Here???s how we can extend your script to:  

??? Save the scan results as an **HTML page** with a timestamped filename  
??? Save it in the same folder as the script  
??? Automatically **open it in the default web browser** after execution

---

### ???? Code changes

We will:
- Add a function to **generate an HTML table**  
- Name the file like `scan_history_YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS.html`  
- Use the `webbrowser` module to open it

---

### ??? Updated code snippet

```python
import json
import socket
import ipaddress
import subprocess
import os
import datetime
import webbrowser
from scapy.all import ARP, Ether, srp
import requests

# Ensure history saves next to script
SCRIPT_DIR = os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))
HISTORY_FILE = os.path.join(SCRIPT_DIR, 'scan_history.json')

def load_history():
    try:
        with open(HISTORY_FILE, 'r') as f:
            return json.load(f)
    except FileNotFoundError:
        return {}

def save_history(history):
    with open(HISTORY_FILE, 'w') as f:
        json.dump(history, f, indent=2)

def get_mac_vendor(mac):
    try:
        resp = requests.get(f'https://api.macvendors.com/{mac}')
        if resp.status_code == 200:
            return resp.text
    except:
        pass
    return None

def resolve_hostname(ip):
    try:
        return socket.gethostbyaddr(ip)[0]
    except socket.herror:
        return None

def scan_ip_range(network):
    history = load_history()
    arp = ARP(pdst=network)
    ether = Ether(dst="ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff")
    packet = ether/arp
    result = srp(packet, timeout=2, verbose=0)[0]

    scan_results = {}

    for sent, received in result:
        ip = received.psrc
        mac = received.hwsrc
        hostname = resolve_hostname(ip)
        vendor = get_mac_vendor(mac)

        if mac in history:
            previous = history[mac]
            hostname = hostname or previous.get('hostname')
            vendor = vendor or previous.get('vendor')

        scan_results[mac] = {
            'ip': ip,
            'hostname': hostname,
            'vendor': vendor
        }

    history.update(scan_results)
    save_history(history)

    return scan_results

def save_html_report(results):
    timestamp = datetime.datetime.now().strftime('%Y%m%d_%H%M%S')
    html_filename = os.path.join(SCRIPT_DIR, f'scan_history_{timestamp}.html')

    html = """
    <html><head><title>Scan History</title>
    <style>
    table {border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;}
    th, td {border: 1px solid #ddd; padding: 8px;}
    th {background-color: #f2f2f2;}
    </style></head><body>
    <h2>Network Scan Report - {timestamp}</h2>
    <table>
    <tr><th>IP</th><th>Hostname</th><th>MAC</th><th>Vendor</th></tr>
    """.format(timestamp=timestamp)

    for mac, info in results.items():
        html += f"<tr><td>{info['ip']}</td><td>{info['hostname'] or ''}</td><td>{mac}</td><td>{info['vendor'] or ''}</td></tr>"

    html += "</table></body></html>"

    with open(html_filename, 'w') as f:
        f.write(html)

    webbrowser.open(f'file://{html_filename}')

def main():
    network = '10.0.0.1/24'
    results = scan_ip_range(network)

    print(f"{'IP':15} {'Hostname':30} {'MAC':20} {'Vendor'}")
    print('-' * 80)
    for mac, info in results.items():
        print(f"{info['ip']:15} {info['hostname'] or '':30} {mac:20} {info['vendor'] or ''}")

    save_html_report(results)

if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()
```

---

### ???? What???s added:

??? **HTML file** like `scan_history_20250508_203000.html`  
??? **Styled table** for readable output  
??? **Auto-open in browser** using `webbrowser.open()`  

---

If you want, I can also help you:
- Add **sorting** or search to the HTML (with JavaScript)  
- Save a **master summary page** listing all past HTML reports  

Want me to prepare that next? ???? Let me know!

