Nload is a command-line based real-time network traffic and bandwidth usage monitor. It displays the amount of incoming and outgoing traffic in terms of the current, average, minimum, and maximum values. It also displays the total data transferred over the network since the last reboot.
Here at LinuxAPT, as part of our Server Management Services, we regularly help our Customers to perform related System network Monitoring queries.
In this context, we shall look into how to install nload to monitor real-time network traffic on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS.
Nload is available in the Ubuntu repositories. Here, we will install nload using the apt package manager.
1. Perform System Update
Update package repositories in your system using the below command:
$ sudo apt updateNext, you will be prompted to Provide sudo password to continue with this process.
2. Install nload
Then to install nload, use the command below:
$ sudo apt install nloadAfter that, it will start installing nload on your system.
Once installed, you are ready to use nload on your system.
The source code of nload is also available for installation. Here, we will install nload using the source code.
1. Download nload source code using the command below:
$ wget http://www.roland-riegel.de/nload/nload-0.7.4.tar.gz2. The downloaded file will be in tar.gz format. You can extract it using the command below:
$ tar xvf nload-0.7.4.tar.gzThe archive will be extracted to nload-0.7.4 directory.
3. Now navigate to the extracted directory using the command below:
$ cd nload-0.7.4/4. Once you are inside the nload-0.7.4 directory, run the configure script using the command below:
$ ./configure5. Then run the commands below to compile and install the nload package:
$ sudo make
$ sudo make installNow nload will be installed on our system.
To launch nload in your Ubuntu system, use the command below in Terminal:
$ nloadThis will display the real-time statistics of network devices. The left and right arrow keys or Tab/ Enter keys can be used to switch between network devices.
To display network statistics of all the devices at the same time, use the -m option as follows:
$ nload -mThis will display all the available network interfaces statistics on the Terminal window.
To view help regarding the usage of nload tool, you can use the command below:
$ nload -hIn case you need to uninstall nload from your system, use the methods described below:
1. If you have installed nload using the apt utility, use the command below to uninstall it:
$ sudo apt remove nload2. If you have installed nload using the source code, use the commands below to uninstall it:
$ cd nload-0.7.4/
$ sudo make uninstallThis article covers the different ways to easily install nload on your Ubuntu system. In fact, nload is a command-line utility that can be used to monitor network traffic and bandwidth usage in real time. It visualizes the in-comming and out-going traffic using two graphs and also provides additional information like min/max network usage and total transferred data.
