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monitoring multiple devices on a wifi network

Hello one and all

I have several devices that connects to a single wifi network. Myself who does normal business internet and searches, my sons who play games such as clash of clans and three students who are spending their summer with me - they use mainly email, facebook and a couple of clash of clans type games. We have a new 20gb data plan and in short are using this up in a matter of three weeks. My question is this, would wireshark be able to indicate much data each device is using daily so that I can try to identify which device is using up most of the data? I have a Windows 7 PC.

I would appreciate any information/advice anyone can give me. The easier to use, the better!

Thank you in advance.

Regards, Nerina

usage multiple monitoring devices data

asked 13 Jul '14, 04:07

warthog
1●1●1●1
accept rate: 0%

One Answer:

Wireshark is primarily a network troubleshooting tool. While it can be used to monitor traffic, it's not perfect for that purpose, especially if you have limited networking knowledge (which I assume, based on your question). So, I suggest another solution for you:

Look at the traffic stats of your router. Some routers do summarize the traffic of internal clients and create neat stats that should help you to figure out who is consuming that much traffic.
If your router does not provide that kind of stats, consider to buy a new router, as everything I'm going to suggest now, will be much more work and probably even cost more
Install Linux on an unused PC. Install some network statistics tool on it (google will help to find one - like: Bandwidthd). Buy a network switch with port mirroring capabilities. Attach your router to the switch. Attach your PC to the switch. Mirror the traffic to/from the router to the PC. Let the network stats software monitor the whole network traffic.

and three students who are spending their summer with me - they use mainly email, facebook and a couple of clash of clans type games

Yeah, that's what they tell you ;-)) 20 Gbyte/month is really nothing for a gang of young students. Youtube videos and/or online music/video channels do consume more download data than you might think, so 20 Gybtes are gone within days, not weeks ;-))

Isn't there a flat rate available where you live?

Regards
Kurt

answered 15 Jul '14, 02:56

Kurt Knochner ♦
24.8k●10●39●237
accept rate: 15%

edited 15 Jul '14, 02:57

Hi Kurt

Many thanks for taking the time out to answer my question.

I understand that wireshark is not the answer for me and I will certainly explore what my router is or is not capable of doing. It is an relatively cheap fix if I have to replace it and I'll not have to worry about even trying to understand your second option! You are right, I'm afraid this kind of technology overtook me years ago and my knowledge is very limited.

I'm not sure where you are based, but in South Africa network technology is still expensive and unlimited internet is not available on our cellular network.

The students are pretty sensitive to my internet battle, but I will ask again that they make sure they don't do any streaming and that all automatic updates are turned off.

Thanks again for your time. Have a good day.

Regards, Nerina

(15 Jul '14, 06:40) warthog

I'm not sure where you are based, but in South Africa network technology is still expensive and unlimited internet is not available on our cellular network.

well, compared to a cellular network, our connectivity is a bit better here in central europe ;-))

BTW: Before buying a new router, you should check if your current router is able to run

as those OSes will offer at least some stats.

Good luck!

(15 Jul '14, 06:52) Kurt Knochner ♦

The alternative router software is a good idea.

I use Tomato RAF software on my Linksys E3000 and that shows me bandwidth use on a per IP basis. I fix all the known clients to the same IP's so I can see at a glance which device is hammering the network.

(15 Jul '14, 07:01) grahamb ♦