Author: user
i got an error   File "g:\My Drive\_Data\Python\FastResolverImproved.py", line 90, in save_html_report
    """.format(timestamp=timestamp)

Author: ChatGPT
Good catch!  
The error likely happened because of the `.format()` call trying to process **braces `{}`** inside the CSS section:

```html
<style>
table {border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;}
th, td {border: 1px solid #ddd; padding: 8px;}
th {background-color: #f2f2f2;}
</style>
```

Python interprets those `{}` as placeholders ??? but you want them to stay as **literal curly braces** in the HTML.

---

### ??? How to fix it

You need to **escape the braces** by doubling them:

```python
<style>
table {{border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;}}
th, td {{border: 1px solid #ddd; padding: 8px;}}
th {{background-color: #f2f2f2;}}
</style>
```

So the corrected section becomes:

```python
html = """
<html><head><title>Scan History</title>
<style>
table {{border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;}}
th, td {{border: 1px solid #ddd; padding: 8px;}}
th {{background-color: #f2f2f2;}}
</style></head><body>
<h2>Network Scan Report - {timestamp}</h2>
<table>
<tr><th>IP</th><th>Hostname</th><th>MAC</th><th>Vendor</th></tr>
""".format(timestamp=timestamp)
```

---

### ???? Why this happens

In Python, when you write:

```python
"something {placeholder}".format(placeholder='value')
```

the `{placeholder}` is replaced.

If you want a **literal `{` or `}`**, you must **double it**:  
```python
"{{ literal brace }}"
```

---

### ??? Summary of fix

??? Update all CSS braces to `{{` and `}}`  
??? Keep `.format(timestamp=timestamp)` as it is

---

If you like, I can send you the fully patched version ready to paste in ??? want me to do that? ????

Author: user
ok, how can we order the results by the last octet?

Author: ChatGPT
Great improvement idea ??? ordering by the **last octet** will make the output easier to read!  

Here???s a clean way to sort the results by the **last part of the IP** before building the HTML or console output.

---

### ??? Solution

Modify this part of your code **before printing or saving to HTML**:

```python
# Convert scan_results dict to list of (mac, info) tuples
sorted_results = sorted(
    results.items(),
    key=lambda item: int(item[1]['ip'].split('.')[-1])
)
```

Then **loop over `sorted_results` instead of `results.items()`**:

```python
for mac, info in sorted_results:
    print(f"{info['ip']:15} {info['hostname'] or '':30} {mac:20} {info['vendor'] or ''}")
```

And in the HTML generator:
```python
for mac, info in sorted_results:
    html += f"<tr><td>{info['ip']}</td><td>{info['hostname'] or ''}</td><td>{mac}</td><td>{info['vendor'] or ''}</td></tr>"
```

---

### ??? Code example

Here???s the patch you can drop into your `main()`:

```python
def main():
    network = '10.0.0.1/24'
    results = scan_ip_range(network)

    # Sort by last octet
    sorted_results = sorted(
        results.items(),
        key=lambda item: int(item[1]['ip'].split('.')[-1])
    )

    print(f"{'IP':15} {'Hostname':30} {'MAC':20} {'Vendor'}")
    print('-' * 80)
    for mac, info in sorted_results:
        print(f"{info['ip']:15} {info['hostname'] or '':30} {mac:20} {info['vendor'] or ''}")

    save_html_report(dict(sorted_results))
```

And **inside `save_html_report()`**, just use:

```python
for mac, info in sorted(results.items(), key=lambda item: int(item[1]['ip'].split('.')[-1])):
    html += f"<tr><td>{info['ip']}</td><td>{info['hostname'] or ''}</td><td>{mac}</td><td>{info['vendor'] or ''}</td></tr>"
```

---

### ??? Bonus

If you want to **sort by full IP address**, not just last octet:
```python
key=lambda item: tuple(map(int, item[1]['ip'].split('.')))
```

Example:
```python
sorted_results = sorted(
    results.items(),
    key=lambda item: tuple(map(int, item[1]['ip'].split('.')))
)
```

---

Want me to send you the **fully patched script ready to paste**?  
Just say ???yes??? ????

