Recommended Tools:  bmon Network Monitoring Tool for Linux

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Affected Roles:  Administrator, Owner

Related Digital Watchdog VMS Apps:  DW Spectrum® IPVMS

Last Edit:  January 21, 2022

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bmon Network Bandwidth Monitoring and Debugging Tool

bmon is a network monitoring and debugging tool for Unix systems that can be used to capture network statistics and display them in a text-based format.  This can be useful for monitoring real-time bandwidth activity on Ubuntu/Linux systems.

This article will outline how to install the bmon Bandwidth Monitoring Tool for Linux.

**NOTE:  This is an optional, supplemental tool that can be installed for Linux-based DW Spectrum® Servers.  DW Blackjack® Servers shipping with Ubuntu 18.04 will come pre-loaded with this tool.

Supported/Affected Devices:

• DW Blackjack® Tower Server Series (Linux)
• DW Blackjack® Rack Server Series (Linux)
• DW Blackjack® E-Rack Series (Linux)
• DW Blackjack® P-Rack Series (Linux)
• DW Blackjack® Cube Series (Linux)
• DW Blackjack® Bolt Series

Enabling Repository Access

By default, DW Blackjack® Servers have OS updates disabled to prevent unexpected operating issues that may occur from auto-updates.

As so, Servers using Ubuntu have repository access disabled by default as well.

To install the bmon Network Monitoring Tool, the repository will need to be made accessible to acquire the installation files.  If bmon is already installed and you are just seeking operating instructions, you can skip to the Using bmon to Monitor Network Activity section.

**DISCLAIMER:  Please be aware that DW Blackjack® Servers have OS updates and repository access disabled by default.  Altering a DW Blackjack® Server’s OS configuration from default settings are performed at the owner’s risk.

**NOTE:  When using the Linux command line, be aware that commands are case-sensitive.  Press the ENTER key after each command, unless otherwise instructed.

Add Repository Access

To restore repository access:

1. Open the Terminal program on the Linux computer.  You can do this by using the Search function in the system Unity menu.

Alternatively, you can simultaneously press the Ctrl+Alt+T keys on the keyboard to launch the Terminal program.

2. The Terminal window will display.

To add the repository, use the command:

sudo add-apt-repository “deb http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ xenial universe multiverse”

3. You will be prompted to enter the superuser password.  Use the root admin password (will not display):

Dw5pectrum

**NOTE:  For older DW Blackjack units purchased prior to June 18, 2021, the previously utilized default Linux OS login was “admin/admin”.

4. Follow adding the repository by adding the main repository as well:

sudo add-apt-repository “deb http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ xenial main universe multiverse”

5. Next, to download updates, use the command:

sudo add-apt-repository “deb http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ xenial-updates universe multiverse”

Follow with command:

sudo apt-get update

6. Allow the system to finish fetching the data packages.

You may enter the command again to double-check that the available updated data packages have been obtained by the computer.

sudo apt-get update

Repairing Broken Repository Dependencies

If an error occurs while attempting to add the repository, there is a chance that the atp-get command may be encountering issues when retrieving third-party dependencies.  For example, such an error may display as:

The following packages have unmet dependencies:

   E: Unable to correct problems, you have held broken packages.

If you encounter an issue with repository access or package corruption, refer to Repairing Broken Repository Dependencies for Ubuntu Servers for troubleshooting help.

Installing the bmon Network Monitoring Tool

The bmon installation package can be found in most default Linux repositories.  However, older .rpm and .deb packages for Linux systems can also be downloaded and installed using the default package manager if needed.

Otherwise, to acquire the most recent version of bmon (i.e. version 4.0):

1. Open the Terminal program on the Linux computer.  You can do this by using the Search function in the system Unity menu.

Alternatively, you can simultaneously press the Ctrl+Alt+T keys on the keyboard to launch the Terminal program.

2. The Terminal window will display.

Log in as the root Administrator with the following command:

sudo su

3. When prompted, use the root admin password (will not display):

Dw5pectrum

**NOTE:  For older DW Blackjack units purchased prior to June 18, 2021, the previously utilized default Linux OS login was “admin/admin”.

