Free Bandwidth Meter PRTG

A bandwidth meter (or bandwidth tester or bandwidth calculator) is a tool that measures the amount of data being transmitted or received over a network connection, typically in real time. It is used to monitor network bandwidth usage, which refers to the data transfer rate measured in bits per second (bps) between devices on a network.

Key purposes of a bandwidth meter include:

• Monitoring internet usage: It shows how much data is being used over a network or internet connection, helping users keep track of their data consumption.
• Speed testing: It helps users measure the speed of their connection by showing how fast data is uploaded and downloaded from the internet.
• Network performance diagnostics: A bandwidth meter can help identify network bottlenecks or issues that are slowing down a connection.
• Traffic analysis: It allows for the analysis of network traffic, showing the bandwidth needs of different applications or devices at any given time.

Bandwidth monitoring means tracking how much data your network is processing, while bandwidth management means controlling and optimizing the available bandwidth. Think of it this way. If your network were a highway, monitoring would be traffic cameras, and management would be traffic control measures such as bus lanes, speed limits, and traffic lights.

Both are critical if you want to manage your network effectively. Bandwidth monitoring shows you how much bandwidth is being used and by which network components. Bandwidth management is the process of assessing whether bandwidth usage suits your needs and, if not, prioritizing where it should go.

PRTG's bandwidth meter monitors all your network components round the clock, enabling you to see exactly how much bandwidth specific software, hardware, or other components are using at any point in time. Better still, it alerts you automatically if bandwidth usage goes above a predetermined threshold, so you can make adjustments on the fly, before your network's performance starts to suffer.

In PRTG, “sensors” are the basic monitoring elements. One sensor usually monitors one measured value in your network, for example the traffic of a switch port, the CPU load of a server, or the free space on a disk drive.

On average, you need about 5-10 sensors per device or one sensor per switch port.