Monitoring usage
 

Probably been asked before, but I've searched many threads and can't find the answer.

Given that there is a theoretical cap (and I say theoretical as that's what some of the guys over at nthellworld.com insisted) is there a freeware application that allows a user to view the amount of traffic uploaded/downloaded over a given period?

Thanks in advance.

Re: Monitoring usage
 

DUmeter is a good one but not freeware

Having a quick search on the squinternet I found:
http://www.junell.com/docs/sw/bwmeter/bwmeter.zip

Would be nice if NTL provided something that we could use to ensure that we don't go over our allocate 1gb....As many threads will tell you though - Noone as yet seems to have been affected by the CAP. Question - Can NTL manage to monitor all the connections?

Re: Monitoring usage
 

Thanks Tricky.
Been looking for ages!

Re: Monitoring usage
 

I wouldn't worry about breaking the limit aranj. Nobody has ever heard of ntl enforcing this policy. Looks like AntiCap got there way in the end ;)

Re: Monitoring usage
 

Try Down2Home it will do every thing that you need
and it's Freeware, it can be downloaded from

http://jitserv.coolfreepage.com/

HTH

Re: Monitoring usage
 

Someone mention cap :)

Re: Monitoring usage
 

If you have a home network tho - none of these apps are gonna work :/

Re: Monitoring usage
 

Due meter is no good if their is an internal network unlees they all go through one computer.
MRTG is the best but will not work with NTL coz they block the IP number it uses to log the uploads and downloads.
I have been on about this for months on .com with no luck. I have even said NTL should supply this function for members to mnitor their useage if they wished.
I do nkow that Blueyonder allow this to work and one person who uses MRTG to monitor his bandwidth has it online here looks really good shame NTL block this function perhaps if others got together we could start contacting NTL as a group and not individual people.

Re: Monitoring usage
 

What about www.bmextreme.com ?

Re: Monitoring usage
 

If this only works on the PC you are using it isn't going to help those with teenager children sharing the network through a router. To monitor the bandwidth properly it has to be done on the SACM or STB.

NTL could do this and allow you access to the graphs online where you would log in and only have read access. I have downloaded bmextreme and have it running along du meter. Du meter is no good as it also adds the internel network traffic to the routers incoming and outgoing traffic.

It is really hard to know if you are inside or outside the guidlines of the AUP. Many don't care if they are or not I do care and wish to try and stay within the AUP.

I am willling to try and talk to NTL if more customers wish to have this feature added so they can monitor their usage. I don't need customer details just the forum names on here and a PM I can show saying that customers do want a way to monitor the usage.

Re: Monitoring usage
 

DU Meter can be set to monitor a specific adaptor. I only monitor the cable modem ethernet card and not the Internet LAN traffic.

Re: Monitoring usage
 

I actually put a request to the authors of DU Meter to allow it to be configure to monitor different ports so you could record Internet traffic seperately from PC to PC traffic. They replied with they'd consider it for the next release - now if everyone requested it?

Re: Monitoring usage
 

With the increasing trend towards users running domestic lans I would be amazed if they don't include this as a feature in the next release but yes a great idea and have already e-mailed them the same request. :)

Re: Monitoring usage
 

The main problem is two teenagers sharing the connection through a router. I need to know what traffic is going to them. Which needs a program like MRTG which works on the IP address of the SACM. I can monitor my usage and already do. BUT to stay inside teh AUP I need to monitor their's like I said in my post.

Re: Monitoring usage
 

Have you checked if your router (normally in the config) has any facilities for logging etc. I know one of my Linksys ones does but my TrendNet doesn't.

Re: Monitoring usage
 

why worry? as has been stated ntl don't seem to enforce the cap. I've manged 3.3gb in one day and not a word!!. But, I can assure you that there is a team who monitor it. I think the only time you'll hear anything is if a particular UBR has a problem and your the heavy user on it. As for the cap, the US cable Co's all have one, so it was only a matter of time before it came here.

Re: Monitoring usage
 

MRTG Monitoring is possible but it wouldnt be permanent. At times there have been times when the modem has opened itself up and started listening but then after about an hour it would close the bridge and reject it for around 5 hours then open again. Not really useful but when it is open - it works fine :)

Re: Monitoring usage
 

I have never managed to get this to work as it will not communicate at all can't even ping it.

