Monitoring Bandwidth By Computer

[GraemeM]

Not sure where this should go since it's half software half hardware. I have an internet connection with limited bandwidth. I can use their online tool to check how much bandwidth I've used overall, however, the problem is I have a router (DLink) with 3 computers hooked up. It would be very valuable if I could check which computer is using how much bandwidth. Is there any way that I would be able to do this?

Thanks,
Graeme

[Force Flow]

This is more or less the common solution:

Router--------Hub-------switch--------PCs
               |
         bandwidth monitor

Although you can *probably* cut out the switch if you don't do a lot of file transfers between the PCs. Hubs tend to get congested fairly easily.


If you can, I'd look into alternative ISPs.

[edit]: the other thing you could try is set up ICS on one PC, and put a switch after it for the other PCs

Router--------PC (bandwidth monitor)-------switch--------PCs

[GraemeM]

Originally Posted by Force Flow This is more or less the common solution: Router--------Hub-------switch--------PCs | bandwidth monitor Although you can *probably* cut out the switch if you don't do a lot of file transfers between the PCs. Hubs tend to get congested fairly easily. If you can, I'd look into alternative ISPs. [edit]: the other thing you could try is set up ICS on one PC, and put a switch after it for the other PCs Router--------PC (bandwidth monitor)-------switch--------PCs

Thanks for your response. So the only way would involved adding more equipment to my setup? If that's the case, it's not worth it. I was hoping that there was a way to just monitor the bandwidth on the router using some sort of software or something.

[mbossman2]

Originally Posted by Force Flow This is more or less the common solution: Router--------Hub-------switch--------PCs | bandwidth monitor Although you can *probably* cut out the switch if you don't do a lot of file transfers between the PCs. Hubs tend to get congested fairly easily. If you can, I'd look into alternative ISPs. [edit]: the other thing you could try is set up ICS on one PC, and put a switch after it for the other PCs Router--------PC (bandwidth monitor)-------switch--------PCs

actually you don't need a hub in the mix, if you switch supports it, you turn on "promiscuous" mode (all traffic in that switch goes out that port as well as the destination port) and hook your bandwidth monitor there or, if your switch has a management port, you can connect the monitor to that.

the inline solution is also viable.

Both, however, have a limitation: what happens when you have more traffic than the PC or switch ports can handle? all you get is a sampling and then an estimation.