vnStat - a network traffic monitor for Linux and BSD

vnStat

vnStat is a console-based network traffic monitor for Linux and BSD that keeps a log of network traffic for the selected interface(s). It uses the network interface statistics provided by the kernel as information source. This means that vnStat won't actually be sniffing any traffic and also ensures light use of system resources regardless of network traffic rate.

This program is open source / GPL'ed and can be installed either as root or as a single user. Better instructions are included in the README. Feel free to send comments by email (remove the spamfilter) or try contacting me from irc (Vergo @ IRCNet).

Features

quick and simple to install and get running
gathered statistics persists through system reboots
can monitor multiple interfaces at the same time
several output options
- summary, 5 minute, hourly, daily, monthly, yearly, top days
- optional png image output (using libgd)
data retention duration is fully user configurable on the fly
months can be configured to follow billing period
light, minimal resource usage
same low cpu usage regardless of traffic
can be used without root permissions
online color configuration editor

Downloads

vnstat-2.12.tar.gz (sig) - source for Linux and BSD (317.6 KiB)
- Man pages:
  - vnstat [html] [pdf] [ps]
  - vnstatd [html] [pdf] [ps]
  - vnstati [html] [pdf] [ps]
  - vnstat.conf [html] [pdf] [ps]
- CHANGES - changelog
- FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions
- image output demo

Docker container
- Docker Hub: vergoh/vnstat
- GitHub: github.com/vergoh/vnstat-docker

Snap
- Snap Store: vnstat
- GitHub: github.com/vergoh/vnstat-snap

Git repository: github.com/vergoh/vnstat
- Latest development version: master.zip

Links

Similar programs:

vnStat related:

Screenshots

Since vnStat doesn't have/need a fancy GUI, all 'screenshots' are console captures. Examples of the image output can be found from the cgi demo page.

$ vnstat --help
vnStat 2.12 by Teemu Toivola

      -5,  --fiveminutes [limit]   show 5 minutes
      -h,  --hours [limit]         show hours
      -hg, --hoursgraph            show hours graph
      -d,  --days [limit]          show days
      -m,  --months [limit]        show months
      -y,  --years [limit]         show years
      -t,  --top [limit]           show top days

      -b, --begin            set list begin date
      -e, --end              set list end date

      --95th                       show 95th percentile
      --oneline [mode]             show simple parsable format
      --json [mode] [limit]        show database in json format
      --xml [mode] [limit]         show database in xml format
      --alert      
                                   alert if limit is exceeded

      -tr, --traffic [time]        calculate traffic
      -l,  --live [mode]           show transfer rate in real time
      -i,  --iface      select interface (default: eth0)

Use "--longhelp" or "man vnstat" for complete list of options.

$ vnstat
Database updated: 2018-10-21 20:11:20

   eth0 since 2010-12-16

          rx:  144.21 GB      tx:  380.53 GB      total:  524.74 GB

   monthly
                     rx      |     tx      |    total    |   avg. rate
     ------------------------+-------------+-------------+---------------
       2018-09       1.82 GB |     7.99 GB |     9.81 GB |   32.52 kbit/s
       2018-10       1.71 GB |     7.64 GB |     9.35 GB |   44.80 kbit/s
     ------------------------+-------------+-------------+---------------
     estimated       2.56 GB |    11.41 GB |    13.97 GB |

   daily
                     rx      |     tx      |    total    |   avg. rate
     ------------------------+-------------+-------------+---------------
     yesterday      72.69 MB |   333.94 MB |   406.63 MB |   39.48 kbit/s
         today      67.21 MB |   279.75 MB |   346.96 MB |   40.05 kbit/s
     ------------------------+-------------+-------------+---------------
     estimated      79.92 MB |   332.65 MB |   412.57 MB |