4. Next, to build bmon, acquire the files from the source with:

git clone https://github.com/tgraf/bmon.git

5. After downloading the files, select the directory of bmon with:

cd bmon

6. Install bmon by entering:

sudo apt-get install build-essential make libconfuse-dev libnl-route-3-dev libncurses-dev pkg-config dh-autoreconf

7. Use the following commands:

sudo ./autogen.sh

sudo./configure
 

sudo make
 

sudo make install

7. Once the bmon Network Monitoring tool has finished installing, simultaneously press the Ctrl+X keys on the keyboard to save and close the Terminal program.

Using bmon to Monitor Network Activity

To run the bmon tool:

1. Open the Terminal program on the Linux computer.  You can do this by using the Search function in the system Unity menu.

Alternatively, you can simultaneously press the Ctrl+Alt+T keys on the keyboard to launch the Terminal program.

2. The Terminal window will display.

To run bmon use the command:

bmon

3. The bmon interface will display.

• RX bps – represents received bytes per second
• TX bps – represents transmitted bytes per second

bmon Bandwidth Details

To view more detailed information of bandwidth use, press the D key.

The statistics are represented as follows:

bmon Controls Quick Reference

To view a Quick Reference of the bmon controls, simultaneously press the Shift+? Keys on the keyboard.

To exit the bmon interface, press the Shift+? Keys on the keyboard again.

bmon Statistics Interface

To view statistics of a given network interface, use the Up arrow and Down arrow on the keyboard to select a statistic.  To monitor a specific interface, it must be presented as an argument.

• To set a policy defining which network interface to display, use the –p flag in the Terminal program.
• To use “bit per second” instead of “bytes per second), use the –bp flag in the Terminal program.
• To define the intervals per second, use the “–r” flag in the Terminal Program

**NOTE:  In the following example, sample network interface “enp1s0” will be used in the examples below.

To view statistics of a specific interface in bmon using the Terminal program, use the command template:

bmon <flag> <network interface>

• Policy (-p) Example:

bmon –p enp1s0

• Bit per second (-bp) Example:

bmon –bp enp1s0

• Intervals per second (-r) (5 seconds) Example:

bmon –r 5 –p enp1s0

Using bmon Input Modules

The bmon tool features input modules that can be used to display statistical data about network interfaces.

**NOTE:  In the following examples, “network interface” used in examples below is a placeholder for the network name.

Preceding the input module in the Terminal program with the flag “–i”, such input modules include:

• netlink – employs the Netlink protocol to collect interface and traffic control statistics from the kernel; this is a default input module.

bmon –i netlink <network interface>

• proc – reads interface statistics from the /proc/net/dev file; considered to be a legacy interface for backwards compatibility and as a fallback module if netlink is unavailable.

bmon –i proc –p <network interface>

• dummy – a programmable input module for debugging and testing purposes.

bmon –i dummy

• null – disables data collection

bmon –i null

To find additional information about an input module, you can use the “help” option set:

bmon –i <module>:help

Example netlink help:

bmon –i netlink:help

Using bmon Output Modules

The bmon tool also features output modules that can be used to display or export the statistical data collected by bmon input modules.

**NOTE:  In the following examples, “network interface” used in examples below is a placeholder for the network name.

Preceding the output module in the Terminal program with the flag “–o”, such output modules include:

• curses – an interactive curses-based text user interface offering real-time rate estimations of each attribute; this is the default output mode.

bmon –p <network interface> –o curses

• ascii – a programmable text output used to display a list of network interfaces, detailed counters, and graphs in the bmon console; this is the default fallback output mode when curses is unavailable.

bmon –p <network interface> –o ascii

• format – a fully scriptable output mode meant for consumption by other programs to use output values at a later time in scripts or programs for analysis or otherwise.

bmon –p <network interface> –o format

To find additional information about an output module, you can use the “help” option set:

bmon –o <module>:help

Example curses help:

bmon –o curses:help

To find additional usage information, options, and examples, you can read the bmon “man” page:

man bmon