Having trouble monitoring your Linux network bandwidth usage? Need help? It is important that you can visualize what is happening on your network to understand and resolve what is causing the network slowness or simply to keep an eye on your network.
Also read: 20
Command-Line Tools to Monitor Linux Performance
In this article, we will review 17 useful bandwidth monitoring tools to analyze network usage on a Linux system.
If you’re looking to manage, troubleshoot, or debug your network, read our article – 22 Linux Network Commands for System Administrators
The tools listed below are all open source and can help you answer questions like “why is the network so slow today?”. This article includes a combination of small tools for monitoring bandwidth on a single Linux machine and complete monitoring solutions capable of handling a small number of hosts on a LAN (local area network) to multiple hosts even on a WAN (wide area network).
Site24x7
NetFlow
Analyzer – Network Traffic Monitoring
Site24x7 NetFlow Analyzer is a cloud-based network traffic and bandwidth monitoring tool that monitors your source and destination devices, their interfaces, and the traffic flowing through them
.
Set threshold values for all key metrics, such as inbound traffic, outbound traffic, and bandwidth usage, and receive instant alerts when a threshold is exceeded.
NetFlow Analyzer analyzes flow based on different technologies, such as NetFlow, sFlow, and J-Flow. You can gain complete visibility into network bandwidth with statistics on peak traffic, top applications, and top conversations. Identify bandwidth hogs, fix them, and increase your network performance using Site24x7’s network bandwidth monitoring tool.
<img src="https://www.tecmint.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Site24x7-NetFlow-Analyzer.png" alt="Site24x7's NetFlow Analyzer
NetFlow Analyzer
ManageEngine Flow Analyzer ManageEngine
NetFlow Analyzer is a flow-based bandwidth monitoring solution that offers multi-vendor support. It monitors your network, analyzes traffic patterns, and detects and diagnoses bandwidth hogs.
You can track traffic patterns on your network over any length of time and drill down into device, interface, application, and user-level details. With its traffic configuration capabilities, NetFlow Analyzer helps you identify network anomalies in real time and fix them before they affect your end users.
With its customizable reports, NetFlow Analyzer also helps you predict and plan your bandwidth requirements. You can create, schedule, and generate comprehensive bandwidth analytics reports with just a few clicks.
1. vnStat – A network traffic monitor
VnStat is a full-featured command-line-based program for monitoring Linux network traffic and bandwidth utilization in real time, on Linux and BSD systems.
Vnstat
Network Traffic Monitor Tool One advantage it has over a similar tool is that it logs network traffic and bandwidth usage statistics for later analysis – this is its default behavior. Actually, you can see these logs even after the system restarts.
Install VnStat
on Linux $ sudo yum install sysstat [On CentOS / RHEL and older Fedora] $ sudo dnf install sysstat [On CentOS / RHEL / Fedora / Rocky Linux & AlmaLinux] $ sudo apt-get install sysstat [On Debian / Ubuntu & Mint] $ sudo pacman -S sysstat [On Arch Linux]
2. iftop – Shows bandwidth usage iftop
is a simple command-line based bandwidth monitoring tool, Easy to use, real-time, command-line-based and command-line-based, Used to get a quick overview of network activities in one interface. Displays network usage bandwidth updates every 2, 10, and 40 seconds on average.
<img src="https://www.tecmint.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Vnstat-Network-Traffic-Tool.png" alt="Iftop Display Bandwidth Usage
Install iftop in Linux $ sudo yum install iftop [On Older CentOS/RHEL & Fedora] $ sudo dnf install iftop [On CentOS/RHEL/Fedora/Rocky Linux & AlmaLinux] $ sudo apt-get install iftop [On Debian/Ubuntu & Mint] $ sudo pacman -S
iftop
[On Arch Linux]
3
. nload – Shows network usage
nload is another simple and easy-to-use command-line tool for monitoring network traffic and bandwidth usage in real time. It uses graphs to help you monitor inbound and outbound traffic. Moreover, it also displays information such as the total amount of data transferred and the minimum/maximum network usage.
nload –
Install nload on Linux $ sudo yum install nload [On CentOS / RHEL & Fedora older] $ sudo dnf install nload [On CentOS / RHEL / Fedora / Rocky Linux & AlmaLinux] $ sudo apt-get install nload [On Debian / Ubuntu & Mint] $ sudo pacman -S
nload
[On Arch Linux] 4. NetHogs –
Monitor Network Traffic Bandwidth NetHogs
is a small text-based tool similar to the top to monitor the bandwidth usage of network traffic in real time by every process or application running on a Linux system. It simply offers real-time statistics of your network bandwidth usage by process.