(with 2 interfaces)
$ vnstat

                      rx      /      tx      /     total    /   estimated
 Internet (eth1):
       2018-09     31.90 GiB  /   28.05 GiB  /   59.95 GiB
       2018-10    281.04 MiB  /   99.45 MiB  /  380.49 MiB  /   12.05 GiB
     yesterday      1.23 GiB  /  473.23 MiB  /    1.69 GiB
         today    281.04 MiB  /   99.45 MiB  /  380.49 MiB  /     397 MiB

 Local (eth0):
       2018-09     25.13 GiB  /  116.94 GiB  /  142.07 GiB
       2018-10    234.75 MiB  /    5.03 GiB  /    5.26 GiB  /  170.76 GiB
     yesterday    520.55 MiB  /    2.21 GiB  /    2.72 GiB
         today    234.75 MiB  /    5.03 GiB  /    5.26 GiB  /    5.51 GiB

$ vnstat -5

 eth0  /  5 minute

         time        rx      |     tx      |    total    |   avg. rate
     ------------------------+-------------+-------------+---------------
     2018-10-21
         18:15     237.54 KB |   960.80 KB |     1.17 MB |   32.72 kbit/s
         18:20     248.26 KB |     1.03 MB |     1.27 MB |   35.61 kbit/s
         18:25     178.42 KB |   940.01 KB |     1.09 MB |   30.54 kbit/s
         18:30     201.54 KB |     0.98 MB |     1.18 MB |   32.87 kbit/s
         18:35     188.62 KB |   926.50 KB |     1.09 MB |   30.45 kbit/s
         18:40     191.09 KB |   946.02 KB |     1.11 MB |   31.05 kbit/s
         18:45     173.85 KB |   862.77 KB |     1.01 MB |   28.31 kbit/s
         18:50     182.20 KB |   930.16 KB |     1.09 MB |   30.37 kbit/s
         18:55     194.74 KB |   944.66 KB |     1.11 MB |   31.11 kbit/s
         19:00     192.85 KB |   901.06 KB |     1.07 MB |   29.87 kbit/s
         19:05     180.64 KB |   878.76 KB |     1.03 MB |   28.93 kbit/s
         19:10     206.94 KB |     1.01 MB |     1.21 MB |   33.94 kbit/s
         19:15     198.73 KB |   961.37 KB |     1.13 MB |   31.68 kbit/s
         19:20     195.19 KB |   909.28 KB |     1.08 MB |   30.16 kbit/s
         19:25     204.65 KB |     1.18 MB |     1.38 MB |   38.56 kbit/s
         19:30     207.78 KB |     1.04 MB |     1.24 MB |   34.62 kbit/s
         19:35     200.50 KB |   970.48 KB |     1.14 MB |   31.98 kbit/s
         19:40     214.45 KB |     1.46 MB |     1.67 MB |   46.77 kbit/s
         19:45     193.93 KB |     1.11 MB |     1.30 MB |   36.26 kbit/s
         19:50     190.28 KB |   908.45 KB |     1.07 MB |   30.00 kbit/s
         19:55     199.20 KB |     1.12 MB |     1.31 MB |   36.74 kbit/s
         20:00       8.43 MB |     1.35 MB |     9.78 MB |  273.50 kbit/s
         20:05     364.31 KB |     1.12 MB |     1.48 MB |   41.34 kbit/s
         20:10     153.84 KB |   870.70 KB |     1.00 MB |   27.98 kbit/s
     ------------------------+-------------+-------------+---------------

