network traffic analyzer

[ful56_uk]

hi

any one know of good software that i could use on the network to monitor traffic. i would like to see what protocols are being used and see what is hitting the bandwith hard, either by installing an agent on each pc or scanning it by ip etc..

we have a mixture of mostly netgear and a hp switch at the core.

[plexer]

wireshark?

Ben

[ful56_uk]

How can you use wireshark to monitor the entire network and gain a picture of what devices are using the most bandwith or what protocol is being used the most?

[Geoff]

For quickly peeking try this.

Wireshark · Go deep.

For more 'long term' monitoring this setup on a dedicated machine is more informative.

ntop - network top

Works best if your core switch understands netflow or you can mirror the traffic to a spare port.

[Butuz]

Free version of PRTG Traffic Grapher is pretty good nice and easy to install and use (though not as deep and advanced as something like wireshark!).

Butuz

[scottjames1981]

The fact is Wireshark can do this.

I have an article for you: 12 most recommended network monitoring tools - Enterprise Servers & Storage - Techguide