is there a good bandwidth-use logger?

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Lykho

236 posts

Master Geek

Topic # 116597 3-May-2013 17:07

(sorry, I can't tell where this thread belongs)

my flat is having quite the bandwidth problem (running out a good week early of the end of a month). the biggest problem is having no idea whose fault it is -- we've changed the password, so unless that solves it, it's one of us hording all the data...maybe someone is skyping obliviously to its cost, who knows.

I know with Windows I can see the usage from the tray, but that's only for however long the modem and computer have been on ... the modem has issues, and computers are shut down on a regular basis.

the account webpage only tells you the total, it doesn't say which computer used how much...

so, is there a program people can install to keep an eye on how much they've personally been using?

Poll

319 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 53

Reply # 810939 3-May-2013 17:14

I've used a program called networx before, it's not 100% accurate (there is a tickbox to ignore local traffic.) but it gets you in the right ballpark and it's free.

Skolink

1077 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 31

Reply # 811083 4-May-2013 07:57

You could buy a cheap router and flash it with Gargoyle, which is what I use. You can also set quotas per device, or a total. It does mean you would have double-NAT which isn't ideal, unless your modem support half-bridge mode.

Lykho

236 posts

Master Geek

Reply # 811410 5-May-2013 00:25

Skolink: You could buy a cheap router and flash it with Gargoyle, which is what I use.

a router in addition to the current set-up, or a new modem/router? how cheap is still good? (this one I'm quite sure is on its deathbed, and it's only B/G, too. so I suspect I could go cheap and it would still be an improvement...would rather not spend $200 on something that should be sorted by the ISP for free).

Skolink: You can also set quotas per device, or a total.

how do I do this? sounds like a great idea,
what access do I need (the housemates have had quite some trouble getting the information we need from the quasilandlord)

Skolink: It does mean you would have double-NAT which isn't ideal, unless your modem support half-bridge mode.

I don't speak this language.
googled, and vaguely understand what the idea is, but don't know what the implications of it are--why it's not ideal.

Lykho

236 posts

Master Geek

Reply # 811411 5-May-2013 00:29

Poll: I've used a program called networx before, it's not 100% accurate (there is a tickbox to ignore local traffic.) but it gets you in the right ballpark and it's free.

thanks.
(wanted to reply earlier but internet has lagged so badly I couldn't even google this recommendation).

Ragnor

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Reply # 811426 5-May-2013 02:51

Lykho:

how do I do this? sounds like a great idea,
what access do I need (the housemates have had quite some trouble getting the information we need from the quasilandlord)

What make/model is the current modem/router you have?

Lykho

236 posts

Master Geek

Reply # 811429 5-May-2013 03:49

Ragnor:
What make/model is the current modem/router you have?

the standard Thomson one Telecom provides, model TG585 v7

the 'settings' on NetWorx won't allow me to "Monitor my router rather than this computer", because "my router probably does not support SNMP required for this feature"

Skolink

1077 posts

Uber Geek
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Reply # 811746 5-May-2013 20:29

Gargoyle router OS is here. I bought a second-hand TP-Link TL-WR741ND for $45 off Trademe and it's been working really well for 3 years. See the tested devices list.
Flashing it was really easy, I just used the 'upgrade router' button on the standard TPLink configuration page, chose the Gargoyle image file I had downloaded, and then Gargoyle was installed.
Since you have ADSL this will be in addition to your existing modem/router. I don't know if yours supports half-bridge mode (modem only functionality, no routing).

Ragnor

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Reply # 813087 7-May-2013 17:42

Lykho:
Ragnor:
What make/model is the current modem/router you have?

the standard Thomson one Telecom provides, model TG585 v7

the 'settings' on NetWorx won't allow me to "Monitor my router rather than this computer", because "my router probably does not support SNMP required for this feature"

You may be able to enable SNMP in the web admin for the Thomson.

Ragnor

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Reply # 813105 7-May-2013 18:11

Skolink: Gargoyle router OS is here. I bought a second-hand TP-Link TL-WR741ND for $45 off Trademe and it's been working really well for 3 years. See the tested devices list.
Flashing it was really easy, I just used the 'upgrade router' button on the standard TPLink configuration page, chose the Gargoyle image file I had downloaded, and then Gargoyle was installed.
Since you have ADSL this will be in addition to your existing modem/router. I don't know if yours supports half-bridge mode (modem only functionality, no routing).

Gargoyle is a great option but it requires a bit of tech savvy to setup, I suggest reading the documentation on their site regarding installation, config and how to setup quotas.

The Thomson has a "assign public ip address to device" option which may avoid the double NAT problem.

The steps would be something like this (try your own risk):

Gargoyle Initial Setup
1: Acquire a device supported by Gargoyle, refer to the tested device list above
2: Download the right Gargoyle firmware image from their website for the device to your PC
3: Connect your machine to the device via network cable to a LAN port, don't connect the device to the Thomson yet
4: Login to the web admin for the device and update the device with Gargoyle firmware following the instructions on their site
5: After the device is updated and has rebooted etc, connect to the web admin. The Gargoyle default address is 192.168.1.1 with a pass of: password

Gargoyle Setup Continued
6: Change LAN ip address in Gargoyle to 192.168.2.1 so the network range doesn't conflict with the Thomson's default range
7: Uplug your PC from the Gargoyle device for a few seconds and then plug it back in so it gets an updated ip address via dhcp in the 192.168.2.x range
8: Login to the Gargoyle web admin which should now be on 192.168.2.1
9: Enable and setup your wifi settings
10: Enable UPNP
11: In DNS settings untick enable Name Coin/Open NIC (causes problems for me in the past)
12: WAN should be obtain automatically (DHCP)
13: Connect the Gargoyle device to the Thomson from WAN port on the Gargoyle to a LAN port on the Thomson via network cable.
14: You should be able to see in the Gargoyle web admin status is gets an ip address from the Thomson and you should be able to access the internet whilst plugged into the Gargoyle device.

Thomson Setup
15: Login to the Thomson web admin (default address is: 192.1681.254 )
16: Disable wifi as you want wifi clients to connect to the Gargoyle wifi so it's monitored/measured/etc
17: Change any devices (apart from the Gargoyle device) that are plugged into the Thomson LAN ports to be plugged into the Gargoyle LAN ports.

Thomson Setting to possibly avoid double NAT (Optional)
18: Use the "assign public ip address to client" option to assign the public ip address to the Gargoyle device

Gargoyle Setup Continued
19: Assign static ip addresses via dhcp (refer to Gargoyle docs for setting up quotas)
20: Setup quotas
21: Setup QoS