In the following article we are going to take a look at some tools that will help us monitor bandwidth from Ubuntu. It is always important to be able to visualize what is happening on our network to understand and resolve whatever is causing it to slow down or simply to keep an eye on it.
For this reason, in this post we are going to see some useful tools to monitor bandwidth. They will provide us with data that will then allow us to analyze the use of the network. Obviously these are not all the tools that exist, but they are some very interesting and easy to use.
Tools to monitor the network
VnStat. A network traffic monitor
VnStat it is a command line program. Provides us with all functions to monitor Gnu / Linux network traffic and bandwidth utilization on Gnu / Linux and BSD systems.
One of the advantages it has over similar tools is that it records network traffic and bandwidth usage statistics for later analysis. This is its default behavior. Maintains an hourly, daily, and monthly log of network traffic for the selected interface.
Install VnStat on Ubuntu
sudo apt install vnstat
Iftop. Shows bandwidth usage
iftop is a Simple, easy-to-use, real-time network tool for bandwidth monitoring. It is similar to the command line used to get a quick overview of network activities on an interface. Show updates every 2, 10 and 40 seconds.
Install iftop on Ubuntu
sudo apt install iftop
Nload. Shows network usage
nload is another simple and easy to use command line tool. With it we can also monitor network traffic and bandwidth usage in real time. Use charts to help us monitor incoming and outgoing traffic. It also displays information such as the total amount of data transferred and the minimum / maximum network usage.
Install nload on Ubuntu
sudo apt install nload
NetHogs. Monitors network traffic bandwidth
nethogs it is a small text-based tool. With it we can monitor bandwidth usage in real time by each process or application running on a Gnu / Linux system.
Install NetHogs on Ubuntu
sudo apt install nethogs
Bmon. A bandwidth monitor and rate estimator
bmon it is also a simple command line tool. Capture network statistics and view them in a friendly format for humans.
Install Bmon on Ubuntu
sudo apt install bmon
Darkstat. Capture network traffic
darkstat is a web-based network traffic analyzer. It's small, simple, cross-platform, real-time, and efficient. It is a tool for monitoring network statistics that works by capturing network traffic. Then calculates usage statistics and shows us reports via HTTP in a graphic format. It can also be used through the command line to get the same results.
Install Darkstat on Ubuntu
sudo apt install darkstat
IPTraf. A network monitor
IP Traf it is an easy to use tool. Is based on ncurses and it is configurable to monitor incoming and outgoing network traffic that passes through an interface. It is useful for monitoring IP traffic and for viewing general interface statistics, detailed statistics, and much more.
Install IPTraf on Ubuntu
sudo apt install iptraf
CBM. A bandwidth meter
CBM is a small command line utility for show current network traffic on all connected devices. It shows each connected network interface, bytes received, bytes transmitted, and total bytes, allowing you to control network bandwidth.
Install CBM on Ubuntu
sudo apt install cbm
Iperf / Iperf3. Network bandwidth measurement tool
Iperf/Iperf3 is a powerful tool for measure network performance on protocols such as TCP, UDP, and SCTP. It is primarily designed to help fine-tune TCP connections through a particular path, therefore it is useful for testing and monitoring the maximum bandwidth achievable on IP networks (supports both IPv4 and IPv6). Requires a server and client for testing. In them we will be informed about the bandwidth, the loss and other useful parameters to evaluate the performance of the network.
Install Iperf3 on Ubuntu
sudo apt install iperf3
As I wrote at the beginning of the article, these are not the only tools that we can use to monitor our network from Ubuntu. We can have more network tools and netutils-linux.
not only the width or narrowness of the band, also monitoring what enters and leaves, it is like supervising what enters and leaves our house