Author: user
in our a=scan_history.json file, previously, i had seen an entry like below. I know it's not currently online, so I would like any entries not found by mac address to be visible in the report with an Asterisk or some other identifier that shows "not currently online"   "7c:1c:4e:82:48:5b": {
    "ip": "10.0.0.233",
    "hostname": "LGTelevision",
    "vendor": "LG Innotek"
  }

Author: ChatGPT
Excellent enhancement ??? this will make your report even more useful by showing both:  

??? **Devices currently online**  
??? **Devices known from history but not seen in the current scan (marked clearly, e.g., with an asterisk ??? or ???OFFLINE???)**

---

### ??? How we???ll do it

1. **Load the full history (`scan_history.json`)**  
2. **Mark which MAC addresses were found in the current scan**  
3. When generating the report (console + HTML):
   - If a device was not seen in the current scan, show:
     - `ip*` ??? with asterisk  
     - or extra column like `Status: ONLINE / OFFLINE`

---

### ???? Code changes

Modify your **main()** like this:

```python
def main():
    network = '10.0.0.1/24'
    current_results = scan_ip_range(network)
    history = load_history()

    # Mark which MACs are online
    full_results = {}
    for mac, data in history.items():
        online = mac in current_results
        full_results[mac] = {
            'ip': data['ip'],
            'hostname': data['hostname'],
            'vendor': data['vendor'],
            'online': online
        }
        if online:
            # Use fresh IP, hostname, vendor from scan
            full_results[mac].update(current_results[mac])

    # Sort by last octet
    sorted_results = sorted(
        full_results.items(),
        key=lambda item: int(item[1]['ip'].split('.')[-1])
    )

    print(f"{'IP':15} {'Hostname':30} {'MAC':20} {'Vendor':30} {'Status'}")
    print('-' * 100)
    for mac, info in sorted_results:
        ip_display = f"{info['ip']}*" if not info['online'] else info['ip']
        status = "OFFLINE" if not info['online'] else "ONLINE"
        print(f"{ip_display:15} {info['hostname'] or '':30} {mac:20} {info['vendor'] or '':30} {status}")

    save_html_report(full_results)
```

---

### ???? Update `save_html_report()`

```python
def save_html_report(results):
    timestamp = datetime.datetime.now().strftime('%Y%m%d_%H%M%S')
    html_filename = os.path.join(SCRIPT_DIR, f'scan_history_{timestamp}.html')

    html = """
    <html><head><title>Scan History</title>
    <style>
    table {{border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;}}
    th, td {{border: 1px solid #ddd; padding: 8px;}}
    th {{background-color: #f2f2f2;}}
    </style></head><body>
    <h2>Network Scan Report - {timestamp}</h2>
    <table>
    <tr><th>IP</th><th>Hostname</th><th>MAC</th><th>Vendor</th><th>Status</th></tr>
    """.format(timestamp=timestamp)

    # Sort by last octet
    sorted_results = sorted(results.items(), key=lambda item: int(item[1]['ip'].split('.')[-1]))

    for mac, info in sorted_results:
        ip_display = f"{info['ip']}*" if not info['online'] else info['ip']
        status = "OFFLINE" if not info['online'] else "ONLINE"
        html += f"<tr><td>{ip_display}</td><td>{info['hostname'] or ''}</td><td>{mac}</td><td>{info['vendor'] or ''}</td><td>{status}</td></tr>"

    html += "</table></body></html>"

    with open(html_filename, 'w') as f:
        f.write(html)

    webbrowser.open(f'file://{html_filename}')
```

---

### ???? Example output

```
IP             Hostname                      MAC                  Vendor                        Status
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10.0.0.7      Printer                        aa:bb:cc:dd:ee:ff    HP Inc                       ONLINE
10.0.0.233*   LGTelevision                  7c:1c:4e:82:48:5b    LG Innotek                  OFFLINE
```

And the **HTML** will show:
- `10.0.0.233*` ??? with ???OFFLINE??? in the last column

---

### ??? Summary of changes

??? Show all known devices, even if not currently online  
??? Add `*` next to IP and `ONLINE` / `OFFLINE` column  
??? Keep everything sorted by last octet

---

???? Want me to package the **full final script** for you, ready to paste?  
Just say: **???yes, send full script???** ????

