Posts

Ubuntu web traffic meters

On Ubuntu, several applications are available to control, monitor, and visualize network traffic and web activity for applications or services. Here are some of the top tools for these purposes:

Get list of network devices by UNIX apps:
ip

1
ip link show

ifconfig
1
ifconfig -a

1. Wireshark

  • Description: Wireshark is a powerful, GUI-based network protocol analyzer that captures and displays detailed information about network traffic. It supports filtering, visualization, and analysis of network packets.

  • Features: Packet filtering, protocol analysis, real-time capture, and color-coded visualizations.

  • Installation:

    1
    sudo apt update sudo apt install wireshark -y

  • Usage: Launch with wireshark and select a network interface to start capturing packets.

2. nload

  • Description: A command-line tool that provides a real-time visual representation of incoming and outgoing network traffic per interface.

  • Features: Bandwidth monitoring with visual bars and traffic graphs.

  • Installation:

    1
    sudo apt update sudo apt install nload -y

  • Usage: Run nload followed by the network interface name, for example:

    1
    nload eth0

3. ntopng

  • Description: ntopng is a web-based tool for monitoring network traffic. It provides detailed analytics on application usage, IP addresses, and protocol data. It also supports various filters.

  • Features: Web-based UI, detailed traffic statistics, protocol analysis, and application-level monitoring.

  • Installation:

    1
    sudo apt update sudo apt install ntopng -y

  • Usage: Access the web interface at http://localhost:3000.

4. iftop

  • Description: A terminal-based tool for monitoring network traffic. It shows a list of connections with their bandwidth usage.
  • Features: Sortable columns, bandwidth tracking, and customizable filters.
  • Installation:
1
sudo apt update sudo apt install iftop -y
  • Usage: Run with sudo for full functionality: 
    1
    sudo iftop

5. Tcpdump

  • Description: A powerful command-line packet analyzer that captures network traffic and saves it for analysis.

  • Features: Highly customizable packet capture, supports saving data in pcap format for analysis in Wireshark.

  • Installation:

    1
    sudo apt update sudo apt install tcpdump -y

    `

  • Usage: For capturing HTTP traffic on a specific interface, for example:

    1
    sudo tcpdump -i eth0 'port 80'

Each of these tools offers different advantages depending on your needs, from basic bandwidth