Network Monitoring

oldmanken

Been watching some soccer on WatchESPN on the XBOX, and have been having some hiccups, which is normally not an issue. Been wondering what might be eating up bandwidth on my end, and wanted to see how I could go about monitoring my network traffic. The network runs through a Netgear modem/router deal, and has a number of devices working off it (3 computers, 2 phones, and 1 iPad).

I would like to use my Linux install (Oracle Enterprise Linux 6.4) to monitor, but the same machine also has Windows 7 installed, so suggestions along those lines would be appreciated as well. So, what tools should I be looking to download, and how hard will it be to setup properly?

Athenor

I would recommend Wireshark, but it has a hell of a learning curve. Even then, for what you are looking for you'd likely need some kind of port mirroring, which I'm not sure if residential-grade equipment supports.

Can you get into your modem and check your stats? How many devices are wireless?

oldmanken

I can get into the modem, I think. I'm assuming the software on the modem isn't going to give me much in the way of stats, yes? I saw Wireshark as an option, so I might give that a try... Looks legit.

At peak, there would be about 6 devices connect via wireless, and one wired (the XBOX).

Athenor

Yeah. Before doing anything else, check your modem's stats. If it's a cable modem, there'll be a place for the quality of the cable signal (most of which will be greek to you, it's for a tech to review) and a place for the quality of the network.

Also, check things like speedtest.net and dslreports.com's tools section. These will check your overall speed, if not the quality of that speed.

Don't hesitate to call your ISP either. Explain your issue, and they'll have tools to check your modem's logs and overall quality. Keep in mind that not all CSRs are equal, and some will just casually glance to see if your modem is online or not. Ask them to test, probe, or other things to check the overall stats.

Also keep in mind that the problem might be on ESPN's side. If you see similar drops with other high-bandwidth resources, then it will be on your end. But sometimes websites just have trouble delivering content.

oldmanken

Thanks Athenor. One more quick question. I can't really mess my network up if I just start playing around with Wireshark, can I?

Feral

Is your Netgear router in the supported routers list for DD-WRT?

If yes: reflash to DD-WRT.

If no: replace with better router. I'm a fan of the Linksys WRT54GL.

Personally, my experiences with Netgear equipment have been... less than stellar. If you were a client of mine, the first thing I'd do is bring over a better router and set it up and see if that magically fixes the problem.

oldmanken

Flashing the modem is a no go, as it is provided by Cox and we rent it.

StrifeRaZoR

Step 1: Contact your ISP and have them put your modem into passthrough mode.
Step 2: Get a solid router that YOU can control and monitor properly. https://www.asus.com/Networking/RTN16/
Step 3: Install DD-WRT on the new router and keep monitoring your network.

The Asus router that I linked above is a router that I have been installing at client locations at my new job. This thing is an absolute BEAST. Even without DD-WRT, it will handle whatever you throw at it. I strongly recommend this router and encourage that you remove the ISP's modem from the equation. You may be able to change the current modem/router to passthrough mode without calling your ISP, but most newer models are controlled remotely.

zepherin

In college I used a program called Capsa for my TCP/IP class, it worked well, and it was infinately better than what they wanted us to use for the class, which was some educational school propriatary buggy crap shoot. I'm not sure if that would actually help you, and the internet says that wireshark is amazing, but I don't have first hand knowledge with that.