Ubuntu Manpage: vnstat - a console-based network traffic monitor

NAME

       vnstat - a console-based network traffic monitor

SYNOPSIS

       vnstat  [-5bDedhlmqrstvwy?]   [--add]  [--begin  date]  [--config  file]  [--days [limit]]
       [--dbdir [directory]]  [--debug]  [--end  date]  [--fiveminutes  [limit]]  [--help]  [-hg]
       [--hours  [limit]]  [--hoursgraph]  [-i  interface] [--iface interface] [--iflist] [--json
       [mode] [limit]] [--limit limit] [--live [mode]] [--locale locale]  [--longhelp]  [--months
       [limit]]  [--oneline [mode]] [--query] [--rateunit [mode]] [--remove] [--rename name] [-ru
       [mode]] [--setalias alias] [--short] [--showconfig] [--style number] [--top [limit]]  [-tr
       [time]] [--traffic [time]] [--version] [--xml [mode] [limit]] [--years [limit]]

DESCRIPTION

       vnStat  is  a  console-based network traffic monitor. It keeps a log of 5 minute interval,
       hourly, daily, monthly and yearly network traffic for the selected interface(s).  However,
       it  isn't  a  packet  sniffer.  The  traffic  information  is read from the proc(5) or sys
       filesystems  depending  on  availability  resulting  in  light  use  of  system  resources
       regardless  of  network  traffic  rate.  That  way  vnStat  can  be used even without root
       permissions on most systems.

       The implementation is divided into two commands. The purpose of the vnstat command  is  to
       provide  an  interface for querying the traffic information stored in the database whereas
       the daemon vnstatd(8) is responsible for data retrieval, caching and storage. Although the
       daemon  process  is  constantly  running as a service, it is actually spending most of its
       time sleeping between data updates.

OPTIONS

--add Create database entry for interface specified with -i or --iface option. The daemon
can be running during this operation but will not automatically detect the addition
without a restart.

-b, --begin date
Begin the list output with a specific date / time defined by date instead of the
begin being selected based on the number of entries to be shown. If date isn't
available in the database then the closest later date will be used. date supports
the following formats: YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM and YYYY-MM-DD. This option can only be
used with --json , --xml and list outputs.

--config file
Use file as configuration file instead of using automatic configuration file search
functionality.

-d, --days [limit]
Show traffic statistics on a daily basis for the last days. The length of the list
will be limited to 30 entries unless configured otherwise or unless the optional
limit parameter is used. All entries stored in the database will be shown if limit
is set to 0.

--dbdir directory
Use directory as database directory instead of using the directory specified in the
configuration file or the hardcoded default if no configuration file is available.

-D, --debug
Show additional debug output.

-e, --end date
End the list output with a specific date / time defined by date instead of the
latest date / time in the database. If date isn't available in the database then
the closest earlier date will be used. date supports the following formats: YYYY-
MM-DD HH:MM and YYYY-MM-DD. This option can only be used with --json , --xml and
list outputs. The top list also requires --begin to be used at the same time with
this option.

-5, --fiveminutes [limit]
Show traffic statistics with a 5 minute resolution for the last hours. The length
of the list will be limited to 24 entries unless configured otherwise or unless the
optional limit parameter is used. All entries stored in the database will be shown
if limit is set to 0.

-h, --hours [limit]
Show traffic statistics on a hourly basis. The length of the list will be limited
to 24 entries unless configured otherwise or unless the optional limit parameter is
used. All entries store in the database will be shown if the limit is set to 0.

-hg, --hoursgraph
Show traffic statistics on a hourly basis for the last 24 hours using a bar graph
followed by a table representing the numerical data.

-i, --iface interface
Select one specific interface and apply actions to only it. For queries, it is
possible to merge the information of two or more interfaces using the
interface1+interface2+... syntax. All provided interfaces must be unique and must
exist in the database when the merge syntax is used.

--iflist
Show list of currently available interfaces.

--json [mode] [limit]
Show database content for selected interface or all interfaces in json format. All
traffic values in the output are in bytes. An optional mode parameter can be used
for limiting the output to only selected information. Everything is shown by
default. Setting mode to 'f' will output only 5 minute resolution entries, 'h'
hours, 'd' days, 'm' months, 'y' years and 't' the top days. Alternatively or in
combination with mode an optional limit parameter can be used to limit the number
of entries in the output. The --json option can be used in combination with -l,
--live and -tr options without mode or limit having any effect to the output. The
jsonversion field in the output contains the API version information. It will be
changed only when the names or structures of previously existing content gets
changed. In comparison, the vnstatversion field exists only as extra information.

--limit limit
Set the maximum number of shown entries in list outputs to limit. Usage of --limit
overrides the default list entry limit values and the optional limit parameter
given directly for a list query. All entries stored in the database will be shown
if limit is set to 0. --limit can also be used to control the length of --json and
--xml outputs.

-l, --live [mode]
Display current transfer rate for the selected interface in real time until
interrupted. Statistics will be shown after interruption if the runtime was more
than 10 seconds. An optional mode parameter can be used to select between the
displaying of packets per second (mode 0) and transfer counters (mode 1) during
execution. --style can also be used to affect the layout of the output. The output
will be in json format if used in combination with --json option.

--locale locale
Use locale instead of using the locale setting specified in the configuration file
or the system default if no configuration file is available.

--longhelp
Show complete options list.

-m, --months [limit]
Show traffic statistics on a monthly basis for the last months. The length of the
list will be limited to 12 entries unless configured otherwise or unless the
optional limit parameter is used. All entries stored in the database will be shown
if limit is set to 0.

