Get two must-have network tools - for free

NetStat Live
Realistically, measuring bandwidth and network throughput should be easy, but unfortunately, it's fairly difficult to get a truly accurate assessment without purchasing expensive software and/or hardware. NetStat Live (NSL), another free utility from AnalogX, offers some nice metrics that can help analyze true bandwidth as well as bandwidth utilisation. It provides a small desktop window filled with information on network data transfer (Figure C).

Figure C

As you can see, NSL provides information on incoming and outgoing data by showing current throughput, average throughput, and maximum throughput. Underneath these numbers, it graphs the last 60 seconds of throughput. This information can be helpful in verifying the true data rate of a network connection and lets you quickly monitor the real-time data activity of a network connection. By default, NSL tracks activity on all available network interfaces. One handy configuration option lets you limit NSL's reporting to a single network interface. This is especially helpful when you want to look at a single interface on a multihomed server or monitor a dial-up or VPN interface. To select the interface you want to monitor, right-click in the NSL window and then select Configure. In the Configure dialog box (Figure D), the TCP/IP Interface drop-down list includes available interfaces. You can select All or select the specific address you would like to monitor.

Figure D

For this example, I have chosen to monitor a VPN interface. If you look back at Figure C, you can see this interface at the top of the window, below the Local section. You can also configure a remote host by right-clicking on the NSL window, selecting Remote, and then entering an IP address or host name. NSL will ping this host and report the number of hops and milliseconds it takes to reach it from the local machine. NSL can also monitor system threads and CPU utilisation, so that you can pinpoint a slowdown to the system or the network when evaluating a machine that is having a problem. To select the items you want to monitor, right-click on the NSL window and select Statistics, and you will see the list of available items. I also like the fact that you can go into Configure (Figure D) and set NSL to Always On Top. This allows you to open other applications and run them and watch the changes that occur in the NSL window. This is a great benefit during troubleshooting. To a lesser extent, you can also accomplish this by minimising NSL. When minimised, NSL goes to the system tray in the form of a triangle with three lights. The bottom light shows the general state of the connection. The light on the right shows data receiving activity, and the light on the left shows data sending activity. Final word
HyperTrace and NetStat Live are two small utilities that can be extremely useful to an administrator. HyperTrace makes the stalwart Traceroute utility much easier and faster to work with. NetStat Live provides a simple and unique tool for monitoring real-time data transmission on a network interface. And the author of these utilities has generously made them freeware to serve the public good. Administrators should put them to good use.

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