Author: user
lets add a "Last Seen" Datetime stamp to the history, so if something was offline,w e have an estimate of the last time we saw it

Author: ChatGPT
Perfect ??? adding a **`LastSeen` timestamp** will give your scan history real forensic value, especially for tracking when devices disappear or return.

---

### ??? Plan

We???ll do three things:

1. ???? **Add a `last_seen` timestamp** (`datetime.now().isoformat()`) to each device when it is seen online  
2. ???? Keep the existing `last_seen` timestamp **unchanged** for devices that are offline  
3. ???? Display `Last Seen` in both the **console** and **HTML report**

---

### ??? Code Changes

#### ???? Modify `scan_ip_range()` to return a "seen now" set
Update it so it **does not write to history**, just returns current live results.

Then, in `main()`, we merge with history and apply the timestamp logic.

---

### ???? Updated `main()` logic

Replace your current `main()` with this:

```python
def main():
    network = '10.0.0.1/24'
    current_results = scan_ip_range(network)
    history = load_history()

    now = datetime.datetime.now().isoformat()

    full_results = {}

    for mac, data in history.items():
        was_seen = mac in current_results
        full_results[mac] = {
            'ip': current_results[mac]['ip'] if was_seen else data['ip'],
            'hostname': current_results[mac]['hostname'] if was_seen else data.get('hostname'),
            'vendor': current_results[mac]['vendor'] if was_seen else data.get('vendor'),
            'online': was_seen,
            'last_seen': now if was_seen else data.get('last_seen', 'Unknown')
        }

    # Add any new MACs not previously seen
    for mac, data in current_results.items():
        if mac not in full_results:
            full_results[mac] = {
                'ip': data['ip'],
                'hostname': data.get('hostname'),
                'vendor': data.get('vendor'),
                'online': True,
                'last_seen': now
            }

    # Save full results back to history file
    save_history({mac: {
        'ip': info['ip'],
        'hostname': info['hostname'],
        'vendor': info['vendor'],
        'last_seen': info['last_seen']
    } for mac, info in full_results.items()})

    # Sort and print
    sorted_results = sorted(full_results.items(), key=lambda item: int(item[1]['ip'].split('.')[-1]))

    print(f"{'IP':15} {'Hostname':30} {'MAC':20} {'Vendor':30} {'Status':10} {'Last Seen'}")
    print('-' * 130)
    for mac, info in sorted_results:
        ip_display = f"{info['ip']}*" if not info['online'] else info['ip']
        status = "OFFLINE" if not info['online'] else "ONLINE"
        print(f"{ip_display:15} {info['hostname'] or '':30} {mac:20} {info['vendor'] or '':30} {status:10} {info['last_seen']}")

    save_html_report(full_results)
```

---

### ???? Update `save_html_report()` to include `Last Seen`

Replace the table header and row loop:

```python
html += "<tr><th>IP</th><th>Hostname</th><th>MAC</th><th>Vendor</th><th>Status</th><th>Last Seen</th></tr>"

for mac, info in sorted(results.items(), key=lambda item: int(item[1]['ip'].split('.')[-1])):
    ip_display = f"{info['ip']}*" if not info['online'] else info['ip']
    status = "OFFLINE" if not info['online'] else "ONLINE"
    html += f"<tr><td>{ip_display}</td><td>{info['hostname'] or ''}</td><td>{mac}</td><td>{info['vendor'] or ''}</td><td>{status}</td><td>{info['last_seen']}</td></tr>"
```

---

### ??? Final Result

Your report will now show:

| IP           | Hostname     | MAC               | Vendor       | Status   | Last Seen              |
|--------------|--------------|-------------------|--------------|----------|------------------------|
| 10.0.0.7     | Printer      | aa:bb:cc:dd:ee:ff | HP Inc       | ONLINE   | 2025-05-11T09:33:42    |
| 10.0.0.233\* | LGTelevision | 7c:1c:4e:82:48:5b | LG Innotek   | OFFLINE  | 2025-04-18T11:27:16    |

---

Would you like me to deliver the **full copy-paste script with all changes rolled in**?


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