Re: Monitoring usage
 

it must be an regional thing PRTG has been working fine for me for over 6 months now.
kitty have you considered changing to a router that has proper snmp support so you can poll that instead of the cable modem?

Re: Monitoring usage
 

For now its the money side thats stopping a change of router I have been in contact with Linksys to see if they can alter the frimware to allow this but they havent come up with any ideas. Another company did point out that if NTL want to start adding in restrictions that wasn't there when customers joined then they should provide the was to monitor it online.

I have a linksys BEFSR41 version 2 I know this will not block MRTG as I have a friend who uses MRTG on the telewest BB and his is online for all to see.

I have used PRTG but it has to have the SACM rebooted to get it to work and if anything happens like the pc rebooting or an illegal operation it stops and will not start again without another reboot of the SACM. BBKing did suggest this was not the best way to go about it so I have stopped rebooting the SACM. This leaves me back where I started DU- Meter logging just me if I put it on the kids they turn it off my son blames it for slowing his game down,perhaps he don't want me to know what amount he is downloading.

Re: Monitoring usage
 

Kitty, if PRTG works that way then MRTG will but here it seems to open every 5 hours which is pretty pointless for me.
I mean the cable modem is on the same subnet of 255.255.255.0 so there shouldnt be a problem and as demonstrated on robin walkers site - once the default gateway is the cable modem its straight open. I think its the UBR tbh... But id just love to figure out how to bind 192.168.100.2 on netmask 255.255.255.0 with a default gateway of 192.168.100.1 without having to disabled my main internet connection... :/

Re: Monitoring usage
 

If anyone can tell you its BBKing he is the best NTL have and if its possible then its BBK who will know how.

Re: Monitoring usage
 

BBKing is around here? If so can you please give Windows XP instructions for binding a second ip/gateway and netmask to the same adapter?

Linux its easily possible...

Re: Monitoring usage
 

This is trivial if the primary IP is fixed (click the Advanced button in TCP/IP configuration), but impossible if the primary IP is issued by DHCP.

Re: Monitoring usage
 

You can use a static IP on ntl for a bit but it will eventually time you out. Using a second IP would then be possible for a bit.

Could the problem be stated clearly for me please, I'm a bit dense at the moment (at home looking after baby and rebuilding server which exploded in the night).

It's unlikely ntl will allow you to directly hit the CM ntl-side IP (which isn't 192.168.x.x). There are also different types of SACMs in ex-CWC areas (such as Kitty and the chap from Yarmouth) so that may make a difference.

Re: Monitoring usage
 

du meter will work internal lan or not, only diff is if you do have an internal lan then you need to configure du meter to only use the cable modem device, having configurable ports isnt much good lan doesnt use any specified ports.

Re: Monitoring usage
 

I wonder how much of our net traffic quota is made up of spam, ads and popups. I use google tool bar to stop popups which hopefully doesnt count towards the total, but the flash ads are a pain and must add some to the total bytes?

Re: Monitoring usage
 

My only problem is the damn thing won't work on NTLs setup when will they work like Blueyobder and allow us to monitor. Or if they distrust us that much supply it online for us to view only, but willl show whats goinhg through the SACM daily/monthly.
Tell me all I ever wanted was to monitor my own online usage of bandwidth..... You would think I was asking NTL for gold bullian.... One thing it might show up is the crap speed of this weekend...

Re: Monitoring usage
 

Well 192.168.100.1 is the modems address, it provides the diagnostic web stats. Only if we bypass ntls ubr and connect straight to the modem can we access it.

We just want to use SNMP to monitor the modem and find out our usage using MRTG, PRTG, Lanspy bandwidth monitor pro, etc... So we can monitor our usage and probably lower it or find out what its used on

Re: Monitoring usage
 

i know ntl don't enforce the cap but i try to keep to the spirit of it.
if i couldn't monitor my usage i could easily go over it all the time.

Re: Monitoring usage
 

I really don't understand what you are trying to do and not succeeding with. Can you be more specific? The cable modem is closer to you than the UBR, so there is no meaning in saying only if we bypass the UBR and connect straight to the cable modem.