$ vnstat -h

 eth0  /  hourly

         hour        rx      |     tx      |    total    |   avg. rate
     ------------------------+-------------+-------------+---------------
     2018-10-20
         21:00       3.03 MB |    12.05 MB |    15.08 MB |   35.14 kbit/s
         22:00       2.68 MB |    14.12 MB |    16.79 MB |   39.13 kbit/s
         23:00       2.80 MB |    13.89 MB |    16.69 MB |   38.90 kbit/s
     2018-10-21
         00:00       3.18 MB |    12.54 MB |    15.72 MB |   36.62 kbit/s
         01:00       2.60 MB |    12.90 MB |    15.50 MB |   36.12 kbit/s
         02:00       2.62 MB |    15.07 MB |    17.69 MB |   41.21 kbit/s
         03:00       2.87 MB |    13.36 MB |    16.23 MB |   37.81 kbit/s
         04:00       2.45 MB |    12.05 MB |    14.50 MB |   33.79 kbit/s
         05:00       3.55 MB |    31.13 MB |    34.68 MB |   80.82 kbit/s
         06:00       7.76 MB |    13.98 MB |    21.74 MB |   50.65 kbit/s
         07:00       2.57 MB |    11.67 MB |    14.24 MB |   33.18 kbit/s
         08:00       2.29 MB |    11.62 MB |    13.91 MB |   32.42 kbit/s
         09:00       2.93 MB |    13.33 MB |    16.26 MB |   37.89 kbit/s
         10:00       2.24 MB |    12.13 MB |    14.37 MB |   33.49 kbit/s
         11:00       2.36 MB |    13.25 MB |    15.61 MB |   36.38 kbit/s
         12:00       3.03 MB |    13.16 MB |    16.19 MB |   37.73 kbit/s
         13:00       2.40 MB |    15.30 MB |    17.70 MB |   41.25 kbit/s
         14:00       2.51 MB |    14.56 MB |    17.07 MB |   39.78 kbit/s
         15:00       3.11 MB |    12.23 MB |    15.34 MB |   35.75 kbit/s
         16:00       2.37 MB |    12.60 MB |    14.97 MB |   34.89 kbit/s
         17:00       2.29 MB |    11.76 MB |    14.04 MB |   32.73 kbit/s
         18:00       2.83 MB |    11.45 MB |    14.28 MB |   33.28 kbit/s
         19:00       2.33 MB |    12.32 MB |    14.65 MB |   34.12 kbit/s
         20:00       8.93 MB |     3.33 MB |    12.26 MB |  151.25 kbit/s
     ------------------------+-------------+-------------+---------------

$ vnstat -hg
 eth0                                                                     19:36
  ^                                 t
  |                                 t
  |                                 t
  |                                 t
  |                                rt           t        t        t
  |            t                   rt           t  t  t  t  t     t
  |   t     t  t     t  t  t     t rt  t  t     t  t  t  t  t     t     t  t
  |   t  t  t  t  t  t  t  t  t  t rt  t  t  t  t  t  t  t  t  t  t  t  t  t
  |   t  t  t  t  t  t  t  t  t  t rt  t  t  t  t  t  t  t  t  t  t  t  t  t
  |   t rt  t  t rt  t  t rt  t  t rt rt  t rt rt  t rt rt  t rt rt  t rt rt
 -+--------------------------------------------------------------------------->
  |  20 21 22 23 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

 h   rx (KB)    tx (KB)  ][  h   rx (KB)    tx (KB)  ][  h   rx (KB)    tx (KB)
20      1,245      6,079 ][ 04      1,186      5,193 ][ 12      2,301      8,135
21      1,671      5,245 ][ 05      1,303      6,999 ][ 13      1,512      9,351
22      1,177      6,188 ][ 06      9,530     14,294 ][ 14      1,319      7,273
23      1,393      7,301 ][ 07      1,453      6,760 ][ 15      1,482      5,061
00      1,451      4,850 ][ 08      1,352      7,066 ][ 16      1,473      8,597
01      1,355      6,632 ][ 09      1,588      4,843 ][ 17        987      4,314
02      1,385      6,757 ][ 10      1,535      9,041 ][ 18      1,896      7,099
03      1,678      6,225 ][ 11      1,411      8,035 ][ 19      2,014      6,373

