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.