Private users

Many private users are interested in determining the amount of bandwidth they have at their disposal. Or more precisely: if the bandwidth guaranteed by their internet service provider is indeed the amount that is available. In this context, many consumers investigate speed tests, DSL bandwidth, or whether their cell phones or tablets are able to access the respective bandwidth.

• In addition to PRTG, which of course can help in this area, you may opt for a simple cable speed test which can be found online on a variety of different sites and often measures the ping as well. Start using our bandwidth manager for your network.

Professional settings

In professional settings (businesses or large organizations), reduced bandwidth has significantly graver consequences. Disruptions lead to idleness on the part of employees and customers and a corresponding loss of sales. Administrators must promptly expose and eliminate bandwidth hogs.

• In this instance, our PRTG bandwidth monitoring tool will help you to monitor bandwidth, detect and measure heavy bandwidth overloads, quickly recognize potential disruptions – and get down to the root of the problem.

PRTG Network Monitor reads the complete traffic data from your router and provides detailed statistics about which services and programs use your bandwidth, and where potential bottlenecks could be.

PRTG displays your bandwidth usage in graphs and toplists and shows net bandwidth consumption based on various parameters such as port numbers, IP addresses, protocols, etc., using either Packet Sniffing or xFlow sensors (NetFlow, sFlow, jFlow, and IPFIX).

Custom alerts notify you about bandwidth shortages via SMS, email, or push notifications. This ensures you can react proactively to all bandwidth issues and troubleshoot problems before they become severe.

Monitoring bandwidth usage is key to better network management.

"Due to business-critical applications, it is of the utmost importance that the ÖBB Infrastruktur AG data network constantly run flawlessly. To make this a reality, the management installed PRTG Network Monitor. PRTG is used for the bandwidth monitoring of the central routers and switches in the data network so administrators can determine the most important key parameters for utilization and availability. In total, the monitoring consists of several thousand sensors which query the relevant values in regular intervals."

To the case study (in German)

Test bandwidth:
Use PRTG to test with success!
 

PRTG BANDWIDTH MONITORING METHODS

by Heather Pacan, systems engineer

In this video, you’ll get a quick overview of the methods PRTG offers. Discover which method is best suited for your IT infrastructure.

View video (3:57 Min.)

You’d like to know if your ISP actually provides the bandwidth they’ve promised? Then just like many administrators, you probably perform frequent SLA checks. But how do you test bandwidth? Two challenges arise: 

Challenge 1:

In order to test the maximum throughput, you must use your line to maximum capacity. This means there will be no more resources for other data during the network test. In other words, you'll paralyze your network.

Challenge 2: 

For a 100% measurement, you’ll essentially need two computers which are directly located on the ends of the line whose bandwidth you would like to test. Otherwise you will also simultaneously test all network devices found on the “test track.”

For these reasons, you cannot measure the bandwidth directly over the course of the entire test, but must test the speed of the line by generating short load peaks, e.g. by downloading a small file (a few kB) every few minutes and measuring the time it takes for the download.

Bandwidth monitor: What makes PRTG better than the rest?

PAESSLER AG –
German quality
engineering

• Unlimited version of PRTG for 30 days
• After 30 days, PRTG reverts to a free version
• Or, you can upgrade to a paid license anytime

Administrators must compare monitoring tools or search for a free one. There are several suppliers on the market.

PRTG comes with a full range of advantages:

1. Free trial version: PRTG is available in a free trial version. Use this version to get a feel for our network monitoring tool with no risk whatsoever.

2. Over 200,000 administrators: whether in large or small businesses, authorities, colleges or administrations - all around the world, more than 200,000 administrators put their trust in our network monitoring tool, and can therefore also monitor their bandwidth. Read our case studies here.

3. Support: do you have a question? We respond in a jiffy! You can already access a great deal of information online by consulting our FAQs, manuals, videos, webcasts, or knowledge base. You can of course also send us a message. We'll do our best to get back to you within 24 hours on business days.

PRTG – your network monitoring tool

PRTG is the Paessler AG all-in-one network monitoring tool. Our software is used by more than 200,000 administrators worldwide, whether it be to monitor their hardware- and server performance , their virtual environments, or the accessibility of their websites. Use PRTG for database monitoring or sql monitoring.  PRTG is a one fits all network analyzer tool.

Save time, worry, and money. PRTG is configured in a matter of minutes. The trial version is offered free of charge. And you can upgrade whenever you like.