$ vnstat -d

 eth0  /  daily

          day        rx      |     tx      |    total    |   avg. rate
     ------------------------+-------------+-------------+---------------
     2018-09-22     56.08 MB |   195.26 MB |   251.34 MB |   24.40 kbit/s
     2018-09-23     49.19 MB |   184.96 MB |   234.14 MB |   22.73 kbit/s
     2018-09-24     50.95 MB |   204.30 MB |   255.25 MB |   24.78 kbit/s
     2018-09-25     50.35 MB |   460.20 MB |   510.55 MB |   49.57 kbit/s
     2018-09-26     63.73 MB |   239.20 MB |   302.93 MB |   29.41 kbit/s
     2018-09-27     62.47 MB |   263.74 MB |   326.21 MB |   31.67 kbit/s
     2018-09-28     61.12 MB |   232.71 MB |   293.83 MB |   28.53 kbit/s
     2018-09-29     88.82 MB |   342.20 MB |   431.02 MB |   41.85 kbit/s
     2018-09-30    110.91 MB |   337.91 MB |   448.82 MB |   43.58 kbit/s
     2018-10-01     82.42 MB |   609.21 MB |   691.63 MB |   67.15 kbit/s
     2018-10-02     82.93 MB |   307.30 MB |   390.23 MB |   37.89 kbit/s
     2018-10-03     89.81 MB |   340.29 MB |   430.10 MB |   41.76 kbit/s
     2018-10-04     88.03 MB |   336.77 MB |   424.80 MB |   41.24 kbit/s
     2018-10-05     85.95 MB |   323.02 MB |   408.96 MB |   39.71 kbit/s
     2018-10-06     81.83 MB |   329.06 MB |   410.89 MB |   39.89 kbit/s
     2018-10-07    102.80 MB |   310.33 MB |   413.13 MB |   40.11 kbit/s
     2018-10-08     88.10 MB |   642.48 MB |   730.59 MB |   70.93 kbit/s
     2018-10-09     83.71 MB |   322.94 MB |   406.65 MB |   39.48 kbit/s
     2018-10-10     81.53 MB |   326.35 MB |   407.88 MB |   39.60 kbit/s
     2018-10-11     82.14 MB |   332.01 MB |   414.15 MB |   40.21 kbit/s
     2018-10-12    102.39 MB |   371.90 MB |   474.29 MB |   46.05 kbit/s
     2018-10-13     85.11 MB |   351.10 MB |   436.21 MB |   42.35 kbit/s
     2018-10-14     81.11 MB |   330.21 MB |   411.32 MB |   39.93 kbit/s
     2018-10-15     74.10 MB |   322.71 MB |   396.81 MB |   38.53 kbit/s
     2018-10-16     87.69 MB |   649.75 MB |   737.45 MB |   71.60 kbit/s
     2018-10-17     79.95 MB |   349.15 MB |   429.10 MB |   41.66 kbit/s
     2018-10-18     76.85 MB |   332.82 MB |   409.67 MB |   39.77 kbit/s
     2018-10-19     77.90 MB |   323.81 MB |   401.72 MB |   39.00 kbit/s
     2018-10-20     72.69 MB |   333.94 MB |   406.63 MB |   39.48 kbit/s
     2018-10-21     67.21 MB |   279.75 MB |   346.96 MB |   40.05 kbit/s
     ------------------------+-------------+-------------+---------------
     estimated      79.92 MB |   332.65 MB |   412.57 MB |

$ vnstat -m

 eth0  /  monthly

        month        rx      |     tx      |    total    |   avg. rate
     ------------------------+-------------+-------------+---------------
       2017-11       1.05 GB |     4.32 GB |     5.37 GB |   17.78 kbit/s
       2017-12     893.89 MB |     3.68 GB |     4.55 GB |   14.60 kbit/s
       2018-01       1.14 GB |     5.10 GB |     6.24 GB |   20.01 kbit/s
       2018-02       1.21 GB |     4.93 GB |     6.14 GB |   21.80 kbit/s
       2018-03       1.23 GB |     5.64 GB |     6.87 GB |   22.03 kbit/s
       2018-04       1.15 GB |     5.22 GB |     6.37 GB |   21.11 kbit/s
       2018-05       1.23 GB |     4.39 GB |     5.62 GB |   18.04 kbit/s
       2018-06       2.68 GB |     7.01 GB |     9.69 GB |   32.10 kbit/s
       2018-07       1.61 GB |     6.94 GB |     8.55 GB |   27.41 kbit/s
       2018-08       1.76 GB |     7.65 GB |     9.41 GB |   30.19 kbit/s
       2018-09       1.82 GB |     7.99 GB |     9.81 GB |   32.52 kbit/s
       2018-10       1.71 GB |     7.64 GB |     9.35 GB |   44.80 kbit/s
     ------------------------+-------------+-------------+---------------
     estimated       2.56 GB |    11.41 GB |    13.97 GB |