NetHogs –
on
Linux $ sudo yum install nethogs [On CentOS / RHEL and older Fedora] $ sudo dnf install nethogs [On CentOS / RHEL / Fedora / Rocky Linux & AlmaLinux] $ sudo apt-get install nethogs [On Debian / Ubuntu & Mint] $ sudo pacman -S nethogs [On Arch Linux] 5. bmon – Bandwidth
Monitor
and Speed Estimator
bmon is also a simple command-line tool for monitoring network bandwidth utilization and a speed estimator, on Linux. It captures network statistics and visualizes them in a human-friendly format so you can keep an eye on your system.
Bmon –
Install Bmon on
Linux $ sudo yum install bmon [On older CentOS/RHEL and Fedora] $ sudo dnf install bmon [On CentOS/RHEL/Fedora/Rocky Linux and AlmaLinux]$ sudo apt-get install bmon [On Debian/Ubuntu & Mint] $ sudo pacman -S bmon [ In Arch Linux]
6.
Darkstat – Captures network traffic
Darkstat is a small, simple, cross-platform, real-time and efficient web-based network traffic analyzer. It is a network statistics monitoring tool that works by capturing network traffic and computer usage statistics, and serves the reports over HTTP in a graphical format. You can also use it through the command line to get the same results.
Darkstat –
Install Darkstat on
Linux $ sudo yum install darkstat [On CentOS / RHEL & Fedora older] $ sudo dnf install darkstat [On CentOS / RHEL / Fedora / Rocky Linux & AlmaLinux] $ sudo apt-get install darkstat [On Debian / Ubuntu & Mint] $ sudo pacman -S darkstat [On Arch Linux]
7. IPTraf – An
IP network monitor
IPTraf is an easy-to-use, ncurses-based, configurable tool for monitoring incoming and outgoing network traffic passing through an interface. It is useful for monitoring IP traffic and viewing general interface statistics, detailed interface statistics and much more.
IPTraf –
on
Linux $ sudo yum install iptraf [On CentOS / RHEL & Fedora older] $ sudo dnf install iptraf [On CentOS / RHEL / Fedora / Rocky Linux & AlmaLinux] $ sudo apt-get install iptraf [On Debian / Ubuntu & Mint] $ sudo pacman -S iptraf [On Arch Linux] 8. CBM
– (Color Bandwidth Meter) CBM
is a small command line utility to display current network traffic on all connected devices in color output on Ubuntu Linux and its derivatives such as Linux Mint, Lubuntu and many others. It displays every connected network interface, bytes received, bytes transmitted, and bytes total, allowing you to monitor network bandwidth.
<img src="https://www.tecmint.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/IPTraf-Network-Statistics-Utility.gif" alt="CBM – Monitor Network LAN Usage
Install Color Bandwidth Meter in
Linux $ sudo yum install cbm [On Older CentOS / RHEL & Fedora] $ sudo dnf install cbm [On CentOS / RHEL / Fedora / Rocky Linux & AlmaLinux] $ sudo apt-get install cbm [On Debian / Ubuntu & Mint] $ sudo pacman -S cbm [On Arch Linux]
9
. Iperf/Iperf3 – Network Bandwidth Measurement Tool
Iperf/Iperf3 is a powerful tool for measuring network performance through protocols such as TCP, UDP and SCTP. It is primarily designed to help tune TCP connections over a particular route, making it useful for testing and monitoring the maximum achievable bandwidth on IP networks (supports both IPv4 and IPv6).
It requires a
server and client to perform tests (which report bandwidth, loss, and other useful network performance parameters).
Iperf3 –
in Linux $ sudo yum install iperf3 [On Older CentOS / RHEL & Fedora] $ sudo dnf install iperf3 [On CentOS / RHEL / Fedora / Rocky Linux & AlmaLinux] $ sudo apt-get install iperf3 [On Debian / Ubuntu & Mint] $ sudo pacman -S
iperf3
[On Arch Linux]
10. Netperf – Network Bandwidth Testing
Netperf is similar to iperf, to test network performance. It can help monitor network bandwidth on Linux by measuring data transfer using TCP, UDP. It also supports measurements through the Berkeley Sockets interface, DLPI, Unix Domain Sockets, and many other interfaces. You need a server and a client to run tests.
