Interactive and Graphical Bandwidth Monitoring

1. What Is bmon?

bmon is a terminal-based bandwidth monitor that displays traffic rates per network interface. It uses Netlink and other kernel APIs to report incoming/outgoing (Rx/Tx) data with optional real-time graphs and numeric stats.

2. Installing bmon

Install via your distro’s package manager:

sudo apt install bmon          # Debian / Ubuntu

sudo yum install bmon          # CentOS / RHEL

sudo pacman -S bmon            # Arch Linux

3. Launching bmon

Basic execution:

bmon

Select interfaces using arrow keys; press q to quit.

4. Interactive Keys

Key	Action
← → ↑ ↓	Navigate between interfaces
g	Toggle graph visibility
d	Toggle detailed stats
r	Refresh device list
q	Exit program

5. Common Options

• -p: Monitor specific interfaces

bmon -p eth0,wlan0

• -r: Hide graphs

bmon -r

• -b: Run in batch mode (non-interactive)

bmon -b -p eth0

• -o: Set output format (e.g., json, null)

bmon -o json -p eth0

6. Data Breakdown

• Rx: Incoming traffic
• Tx: Outgoing traffic
• pps: Packets per second
• Errors/Drops: Transmission issues

7. Practical Use Cases

• Track traffic load across server interfaces
• Observe connection speeds during file transfers
• Integrate stats into automated monitoring scripts
• Catch spikes or abnormal data patterns

8. Security and Performance Tips

• Some interfaces may require sudo access
• Use -b mode for cron jobs or log pipelines
• -o json makes it easier to parse and analyze output externally

9. Conclusion

bmon is a fast and flexible network monitoring tool perfect for Linux systems. With visual graphs, protocol-level stats, and simple keyboard controls, it offers excellent insight into bandwidth usage. Whether debugging network issues or tracking daily throughput, bmon is a tool worth knowing.