Network monitoring

[danix803]

Is there an application for monitoring network bandwidth, not just for one computer, but for the gateway
I'm actually lookin' for one that a beginner could use... U know, just tell it what your gateway is (192.168.x.x) and poof, it starts yeilding valuable, beautiful information (graphical style)... LOL...
I mean, I'm familiar with SNORT, but it's difficult to use... switch-wise...

So, any constructive help would be greatly appreciated... Thanks in advance...

[Snowhog]

Wireshark maybe?

[SteveRiley]

My employer is the corporate sponsor of Wireshark. It's a great tool.

[oshunluvr]

What? No QT version?

[danix803]

Thanks...

[Guest]

Etherape is useful it shows all connections on your router and where its headed also shows how much bandwith a connection is using. Idk if thats what your looking for but I hope it helps

[danix803]

Sounds like Etherape might be what I'm lookin' for...
Thanks, I'll check it out...
I tried Wireshark and it has some issues... It keeps telling that I have no network interfaces, which is ridiculous... anyway, I'll try Etherape before trying to decipher what's wrong with wireshark... I also, upgraded my comp to 13.04 today... it looks nice... still testing to see if everything works after the ug...
Thanks again for the suggestions... they were very constructive...

[SteveRiley]

I tried Wireshark and it has some issues... It keeps telling that I have no network interfaces

Which version of Wireshark did you install...from our website, or from the repository?

Did you see these instructions? http://wiki.wireshark.org/CaptureSet...turePrivileges

[SteveRiley]

What? No QT version?

The work is underway.

http://anonsvn.wireshark.org/wiresha.../doc/README.qt

[danix803]

Which version of Wireshark did you install...from our website, or from the repository?

Did you see these instructions? http://wiki.wireshark.org/CaptureSet...turePrivileges

So, basically I have to manually run WireShark as root... okay... makes sense... just an extra step... a nice, safe, extra step... I like it...
Anyway, U don't have to do anything like that with EtherApe... in Kubuntu... It give U, 2 options, run and run as root icons... Incredibly user friendly... maybe a tad less safe... but, again, incredibly user friendly... LOL...

Thanks for the link... and help... it's a lot of reading just to say, "Well, WireShark really can't do anything unless U run it as root... In this case the capture program (dumpcap)"... but, that's what I got out of it... very informative, even if a little wordy... LOL...

Thanks again...

[SteveRiley]

Well, the wordiness is because Wireshark intentionally follows standard Linux privilege separation. Part of this includes refactoring the program into portions that must as root and portions that may run as standard user.

You don't have to follow this, of course. You can run it as root, like you discovered. But this is less safe, because more code is running with elevated privileges. Malicious traffic can infect your computer.

To take advantage of the refactoring, you have to change dumpcap's settings so that the utility runs as root while non-users whose accounts are in the system group wireshark can still capture packets. This is the preferred method because fewer bits of code run elevated now. All it takes is:

sudo dpkg-reconfigure wireshark-common

sudo adduser $USER wireshark

followed by a logout and a login.

EtherApe, while providing an interesting graphical display, hasn't been refactored, so you have to run it as root to do anything useful. This creates the same potential for malicious infection. Also, EtherApe hasn't been updated for a while and depends on GNOME 2, which someday will go away.

Ah, what am I doing? Certainly not trying to "sell" you Wireshark, even though I acknowledge it may appear that I am. But knowing these tools, and how they compare to the competition, is what I do for a living

[vinnywright]

Humm I have "played" with wireshark but do not realy use it........and the last time I played with it I was running it as root .......thanks for the nice easy explanation of how to run it safer Mr Riley

VINNY

[danix803]

Humm I have "played" with wireshark but do not realy use it........and the last time I played with it I was running it as root .......thanks for the nice easy explanation of how to run it safer Mr Riley

VINNY

Ditto Vinny...
Thanks Mr. Riley... I do appreciate the explanation... it does make perfect sense... even common sense... LOL... like always, it's a balancing act...
Thanks again...

[Guest]

There are lots many soft-wares for this purpose. But use only one with that gives complete monitoring. I have been using MindArray's network monitor its really very easy to use and its very effective. You can Search "MindArray IPM" and get more info about it.