Bandwidth meter with PRTG
Track your bandwidth comprehensively and for free
- Monitor download and upload speeds & detailed data traffic in real time
- Identify bandwidth bottlenecks and optimize resource allocation
- Proactively address issues before they slow your internet connection to a crawl
Our users give top ratings for monitoring with Paessler PRTG
PRTG bandwidth meter: What you’ll find on this page
- It's how you use your network's bandwidth that counts
- 4 reasons why to choose PRTG as your bandwidth meter
- What bandwidth metering looks like in PRTG
- Complete, accurate, in-depth bandwidth usage data, 24/7
- Explore our preconfigured PRTG sensors for storage performance monitoring
- Bandwidth meter: FAQ
It's how you use your network's bandwidth that counts
How much bandwidth speed does your organization need?
If you think what you have is nowhere near enough to maintain optimal network performance, we're here to tell you that’s not necessarily the case.
You can improve download speeds, upload speeds, and have more stable, reliable LAN, WAN, and WiFi connections through optimization. The catch is that, to make effective adjustments, you need to know which hardware and software components on your network are using the most bandwidth, when they’re doing so, and why. Otherwise, you're just going in blind and hoping for the best.
Paessler PRTG's bandwidth meter makes the process quick and painless. Tracking and categorizing bandwidth consumption, alerting you if there are performance issues, and even helping you analyze long-term trends.
That means you can run a faster, more stable network, without having to constantly plead with your higher-ups for more money to throw at the problem.
PRTG makes measuring bandwidth as easy as it gets
Custom alerts and data visualization let you quickly identify and prevent network congestion, latency, jitter, and other online connectivity problems.
4 reasons why to choose PRTG as your bandwidth meter
User-friendly dashboards
Setting up and using PRTG's bandwidth meter couldn't be simpler if you tried. The automatic network discovery adds every device and application within your chosen IP range and assigns the appropriate sensors. And the interface feels instantly familiar, with data displayed in easy-to-understand charts and graphs.
Comprehensive monitoring
Much more than an internet speed test. PRTG gives you a complete picture of network traffic and the amount of bandwidth used. Preconfigured sensors monitor processes, applications, and the performance of your network devices, making troubleshooting bottlenecks and optimizing network performance a breeze.
Proactive planning
Optimizing bandwidth and ensuring a high-speed network is easy… when you have the right data. PRTG tracks usage across your network in real time, so you can make adjustments and optimize performance on the fly. Plus, you'll get automatically alerted the second your network's at risk of exceeding capacity.
Long-term visibility
PRTG’s bandwidth meter gives you an in-depth view of usage peaks and throughs, as well as other issues that might be impacting internet connection speed, throughput, and functionality or performance. And the sooner you spot patterns and trends, the better you can plan for future bandwidth requirements
What bandwidth metering looks like in PRTG
Diagnose network issues by continuously tracking bandwidth usage on modems, routers, switches, servers, and other connected hardware in your ethernet or wireless network. Show packet loss, latency, jitter, network traffic by IP address or protocol, and other key metrics in real time. Visualize monitoring data in clear graphs and dashboards to identify problems more easily. Gain the overview you need to troubleshoot bandwidth bottlenecks and network congestion.
Device tree view of the complete monitoring setup
Preconfigured Packet Sniffer sensor in PRTG
Custom PRTG dashboard for keeping an eye on the entire IT infrastructure
Start bandwidth measuring with PRTG and see how it can make your network more reliable and your job easier.
“All-around winning “The real beauty of PRTG is the endless possibilities it offers” “PRTG Network MonitorIT experts agree: Paessler PRTG is a great solution for IT infrastructure monitoring
network monitor”
is very hard to beat”
Complete, accurate, in-depth bandwidth usage data, 24/7
PRTG tracks your hardware and software components' bandwidth usage data using a variety of protocols.
Our preconfigured bandwidth monitoring sensors support monitoring via SNMP, WMI, flow technologies – including NetFlow, sFlow, IPFIX, and jFlow – SSH, HTTP and HTTPS, ping, and others, which means they work with most major enterprise network vendors and manufacturers, including Cisco, Dell, and HPE.
Every sensor tracks a parameter that could impact your bandwidth, including availability and utilization, CPU load and memory usage, data packets, response time, jitter, latency, quality of service (QoS), speed, and traffic, alerting you if performance dips so you can make adjustments and optimize your internet connections (or send an angry email to your internet provider).
Your bandwidth meter at a glance – even on the go
Set up PRTG in minutes and use it on almost any mobile device.
Find the root cause of the problem with our PRTG bandwidth meter solution
Real-time notifications mean faster troubleshooting so that you can act before more serious issues occur.
PRTG is compatible with all major vendors, products, and systems
Explore our preconfigured PRTG sensors for storage performance monitoring
PRTG comes with more than 250 native sensor types for monitoring your entire on-premises, cloud, and hybrid cloud environment out of the box. Check out some examples below!