$ vnstat -t

 eth0  /  top 10

    #      day          rx      |     tx      |    total    |   avg. rate
   -----------------------------+-------------+-------------+---------------
    1   2012-08-06    150.68 MB |     5.24 GB |     5.39 GB |  535.76 kbit/s
    2   2013-09-06    887.33 MB |     4.33 GB |     5.20 GB |  516.75 kbit/s
    3   2013-03-30      3.15 GB |     1.99 GB |     5.14 GB |  510.67 kbit/s
    4   2012-08-05     97.85 MB |     3.29 GB |     3.39 GB |  336.90 kbit/s
    5   2018-06-17      1.01 GB |     1.80 GB |     2.81 GB |  279.48 kbit/s
    6   2011-08-20      1.61 GB |   676.60 MB |     2.27 GB |  225.88 kbit/s
    7   2015-05-10     76.77 MB |     2.12 GB |     2.20 GB |  218.47 kbit/s
    8   2011-12-04      1.36 GB |   633.59 MB |     1.98 GB |  197.10 kbit/s
    9   2014-04-27    175.73 MB |     1.57 GB |     1.74 GB |  173.07 kbit/s
   10   2014-04-26    177.37 MB |     1.53 GB |     1.71 GB |  169.75 kbit/s
   -----------------------------+-------------+-------------+---------------

$ vnstat -tr
3103 packets sampled in 5 seconds
Traffic average for eth1

      rx          50.41 KiB/s           289 packets/s
      tx          82.11 KiB/s           331 packets/s

$ vnstat -l
Monitoring eth0...    (press CTRL-C to stop)

   rx:        0 kbit/s     1 p/s          tx:        4 kbit/s     2 p/s


 eth0  /  traffic statistics

                           rx         |       tx
--------------------------------------+------------------
  bytes                       21 KiB  |          36 KiB
--------------------------------------+------------------
          max              60 kbit/s  |       72 kbit/s
      average            3.36 kbit/s  |     5.76 kbit/s
          min               0 kbit/s  |        0 kbit/s
--------------------------------------+------------------
  packets                        262  |             272
--------------------------------------+------------------
          max                 94 p/s  |          94 p/s
      average                  5 p/s  |           5 p/s
          min                  0 p/s  |           0 p/s
--------------------------------------+------------------
  time                    50 seconds

$ vnstat -i eth0 --alert 1 3 d total 500 MiB

   eth0 at 2022-01-23 20:00:00 for day 2022-01-23

     [=====================================-------...............]

         daily |       total      |   percentage   |   avg. rate
     ----------+------------------+----------------+--------------
          used |       310.28 MiB |          62.1% |    4.41 KiB/s
         limit |       500.00 MiB |                |    5.93 KiB/s
     remaining |       189.72 MiB |          37.9% |
     ----------+------------------+----------------+--------------
     estimated |       372.19 MiB |          74.4% |    4.41 KiB/s

$ vnstat --95th

 eth0  /  95th percentile

 2024-01-01 00:00 - 2024-01-21 19:55 (6000 entries, 100% coverage)

                          rx       |       tx       |     total
       ----------------------------+----------------+---------------
       minimum        10.53 kbit/s |    3.12 kbit/s |   13.70 kbit/s
       average         1.26 Mbit/s |  745.32 kbit/s |    2.00 Mbit/s
       maximum        76.70 Mbit/s |  638.93 Mbit/s |  656.08 Mbit/s
       ----------------------------+----------------+---------------
        95th %         8.06 Mbit/s |  201.62 kbit/s |    9.16 Mbit/s