Member Avatar for RigorM

Please does anyone know of any freeware software i can download and use to monitor network traffic and bandwidth usage within a small office internal network. I'm already using Spiceworks to monitor and manage my network inventory. I now need a software to observe actual network traffic and packet flow.

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by MichaelB51026

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Two quick, practical answers: one for continuous network traffic visibility, and one for the HP 4650 printer share problem that described.

For ongoing, office-wide visibility prefer flow-based collection (NetFlow/sFlow/IPFIX) and a small collector/visualizer rather than relying solely on packet captures. That gives per-IP, per-protocol accounting, historical graphs and “top talkers” without storing raw packets; a good, lightweight option is ntopng for realtime and historical flow analysis. Use packet captures (Wireshark) only for one-off deep dives — it’s excellent for protocol-level troubleshooting but not designed for continuous, long-term monitoring. ntopng (ntop.org) Wireshark FAQ (wireshark.org)

Simple, practical monitoring workflow (small office):

  • If your router/switch supports NetFlow or sFlow, enable export to a collector.
  • If not, mirror a port (SPAN) to a small Linux VM and run a flow collector (pmacct or ntopng) to build reports, retention and alerts.
  • Use flow dashboards to spot top IPs, heavy protocols, and unusual spikes; drop to Wireshark only when you need packet‑level context. ()

Printer-shared-from-laptop: the most robust fix is to make the printer a true network device (the 4650 supports JetDirect/internal or external print-server options) so it doesn’t depend on Laptop A being on. If you must keep it USB-shared, follow this checklist: ensure Laptop A is always powered/never sleeps, set Print Spooler to Automatic and keep drivers current, enable Network Discovery and File & Printer Sharing, and either use the computer name or create a DHCP reservation rather than a loose static that the router might conflict with. If problems persist, move the printer onto the LAN with a JetDirect/print-server. () Microsoft shared-printer troubleshooting. (support.microsoft.com)

This complements hints from and : use flow collectors for whole-network billing/visibility and keep Wireshark for targeted captures. Since already set a static IP, also reserve that IP in DHCP so no accidental conflicts occur.

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Member Avatar for RigorM

Ok here's the scenario.

My office has LAN.
I have this HP 4650 network printer.
I installed the driver for it to laptop "A" and then shared the printer.
I connected the printer to laptop "A" via a USB cable.
I connect to the printer with other systems using "A"'s IP address.
All systems can print but the next day the can't.
So i repeat the process of connecting using the IP address of "A".
The can all print but again the next day it they print...

I need a permanent solution to this problem...please

Member Avatar for DimaYasny

google for squid+bandwidth+traffic+monitoring

Member Avatar for wmanjonjo

you can also use ethereal. you can can download it over the network

Member Avatar for kenredmond

Daft question but is the IP address for Laptop A always the same ??

Have you tried to connect the other PC's to the printer using the computer name for Laptop A instead of the IP address??

Member Avatar for RigorM

Daft question but is the IP address for Laptop A always the same ??

Have you tried to connect the other PC's to the printer using the computer name for Laptop A instead of the IP address??

Yes, I gave laptop A a static IP address, i've not tried using the Computer name though...i'll try and see if the problem continues.

Member Avatar for Sukhdeep

Identifies which users, applications, and protocols are consuming the most network bandwidth and highlights the IP addresses of the top talkers on the network.It Maps the traffic arriving from designated ports, source IPs, destination IPs, and even protocols, to application names you can easily recognize.

Member Avatar for MichaelB51026

one more choice, google Capsa Free.

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