How To Monitor Network Traffic In LAN?
Abstract
Network monitoring is used to collect statistics such as packets per second, bytes per second and the number of packets with errors on a network. Basically, it tells you how much traffic is passing through your router at any given time.
It can also be used for:
Monitoring system performance Verify that data packets are being sent and received Resolve network problems and bottlenecks Troubleshoot Internet connection issues Determine whether security policies are effective Identify peak usage times Detect abnormal activity Review historical traffic patterns Monitor outbound web browsing activity Test device response time Check if an employee is downloading music or watching videos Improve product features (i.e., bandwidth) by identifying low speed tier customers Identify trends (i.e., bandwidth usage)
It is a requirement of many companies to monitor the amount of traffic passing through their network. The reason for this is that it can be used as a form of security, and ensure that there are no unauthorized transmissions going on. It also helps to identify runaway applications and devices that may be causing slowness or congestion in other parts of the system.As long as you have access (via console cable, telnet/ssh session, etc.) to the routers and switches throughout your network, you can monitor their activity using command line tools such as “show interface”, “show controllers”, “show processes cpu history” commands when monitoring the router’s CPU utilization.
How to Monitor Network traffic in LAN
There are various tools available to monitor network traffic in LAN, following are the list of free tools which will help you to do this task easily.
1) Microsoft Network Monitor: This is the best tool for monitoring any type of network traffic. It provides many features to capture data packets passing through your computer or LAN. You can download it from here . The only drawback with this software is that it runs on windows operating system only, so if you have Linux box then you need to install Wireshark software to perform similar kind of tasks which Microsoft Network Monitor does in windows environment.
2) Wireshark: Wireshark works on both Operating Systems i.e Windows and Linux. captures live packet information passing through your computer, analyzes them and displays the captured data in human-readable form. You can download it from here .
3) Iperf: This tool will help you to find out the maximum network throughput on your system which is achieved by implementing TCP/UDP traffic. It supports various features such as server mode, client mode, measurement of the round trip time etc.
4) VOIP GSM Emulator: This software also helps you to monitor the voice over ip traffic passing through your LAN or computer with proper Call control mechanism.
5) Network Bandwidth Monitor Pro: In addition to this there are many free tools available which help you to monitor bandwidth utilization of a particular user who is connected with your local area network.
For example, you can use the “NetLimiter” tool for monitoring download and upload speed of a particular user which is connected to your LAN. Apart from this there are many other free tools available in the market that help you to monitor bandwidth utilization on your computer or network. In order to test if data packets are being sent and received successfully, you need to open multiple sessions via UDP ports 1000-2000. If the network traffic meter registers any positive results it means your system’s traffic is going accordingly without causing any congestion.
Benefits of Network Monitoring
Following are the list of benefits which you will enjoy by monitoring network traffic:
1. You can find unknown devices or users who are connected with your network and causing congestion in other parts of the system.
2. There is also a possibility that if any user is using more bandwidth as compared to others then it may be possible that some unauthorized device has been attached with his/her computer which is consuming all his/her bandwidth and the owner doesn’t even know about it. So now you can easily identify such kinds of activities on your local area network (LAN) and take appropriate actions against them like informing ISP’s etc., so they can block such suspicious devices from their network and avoid further leakage of data packets outside the LAN.
3. By monitoring network traffic you can also discover any unknown device which is attached with your LAN and has been consuming bandwidth on the system;
4. You can find out the maximum throughput achieved by implementing TCP/UDP traffic on your system,
5. If you are a network administrator or on-network computer technician then you need to monitor your entire LAN for locating possible issues which may be affecting other users as well as yourself who is working on the same network throughout the day without achieving expected results. So such a tool not only helps you to monitor but an important part of troubleshooting as well if required, i.e how much network data packets sent & received per second etc., so that it will help you to minimize problems in your LAN at nominal cost.
Conclusion
Network Monitoring is a very essential part of network monitoring and troubleshooting. In order to achieve success in today’s competitive world, you have to minimize chances of your network going down or being affected by hackers or unauthorized devices connected with your computer which consumes bandwidth unnecessarily. All the above-mentioned tools help you to monitor your entire LAN for free, so it will help you avoid unnecessary expenditure on Network Monitoring Services before implementing any kind of changes in your existing system.
I hope that by reading this article you will be able to monitor your network traffic using free tools like NetLimiter, VOIP GSM Emulator etc., after doing so you can easily monitor overall network performance, packets’ send & receive speed and also discover any unknown device which has been attached with your LAN without your permission.
