Monitor user who download what (1 Viewer)

[xaysana]

Hi there,

We use ADSL internet at our office. 1m download 512kb upload. Sometimes, it feels like internet very slow espacially when there are more users at the office. I assume that some of them may download huge files eg. video, music, etc.... We run DHCP protocal from ADSL Modem Router, 2 Wireless access point use fixed IP, 2 Servers use fixed ip and all workstations obtains auto IP from ADSL router. Is there any how to track who downloads what.

Thank you for any advice.
Regards,

 

[John Big Booty]

Sorry moved this thread here as it's probably the more appropriate section, and missed leaving a re-direct. My Bad

 

[Vassago]

Without actually using a web server, it's going to be rather difficult to track something like this since they are connecting directly through the modem and not first requesting access through a server if the modem setup doesn't have monitoring capabilities. There are third party companies that can act as proxies that can track similar usage, but I've not looked into any of them.

 

[Simon_MT]

One outside issue is the Contention on the band-width. If the line has a 50:1 contention then 50 users can potentially take some of the bandwidth.

Simon

 

[xaysana]

Without actually using a web server, it's going to be rather difficult to track something like this since they are connecting directly through the modem and not first requesting access through a server if the modem setup doesn't have monitoring capabilities. There are third party companies that can act as proxies that can track similar usage, but I've not looked into any of them.

You are right.

Thank you Vassago.

 

[Galaxiom]

Maybe consider replacing your modem/router. Many modern routers now include per user bandwidth management. Or you could keep the modem and move the DHCP to a new router. (This can be quite involved and done wrongly it can open up the network to the internet so make sure you know what you are doing if you do go down this path.)

What you really need is everyone to connect through a proxy server. We use Squid3 on a Linux virtual machine. It works really well and it saves bandwidth by caching content. It can control what sites can be accessed.

Many years ago I used Freeproxy on Windows. It also cached and had bandwidth controls but I can't remember much else about it.

 

[rodmc]

Ethereal is a small app that lets you see what traffic is coming and going on your network.
It will show you the destination IP of packets and their origin (IP again), plus a lot more.

Give it a spin!

 

[shiningduff]

personally, I use LAN Spy Monitor to help me with computer monitoring, of course it can monitor user's download use.