Please could you clarify the exact steps to simply monitor total broadband usage? We are baffled by the sheer range of options on PRTG and just want to get this simple side of it working!

We want PRTG monitor to fill only ONE role: to monitor the TOTAL data upload and down load through our modem router.

We were hoping one probe and one sensor only would do the job, but cannot seem to get any sensor to start working on the router.

Currently it is an Orange Livebox, although all traffic from all the networked computers (all Windows 7 Professional) goes through an ethernet port hub first. All computers have the same admin login and password although the router obviously has its own user and login.

Thanks for your time.

Article Comments

Hello,

in order to simply measure the total bandwidth going through your network, please follow these steps:

  • Identify a gateway where all your traffic runs through. Usually, this can be a router, or the switch port a router is connected to. In your case, this might also be your ethernet hub.
  • Make sure that the identified device supports a standard protocol. For example, if you want to monitor a certain port on your switch, make sure your switch supports SNMP. Determine the SNMP version and credentials (usually, this is SNMPv1, community string public).
  • Set up your device in PRTG, and add a sensor to this device in order to monitor the traffic. For example, for a switch, add a device in PRTG with the IP address of the switch, then add an SNMP Traffic sensor to it.
    For other (more detailed) options on how to monitor bandwidth, please see How do I discern excessive bandwidth usage with PRTG?.

Aug, 2012 - Permalink