[ale] Bandwidth utilization

[Robert Story]

On Wed, 29 Mar 2006 09:34:48 -0500 Christopher wrote:
CF> I want to calculate total bandwidth utilization across my home network.
CF> Is ntop the right tool for me?  The only problem I see is where to place
CF> the box running ntop.

Do you want real-time, detailed accounting? Or do you just want to keep an eye
on traffic?

I use iftop on my hosts to watch real-time traffic flows. It's console based,
so it works good on remote sites, too.

I have a linksys box between my DSL modem and home network, so I poll/graph
that (mrtg+snmp) to watch daily traffic.

I don't watch total monthly traffic, but I could probably hack something
together from the mrtg logs if I needed to.

If you can afford some hardware, eliminate the various hubs, and replace them
with a larger central one that keeps per-port statistics. I have a 24 port
DLink 10/100 + 2 1000 managed switch that was < $250.
(http://www.dlink.com/products/?pid=86&sec=0)