How can I monitor internet usage in my network?

I need to know which computer is consuming my bandwidth. Is there a tool to do this?

Luiscencio

Posted 2009-10-12T22:28:48.737

Reputation: 437

@thecie007: You're right in a way. But the problem is, I don't use any. I'm going to choose one and I know only the two I mentioned in my question. – Kamyar – 2011-10-20T23:57:06.367

1What operating systems are you using on your network - Windows, OS X, Linux, or a mixture? – Jared Harley – 2009-10-12T22:38:43.473

1I took a peek at his other questions / answers on the site. Seems like windows to me. – John T – 2009-10-12T22:42:30.207

Answers

If you want to graphically display your local network connections, you may be interested in etherape. Free and cross platform. The thickness of the connection is an indicator of traffic volume.

DaveParillo

Posted 2009-10-12T22:28:48.737

Reputation: 13 402

17@John T: EtherApe is one of those unfortunate names like expertsExchange or penIsland – davr – 2010-09-18T02:45:33.083

16interesting name for software. – John T – 2009-10-13T04:08:23.283

ok this is interesting, but, how can I compile it for Windows... – Luiscencio – 2009-10-13T19:18:11.683

Sorry, I ddin't see the windows reference. If it was me, I probably wouldn't bother - because I'm lazy. It has too many dependencies (Gnome, etc). I would install it inside a virtual machine running a nice simple linux distro. For example, use VirtualBox on your Windows host and Ubuntu as the guest OS. That's a lot for 1 application, but still easier than compiling etherape IMHO. – DaveParillo – 2009-10-14T00:30:03.897

At the router level would be the easiest as it wouldn't involve installing software on each machine separately. Tomato Firmware is great and automatically monitors bandwidth in the logs section, you can use it along with IPTables (Linux) for a complete traffic monitoring solution. Since you are probably on Windows, you can use it in a VM as well.

For a software solution for each computer, take a look at the freeware tool NetLimiter, the bandwidth monitor is free:

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John T

Posted 2009-10-12T22:28:48.737

Reputation: 149 037

I'll try installing the tomato firmware then reply.. thanks!!! – Luiscencio – 2009-10-12T22:44:21.887

1Make sure it is compatible with your router before installing! You will also need IPTables to see per-computer statistics. good luck :) – John T – 2009-10-12T22:54:41.367

The Windows Resource Monitor on 7 (and Vista?) has grown quite advanced in what it shows under "network".

Resource Monitor

Simon Sheehan

Posted 2009-10-12T22:28:48.737

Reputation: 8 641

I guess the OP means which software use my bandwidth and not which computer is consuming my bandwidth – Asme Just – 2017-01-06T01:22:53.553

Wow! how didn't I notice that... – Kamyar – 2011-10-20T23:58:00.497

2@Kamyar It can be SLIGHTLY hidden in a way...great thing built in though! – Simon Sheehan – 2011-10-21T00:03:29.150

I could not find a lot of free ones to monitor all the entire network with one application, except maybe Spiceworks:

http://www.spiceworks.com/

There are plenty that can monitor each computer you install it on. A couple are:

http://download.cnet.com/Bandwidth-Monitor-Pro/3000-2085_4-10217766.html

http://www.softperfect.com/products/networx/

If you want to find others, Google "monitor bandwidth usage on network" (without the quotes)

Now as far as limiting them, I did not find any software, because most of the time, that is handled by the router. After all, it is easier to do there since all traffic has to go through it, otherwise, you would need an application on each PC to limit bandwidth usage.

I am sorry to say that I looked through your manual, and your router has no features to limit bandwidth or quality of service.

KCotreau

Posted 2009-10-12T22:28:48.737

Reputation: 24 985

TCPView allows you to see the connections. Process Monitor can help you filter on actual data transfer.

Wireshark goes to the level showing you the packets in detail. Fiddler2 is in specific for HTTP transfer.

Tamara Wijsman

Posted 2009-10-12T22:28:48.737

Reputation: 54 163

You can use DU Meter + dumeter.net to monitor Internet bandwidth usage on your network:

dumeter.net displays bandwidth usage of all your computers connected to your account. Your Internet provider can show only the overall totals, which are of course useless if you have several computers in your house and would like to know how much bandwidth each of them used.

DU Meter is not free, however dumeter.net is currently free for all DU Meter 6.x users.

enter image description here

Disclaimer: I'm the author of DU Meter software.

haimg

Posted 2009-10-12T22:28:48.737

Reputation: 19 503

1Unfortunately this requires an installation on each PC and may not account for mobiles and tablets etc. – Simon East – 2017-03-19T22:14:27.823

You can use WhatPulse:

Free
Linux/Win/Mac
It records the network use
Stats are available online as well as on the desktop client.
Support several computers

On each computer:

Stats online:

Franck Dernoncourt

Posted 2009-10-12T22:28:48.737

Reputation: 13 518

If you have a cisco router, you can use scrutinizer. You need to modify a few lines of code in your router to enable netflow, but I've found this program to be fantastic, and it's free.

dasaybz

Posted 2009-10-12T22:28:48.737

Reputation: 89

I have finally finished implementing the Network Utilization Monitor tool which helps me to monitor internet bandwidth utilization by each computer in my home network (including phones/tablets). I have shared internet with my neighborhoods and sometimes when the internet hangs I want to know what is the reason. What does consume 8 MBit/sec input and 0.5Mbit/sec output directions.

In the EtherApe I did not find how to how separately calculate incoming and outgoing traffic.

This tool requires L2 Managed Switch with option to mirror all traffic to specified Port.

Main window screenshot

Dmytro Ovdiienko

Posted 2009-10-12T22:28:48.737

Reputation: 51

I'm going to test application on Network Hub (repeater). If it works, then you do not need L2 switch. And it will be more cheaper solution. – Dmytro Ovdiienko – 2015-10-28T17:05:29.270

Did not find cheap repeater. Looks like there is no sense to buy it. Unless you have it already. – Dmytro Ovdiienko – 2016-04-16T22:05:29.603

Glasswire is an amazing tool. Free and paid versions are available.

This image illustrates...

I have been using Plex and Twitch a lot this evening. Install it. Leave it running. Check back after a few hours or days to see what is going on for that PC.

Simon A Cousins

Posted 2009-10-12T22:28:48.737

Reputation: 16

You can follow the below simple steps to track your internet usage on the network.

Press the Windows key + I keyboard shortcut to open the Settings app.
Click Network & internet.
Click Data usage.
Open the Usage details link to view network data usage for all your applications installed on your computer.

Luke Dawn

Posted 2009-10-12T22:28:48.737

Reputation: 1