If you have a Stand-Alone Cable Modem, then you can use 192.168.100.1 to access the traffic counters via SNMP. This is how DocsDiag works. If you can use DocsDiag, then MRTG and all the rest will work too.

If you have a router or a firewall between the cable modem and your PC, then there might be problems because of the router/firewall not handling the SNMP replies correctly: this is not NTL's problem.

If you have digital TV set top box being used as a cable modem, then the SNMP features are not available to you. This is unlikely ever to change.

Re: Monitoring usage
 

Robin just as an aside is there any program that can be used on STB to monitor useage.
I have a belkin router and three pcs connected so am after something to monitor the traffic through the router.

Re: Monitoring usage
 

Tbh Id prefer to make some cool graphs to show my connections working fine - When i see the spikes then i think either - Im not using my connection or somethings happening.

I employ MRTG and RRDTOOL generated tools on my web hosting server and it provides useful information and information to assist in diagnosing problems.

Re: Monitoring usage
 

There is no way available to the customer to measure traffic through an STB. Your best bet would be to use a router that supports SNMP querying of traffic counters, and monitor that instead: everything that goes through the router WAN port will be going through the STB, so monitoring the router is as good as monitoring the STB.

The practical problem is that very few domestic routers have sales literature that reveals whether they support SNMP, so that you can choose one before purchase.

Re: Monitoring usage
 

RDHW - In theory it should work - http://192.168.100.1 is unreachable - Pinging 192.168.100.1 is unreachable = The only way getting to it is if the default gateway is 192.168.100.1

Any other way and it wont work... As i prefer to use my internet while monitoring - It wouldnt be too good if i monitored without actually having internet access.

No router or firewall in place of the modem (Yes i really must install a firewall soon)

Ambit 200 cable modem via ETHERNET

Any ideas?

Re: Monitoring usage
 

What operating system are you getting these results with? Is this in an ex-C&W region of the country, or an original NTL region? Using Windows XP and an Ambit 100 in an original NTL region does not have this problem, and of course there are thousands of NTL users who happily read diagnostics from their Ambit via 192.168.100.1 using their web browser while online. So if you cannot do this, something must be different. Either the Ambit 200, or the ex-C&W setup, or the operating system.

There is one interesting misfeature of at least some (maybe all) of the Ambits: if you send a request to 192.168.100.1 during normal online working, the reply packets are labelled as coming from the ISP-side private IP address, and the replies are routed via the CMTS head-end (UBR) and back again (tromboned), rather than directly from the SACM to the PC. This reply might be blocked by security settings in the CMTS in the ex-C&W region. This mis-match of response IP address might cause routers and firewalls to drop the replies.

Re: Monitoring usage
 

Windows XP - Ambit 200 - EX C&W

Ive had periods of time where it seems "Open" and i can get in for an hour or so to monitor the modem but after that it will close again...

Re: Monitoring usage
 

I have the Ambit 200 with a linksys router. I have tried both with the router and without.. still the same. I am using windows 2000 I do know that the router will not block it as a friend has the exact router on his cable modem and his MRTG graphs are on his website for all to see, I am also EX C&W area.

to quote a post I did earlier.

I am still willing to arrange a meeting and spend time talking face to face with someone from NTL if it could get this idea on the future plans and then set up so customers can watch what they are doing with the connection..

Re: Monitoring usage
 

If they enable SNMP, ship a version of mrtg combined with a small webserver that only opens itself up to 127.0.01 and then shove a link on their desktop to the webserver and port to show the usage then wouldnt that be ok?
Unless they were doing it server side which be easier for us :) but harder for NTL.

But some have SNMP/Modem access while we cant with Ambit 200s in EX C&W... :/ Is there no way at all to get around this problem without NTL intervening?

Re: Monitoring usage
 

To hjf288, Kitty, and all others affected by not being able to communicate with their stand-alone cable modem in ex-C&W regions:

Please try the following experiment and report back. This assumes that your PC is directly connected to your cable modem (without a router in the way):

1. Open a command prompt window.
2. Discover your IP address by typing the command:

ipconfig

3. Let your IP address that you found be aaa.bbb.ccc.ddd
4. Type exactly the command:

route add 192.168.100.0 mask 255.255.255.0 aaa.bbb.ccc.ddd

where you replace aaa.bbb.ccc.ddd with the IP address that you discovered in step 2.

