There are many open-source network monitoring tools available online for Linux operating systems. For instance, you can utilize the iftop command to track bandwidth consumption, the netstat or ss commands to view interface statistics, or the top command to monitor active processes on your system.

However, if you're seeking a tool that provides real-time network bandwidth statistics categorized by individual processes, then NetHogs is the ideal choice for you.

What is NetHogs?

NetHogs is an open-source terminal-based utility (reminiscent of the Linux top command) designed to display live network traffic bandwidth consumption per process or application in Linux.

From NetHogs Project Page

NetHogs is a compact 'net top' utility. Unlike most tools that categorize traffic by protocol or subnet, it organizes bandwidth usage by process. It does not depend on loading any specific kernel module. If there's a sudden surge in network activity, launching NetHogs will quickly reveal which PID is responsible, making it easy to pinpoint applications consuming excessive bandwidth.

In this guide, we’ll walk through how to install and utilize the nethogs utility to monitor real-time network bandwidth usage per process on Unix/Linux platforms.

Installing NetHogs on Linux Systems

The NetHogs bandwidth monitoring tool is accessible across various Linux distributions. Depending on your Linux OS, use one of the following methods to install nethogs:

Install NetHogs on RHEL, CentOS, Rocky Linux, and AlmaLinux

To proceed with installing nethogs, enable the EPEL repository on your RedHat-based system first, then execute the following yum command to fetch and install the nethogs package.

<code># yum install epel-release
# yum install nethogs</code>

On Fedora Linux, use the dnf command as follows.

<code># dnf install nethogs</code>

Install NetHogs on Ubuntu, Linux Mint, and Debian

Use the apt command below to install nethogs.

<code>$ sudo apt install nethogs</code>

Using NetHogs to Monitor Bandwidth Usage Per Process

Launch the nethogs utility using the following command on Red Hat-based systems.

<code># nethogs</code>

For Debian-based Linux systems, root privileges are required, so run it using sudo.

<code>$ sudo nethogs</code>

Sample Output from NetHogs:

As shown above, the send and received columns indicate the volume of traffic each process is utilizing. At the bottom, total sent and received bandwidth usage is summarized. You can manage sorting and order via the interactive controls discussed later.

NetHogs Command-Line Parameters

Here are some commonly used nethogs command-line options. Use ‘-d‘ to specify the refresh interval, and provide device names to monitor specific interfaces (default is eth0).

For example, to set the refresh rate to 5 seconds, run:

<code># nethogs -d 5</code>

<code>$ sudo nethogs -d 5</code>

To monitor only a particular device (eth0) for network bandwidth, execute:

<code># nethogs eth0</code>

<code>$ sudo nethogs eth0</code>

To monitor both eth0 and eth1 interfaces, use the following command:

<code># nethogs eth0 eth1</code>

<code>$ sudo nethogs eth0 eth1</code>

NetHogs Options and Arguments

• -d – sets the refresh delay.
• -h – displays command help.
• -p – enables promiscuous mode (not advised).
• -t – activates trace mode.
• -V – shows version details.

NetHogs Interactive Controls

Below are some useful keyboard shortcuts while using NetHogs.

• -m – cycles through bandwidth units like KB/sec -> KB -> B -> MB.
• -r – sorts by overall traffic magnitude.
• -s – sorts by outgoing traffic.
• -q – quits the program and returns to the shell prompt.

To explore all command-line options available for nethogs, consult the man pages by typing ‘man nethogs‘ or ‘sudo man nethogs‘ in your terminal.

For more information, visit the official Nethogs project page.

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