--oneline [mode]
Show traffic summary for selected interface using one line with a parsable format.
The output contains 15 fields with ; used as field delimiter. The 1st field
contains the API version information of the output that will only be changed in
future versions if the field content or structure changes. The following fields in
order 2) interface name, 3) timestamp for today, 4) rx for today, 5) tx for today,
6) total for today, 7) average traffic rate for today, 8) timestamp for current
month, 9) rx for current month, 10) tx for current month, 11) total for current
month, 12) average traffic rate for current month, 13) all time total rx, 14) all
time total tx, 15) all time total traffic. An optional mode parameter can be used
to force all fields to output in bytes without the unit itself shown.

-q, --query
Force database query mode.

--remove
Delete the database entry for the interface specified with -i or --iface and stop
monitoring it. The daemon can be running during this operation and will
automatically detect the change.

--rename name
Rename the interface specified with -i or --iface in the database with new name
name. The new name cannot already exist in the database. This operation doesn't
cause any data loss. The daemon should not be running during this operation.

-ru, --rateunit [mode]
Swap the configured rate unit. If rate has been configured to be shown in bytes
then rate will be shown in bits if this option is present. In the same way, if rate
has been configured to be shown in bits then rate will be shown in bytes when this
option is present. Alternatively, mode with either 0 or 1 can be used as parameter
for this option in order to select between bytes (0) and bits (1) regardless of the
configuration file setting.

--setalias alias
Set alias as an alias for the selected interface to be shown in queries. The set
alias can be removed by specifying an empty string for alias. The daemon can be
running during this operation.

-s, --short
Use short output mode. This mode is also used when more than one interface is
available in the database and no specific interface is selected.

--showconfig
Show current configuration using the same format as the configuration file itself
uses.

--style number
Modify the content and style of outputs. Set number to 0 for a narrower output, 1
for enabling bar column, 2 for same as previous but with average traffic rate
visible in summary output and 3 for enabling average traffic rate in all outputs
where it is supported. 4 disables the use of terminal control characters in -l /
--live mode.

-t, --top [limit]
Show all time top traffic days. The length of the list will be limited to 10
entries unless configured otherwise or unless the optional limit parameter is used.
All entries stored in the database will be shown if limit is set to 0. When used
with --begin and optionally with --end, the list will be generated using the daily
data instead of separate top entries. The availability of daily data defines the
boundaries the date specific query can access.

-tr, --traffic [time]
Calculate how much traffic goes through the selected interface during the given
time seconds. The time will be 5 seconds if a number parameter isn't specified. The
output will be in json format if used in combination with --json option. However,
in that case, the countdown before results isn't shown.

-v, --version
Show current version.

--xml [mode] [limit]
Show database content for selected interface or all interfaces in xml format. All
traffic values in the output are in bytes. An optional mode parameter can be used
for limiting the output to only selected information. Everything is shown by
default. Setting mode to 'f' will output only 5 minute resolution entries, 'h'
hours, 'd' days, 'm' months, 'y' years and 't' the top days. Alternatively or in
combination with mode an optional limit parameter can be used to limit the number
of entries in the output. The xmlversion field in the output contains the API
version information. It will be changed only when the names or structures of
previously existing content gets changed. In comparison, the vnstatversion field
exists only as extra information.

-y, --years [limit]
Show traffic statistics on a yearly basis for the last years. The list will show
all entries by default unless configured otherwise or unless the optional limit
parameter is used. All entries stored in the database will also be shown if limit
is set to 0.

-?, --help
Show a command option summary.

FILES

       /var/lib/vnstat/
              Default database directory.

       /etc/vnstat.conf
              Config file that will be used unless $HOME/.vnstatrc exists. See vnstat.conf(5) for
              more information.

EXAMPLES

       vnstat Display  traffic summary for the default interface or multiple interfaces when more
              than one is monitored.

       vnstat -i eth0+eth1+eth3
              Display traffic summary for a merge of interfaces eth0, eth1 and eth3.

       vnstat -i eth2 --xml
              Output all information about interface eth2 in xml format.

       vnstat --json
              Output all information of all monitored interfaces in json format.

       vnstat -i eth0 --setalias local
              Give interface eth0 the alias "local". That information will be later visible as  a
              label when eth0 is queried.

       vnstat -i eth2 --remove
              Delete database entries for interface eth2 and stop monitoring it.

RESTRICTIONS

       Updates  need  to  be  executed  at  least as often as it is possible for the interface to
       generate enough traffic to overflow the kernel interface traffic counter. Otherwise, it is
       possible  that  some  traffic won't be seen. With 32-bit kernels, the maximum time between
       two updates depends on how fast the interface can transfer 4 GiB.  Calculated  theoretical
       times are:

              10 Mbit:        54 minutes
              100 Mbit:        5 minutes
              1000 Mbit:      30 seconds

       However,  for 1000 Mbit interfaces updating once every minute is usually a usable solution
       if a shorter update interval can't be used.

       Virtual and aliased interfaces cannot be monitored  because  the  kernel  doesn't  provide
       traffic information for that type of interfaces. Such interfaces are usually named eth0:0,
       eth0:1, eth0:2 etc. where eth0 is the actual interface being aliased.

       Using long date output formats may cause misalignment in shown columns if  the  length  of
       the date exceeds the fixed size allocation.

AUTHOR

       Teemu Toivola <tst at iki dot fi>