Netperf –
in Linux $ sudo yum install netperf [On Older CentOS/RHEL & Fedora] $ sudo dnf install netperf [On CentOS/RHEL/Fedora/Rocky Linux & AlmaLinux] $ sudo apt-get install netperf [In Debian/Ubuntu & Mint] $ sudo pacman -S
netperf
[ On Arch Linux] 11. SARG
– Squid Analysis Report Generator SARG
is a squid log file analyzer and internet bandwidth monitoring tool. It produces useful HTML reports with information including, but not limited to, IP addresses and total bandwidth usage. It is a useful tool for monitoring Internet bandwidth utilization by individual machines on a single network.
<img src="https://www.tecmint.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Netperf-Network-Bandwidth-Testing.gif" alt="Sarg – Squid Network Analysis Report Generator
For installation and usage instructions, see our article – How to install SARG to monitor Squid Internet bandwidth usage
. 12. Monitorix
– System and Network Monitoring Tool Monitorix
is a lightweight network and system resource monitoring application, designed for small Linux/Unix servers and also comes with amazing support for embedded devices
.
It helps you monitor network traffic and usage statistics from an unlimited number of network devices. It supports both IPv4 and IPv6 connections, including packet traffic and traffic error graphs, and supports up to 9 disks per network interface.
Monitorix –
Install Monitorix in
Linux $ sudo yum install monitorix [On Older CentOS/RHEL & Fedora] $ sudo dnf install monitorix [On CentOS/RHEL/Fedora/Rocky Linux & AlmaLinux] $ sudo apt-get install monitorix [In Debian/ Ubuntu & Mint] $ sudo pacman -S monitorix [On Arch Linux]
13.
Cacti – Network Graphics and Monitoring
Tool Cacti is a fully functional web-based network graphics PHP application with an intuitive and easy-to-use interface. It uses the MySQL database to store data collected from network performance data, used to produce custom charts. It is a frontend for RRDTool, useful for monitoring small and complex networks with thousands of devices.
Cacti – Network Monitoring and
For installation and usage instructions, see our article – Installing Cacti (Network Monitoring) on Linux
.
14
. Observium – Network Monitoring Platform
Observium is a full-featured network monitoring platform with a sleek and powerful interface, robust yet simple and intuitive. It supports multiple platforms, including Linux, Windows, FreeBSD, Cisco, HP, Dell, and many others, and includes automatic device detection. It helps users collect network metrics and provides intuitive graphs of device metrics from the collected performance data.
Observium – Network Monitoring Platform
For installation and usage instructions, see our article – How to install Observium – A complete
and management system. 15. Zabbix –
Application and Network Monitoring Tool Zabbix
is a commonly used and feature-rich network monitoring platform, designed on a server-client model, to monitor networks, servers and applications in real time. It collects different types of data that are used for a visual representation of network performance or load metrics of monitored devices.
It is capable of working with well-known network protocols such as HTTP, FTP, SMTP, IMAP and many more, without the need to install additional software on the monitored devices.
Zabbix – Monitoring Solution for Linux
For installation and usage instructions, see our article – How to install Zabbix – A complete network monitoring solution
. 16. Nagios –
Monitor Systems, Networks and Infrastructure Nagios
is a robust, powerful, feature-rich and widely used monitoring software. It allows you to monitor local and remote network devices and their services from a single window.
It offers bandwidth monitoring on network devices such as switches and routers via SNMP, allowing you to easily discover overused ports and identify potential network abusers.
Also read: 13 Linux Network Setup and Troubleshooting Commands
In addition, Nagios
also helps you keep an eye on usage and bandwidth errors per port and supports quick detection of network outages and protocol failures.
<img src="https://www.tecmint.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Zabbix-Monitoring-Solution-for-Linux.png" alt="Nagios – IT Infrastructure Monitoring Tool
For installation and usage instructions, see our article – How to install Nagios – A complete IT infrastructure monitoring solution
for Linux.
In
this article, we have reviewed a number of useful network bandwidth and system monitoring tools for Linux. If we haven’t included any monitoring tools in the list, please share them with us in the feedback form below.