SNMP Traffic v2
The SNMP Traffic v2 sensor monitors bandwidth and traffic on a device. It can show the following:
- Number of incoming and outgoing broadcast, multicast, unicast, and non-unicast packets
- Number of incoming and outgoing discards and errors
- Total, incoming, and outgoing traffic
- Number of incoming, unknown protocols
Packet Sniffer
The Packet Sniffer sensor monitors the headers of data packets that pass a local network card using a built-in packet sniffer. You can choose from predefined channels. It can show the following and more:
- Traffic from Citrix applications
- Traffic from file transfer (FTP/P2P) and various other protocols (UDP, TCP)
- Traffic from network services (DHCP, DNS, Ident, ICMP, SNMP)
- Internet mail traffic (IMAP, POP3, SMTP)
- Traffic from remote control applications (RDP, SSH, Telnet, Virtual Network Computing (VNC))
NetFlow v9
The NetFlow v9 sensor receives traffic data from a NetFlow v9-compatible device and shows the traffic by type. This sensor has several filter options to divide traffic into different channels. It can show the following and more:
- Traffic from Citrix applications
- Traffic from file transfer (FTP/P2P) and various other protocols (UDP, TCP)
- Traffic from network services (DHCP, DNS, Ident, ICMP, SNMP)
- Internet mail traffic (IMAP, POP3, SMTP)
- Traffic from remote control applications (RDP, SSH, Telnet, Virtual Network Computing (VNC))
jFlow v5
The jFlow v5 sensor receives traffic data from a jFlow v5-compatible device and shows the traffic by type. It can show the following and more:
- Traffic from Citrix applications
- Traffic from file transfer (FTP/P2P) and various other protocols (UDP, TCP)
- Traffic from network services (DHCP, DNS, Ident, ICMP, SNMP)
- Internet mail traffic (IMAP, POP3, SMTP)
- Traffic from remote control applications (RDP, SSH, Telnet, Virtual Network Computing (VNC))
sFlow
The sFlow sensor receives traffic data from an sFlow v5-compatible device and shows the traffic by type. This sensor has several filter options to divide traffic into different channels. It can show the following and more:
- Traffic from Citrix applications
- Traffic from file transfer (FTP/P2P) and various other protocols (UDP, TCP)
- Traffic from network services (DHCP, DNS, Ident, ICMP, SNMP)
- Internet mail traffic (IMAP, POP3, SMTP)
- Traffic from remote control applications (RDP, SSH, Telnet, Virtual Network Computing (VNC))
Create innovative solutions with Paessler’s partners
Partnering with innovative vendors, Paessler unleashes synergies to create
new and additional benefits for joined customers.
With ScriptRunner, Paessler integrates a powerful event automation platform into PRTG Network Monitor.
ScriptRunner
“Excellent tool for detailed monitoring. Alarms and notifications work greatly. Equipment addition is straight forward and server initial setup is very easy. ...feel safe to purchase it if you intend to monitor a large networking landscape.”
Infrastructure and Operations Engineer in the Communications Industry, firm size 10B - 30B USD
PRTG makes measuring bandwidth as easy as it gets
Custom alerts and data visualization let you quickly identify and prevent network congestion, latency, jitter, and other online connectivity problems.
Bandwidth meter: FAQ
What is bandwidth?
In enterprise networks, bandwidth is how much data can be transferred between two endpoints in a given time-frame. It's typically measured in megabits per second (Mbps) or, more and more, in gigabits per second (Gbps).
Higher bandwidth means your network can handle more data more quickly, which helps your internet connections run faster and be more stable and reliable. When bandwidth is low, your internet connections can slow down or become unstable. It may also not be able to support all the connected devices, applications, internet services, and other components your organization needs to operate effectively.
What is a bandwidth meter?
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 vs bandwidth management: what's the difference?
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.
How does PRTG's bandwidth meter help with bandwidth management?
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.
What is a sensor in PRTG?
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.
PRTG: The multi-tool for sysadmins
Adapt PRTG individually and dynamically to your needs and rely on a strong API:- HTTP API: Access monitoring data and manipulate monitoring objects via HTTP requests
- Custom sensors: Create your own PRTG sensors for customized monitoring
- Custom notifications: Create your own notifications and send action triggers to external systems
- REST Custom sensor: Monitor almost everything that provides data in XML or JSON format
Paessler conducted trials in over 600 IT departments worldwide to tune its network monitoring software closer to the needs of sysadmins. We asked: would you recommend PRTG?
Over 95% of our customers say yes!
The result of the survey: over 95% of the participants would recommend PRTG – or already have.
Paessler PRTG is used by companies of all sizes. Sysadmins love PRTG because it makes their job a whole lot easier. Bandwidth, servers, virtual environments, websites, VoIP services – PRTG keeps an eye on your entire network. Everyone has different monitoring needs. That’s why we let you try PRTG for free.Still not convinced?
More than 500,000
sysadmins love PRTG
Monitor your entire IT infrastructure
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Start bandwidth measuring with PRTG and see how it can make your network more reliable and your job easier.
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PRTG |
Network Monitoring Software - Version 24.4.102.1351 (November 12th, 2024) |
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Hosting |
Download for Windows and cloud-based version PRTG Hosted Monitor available |
Languages |
English, German, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Dutch, Russian, Japanese, and Simplified Chinese |
Pricing |
Up to 100 sensors for free (Price List) |
Unified Monitoring |
Network devices, bandwidth, servers, applications, virtual environments, remote systems, IoT, and more |
Supported Vendors & Applications |
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