Now can your PC communicate with your cable modem on 192.168.100.1? For instance, try ping, and try accessing the web interface in the cable modem.

Re: Monitoring usage
 

I will take the router off tonight when the kids have gone to bed and test this out. Will report back here.

Re: Monitoring usage
 

C:\Documents and Settings\Henry J. Fallon>route add 192.168.100.1 mask 255.255.255.0 81.**.***.***
The route addition failed: The specified mask parameter is invalid. (Destination & Mask) != Destination.


C:\Documents and Settings\Henry J. Fallon>route add 192.168.100.0 mask 255.255.255.0 81.**.***.***

The above one completes successfully but doesnt help, the very top one wont work...

Re: Monitoring usage
 

Um - it's all very well asterisking out your IP address but leaving your actual name in the directory structure rather defeats the object :)

Also if you just asterisk out the last digit of your IP at least I can see which UBR you're connected to.

Re: Monitoring usage
 

It didn't work here I removed the router and followed the instructions. my IP is 81.97.2.*** I still cannot ping the SACM I also have Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 81.97.2.***


:shrug: would have thought NTL would like customers to monitor their usage and attempt to stay inside the AUP even though its not being applied it will one day or they would have removed it from the AUP.

Re: Monitoring usage
 

BBKing, Why didnt you ask i couldve left the ips in :P But my name, i dont mind but i prefer not to disclose my ip unless asked for it.

BTW My modem is responding to monitoring as of 12:22 today... from a fresh power on of my system

Re: Monitoring usage
 

13:10 - Modem stopped responding

10.21.16.1 <-- I think thats the UBR im on

Re: Monitoring usage
 

What monitoring program are you using and how did you set it up for it to work?

Re: Monitoring usage
 

PRTG - Device: 192.168.100.1 - SNMP String: Public

Monitoring Report - Continous Polling:

Events From All Network Devices - Today

24/12/2003 06:50 PM Ambit 200 Cable Modem has stopped responding (Request Timed Out)
24/12/2003 06:25 PM Ambit 200 Cable Modem is responding again. Response time is 1 milliseconds
24/12/2003 02:55 PM Ambit 200 Cable Modem has stopped responding (Request Timed Out)
24/12/2003 02:27 PM Ambit 200 Cable Modem is responding again. Response time is 3 milliseconds
24/12/2003 02:19 PM Removed Ambit 200 Cable Modem-Software Loopback

Re: Monitoring usage
 

25/12/2003 02:24 AM Ambit 200 Cable Modem is responding again. Response time is 1 milliseconds
24/12/2003 10:49 PM Ambit 200 Cable Modem has stopped responding (Request Timed Out)
24/12/2003 10:24 PM Ambit 200 Cable Modem is responding again. Response time is 1 milliseconds

Weird stuff, it works and it doesnt

Btw Merry christmas all :)

Re: Monitoring usage
 

So does anyone know how to set up MRTG with an ntl cablemodem?

Got any example config files?

:confused:

Re: Monitoring usage
 

if your using windows you can download an easy to use bundle here.

Re: Monitoring usage
 

be better if i included the link :)

http://open-innovations.com/mrtgbundle.html

Re: Monitoring usage
 

Why does it have to be teenagers sharing the Lan through a router? lol.. don't other people of different ages know how to use a PC? :)

Re: Monitoring usage
 

Having read this thread I still cannot get PRTG to work - I am using the following (all ethernet connected) under Windows XP Pro.

1x NTL Cable Modem Ambit 100
1x Linksys WRT54G Router

Any ideas? - PRTG When trying to connect says "could not connect to device" using "Public" string

Re: Monitoring usage
 

True.

I've downloaded much more than 1GB a day sometimes.

Haven't heard a thing from NTL.

Re: Monitoring usage
 

Sorted - Got SNMP working on the router
Installed the WiFiBox Firmware (beats Linksys hands down!)