Study of bmon Command

 

Experiment

 Study of bmon Command

🎯 Aim

To monitor network bandwidth usage in real-time using the bmon command.

📘 Objective

By the end of this experiment, students will be able to:

  • Monitor real-time bandwidth usage of network interfaces
  • Analyze incoming and outgoing traffic
  • Compare bandwidth across multiple interfaces
  • Understand graphical/text-based traffic representation

📖 Theory

The bmon (Bandwidth Monitor) command is a tool used to:

  • Display real-time network bandwidth usage
  • Provide both text and graphical interface in terminal

👉 It shows:

  • Data transfer rates (incoming & outgoing)
  • Interface-wise bandwidth usage
  • Traffic statistics in a visual format

👉 Compared to tools like iftop, bmon focuses more on:

  • Interface-level monitoring rather than per-connection

🧾 Syntax

bmon [options]

🔧 Common Options

  • -p <interface> → Monitor specific interface
  • -o <output> → Output format (e.g., ascii)
  • -r <rate> → Refresh rate
  • -b → Show values in bits per second

🧰 Prerequisites

  • Linux system
  • bmon installed

Installation:

sudo apt install bmon

🔬 Procedure & Commands

1️⃣ Run bmon

bmon

👉 Displays all interfaces with real-time bandwidth.

2️⃣ Monitor Specific Interface

bmon -p eth0

3️⃣ Change Refresh Rate

bmon -r 1

👉 Updates every 1 second.

4️⃣ Display in Bits

bmon -b

5️⃣ ASCII Output Mode

bmon -o ascii

🖥️ Interface Overview

When running bmon, students will see:

  • List of interfaces (eth0, wlan0, etc.)
  • Graphical bars representing traffic
  • Statistics such as:
    • RX (Received data)
    • TX (Transmitted data)

🔍 Output Interpretation

TermMeaning
RX        Incoming traffic
TX        Outgoing traffic
Rate        Current bandwidth usage
Graph        Visual representation of traffic

⌨️ Interactive Controls

KeyFunction
Arrow keys        Navigate interfaces
q        Quit
h        Help

📝 Exercises for Students

  1. Run bmon and observe traffic on all interfaces.
  2. Generate network traffic (e.g., download a file) and observe changes.
  3. Compare RX and TX values.
  4. Monitor a specific interface and record observations.
  5. Compare bmon output with iftop.

❓ Viva Questions

  • What is bmon used for?
  • Difference between bmon and iftop?
  • What is RX and TX?
  • Why is real-time monitoring important?
  • What does bandwidth mean?

⚠️ Precautions

  • Requires proper interface selection
  • Output may vary with network activity
  • Use in controlled environment for accurate observation

✅ Result

The bmon command is a useful tool for real-time bandwidth monitoring, helping users visualize network traffic and analyze interface usage effectively.

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