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How do I see the bandwidth being used by each device on the network

asked 2023-02-11 00:39:46 +0000

gavinmish gravatar image

apologies as I am super new to wire shark. I've got a minimal amount of IT background so will likely need pretty specific step by step help.

I am trying to see how much bandwidth is being used by every device on my network.

I purchased a SharkTap device to pull data. I have the hardware setup and I believe I captured data for a couple of minutes. However I have no idea how to see bandwidth used by each device. For example, I have a 1GB Comcast line. I'm guessing it probably only allows for around 800Mbs down when all is said and done. With 2 wireless TVs, 3 wireless smart phones, and a wired desktop, plus wireless laptop, I'd like to see the bandwidth being taken for each device over a 2 minute span. Like the laptop averaged 100 MBs and smart phone #1 was using 30MBs, etc, etc. Basically I want to find the bandwidth hog on my device.

I have no clue how to do this. Thank you SO much in advance for your help.

Gavin

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answered 2023-02-12 04:31:35 +0000

BigFatCat gravatar image

Wireshark may not be the best tool for this task. Wireshark shows the bandwidth utilization in the capture. The packet capture needs to begin prior to the event and be saved afterward. You will have to keep starting new captures until you are sure you have the correct data. The packet capture could have a huge amount of packets, which will probably slow down Wireshark

A good option is to install network monitoring software. The software can monitor network traffic for months at a time. The software can then use the data to create various network performance reports. If there are anomalies in the report, install a sniffer to capture packets and use Wireshark to analyze the packets.

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This question should have been asked. What is it you want to accomplish? There are usually tools that are right for the job.

BigFatCat gravatar imageBigFatCat ( 2023-02-12 23:52:40 +0000 )edit

We are trying to be able to see who the bandwidth hogs are on our ISP. My understanding is that any software monitoring tool can only see bandwidth being used by the device it is installed on. Since we have dozens of devices... some of which do not have an OS that allows install of monitoring software, I'd been told we would need to get a hardware tool that monitors all traffic. Thus my purchase of SharkTap.

gmish gravatar imagegmish ( 2023-02-13 15:33:18 +0000 )edit
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answered 2023-02-11 11:51:12 +0000

grahamb gravatar image

Wireshark isn't the answer here, it's a packet analyzer not a bandwidth monitoring tool.

Ideally your router would be able to display this information, but usually home\SoHo routers don't provide this data unless you can flash them with more useful firmware such as OpenWRT.

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Strange, I could have sworn someone told be that wireshark could do this. Are we saying that there is not a single hardware device on the market that can be added to an existing functioning network, to see the bandwidth being used by every device on the system? I would think this is a relatively simple thing.... it would just pass through all the traffic while measuring the bandwidth used by each device. Anyone know of any hardware that can do this?

gmish gravatar imagegmish ( 2023-02-11 20:12:09 +0000 )edit

a 1GB Comcast line


(I was working with a 10Mbit WISP connection - YMMV)
The Ubiquiti EdgeRouter X has a screen with current traffic usage for each device being routed through it. It might tip over with your high-speed connection.

If you can get your hands on a Raspberry Pi, maybe this would be a better solution:
Monitoring Network Traffic Using Ntop on Raspberry Pi

https://www.ntop.org/products/traffic...

ntopng is a network traffic probe that provides 360° Network visibility, with its ability to gather traffic information from traffic mirrors, ...

Chuckc gravatar imageChuckc ( 2023-02-12 17:54:58 +0000 )edit

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Asked: 2023-02-11 00:39:46 +0000

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Last updated: Feb 12 '23