How to use the command 'speedometer' (with examples)

The ‘speedometer’ command is a Python script that allows users to view a network traffic graph in the terminal. It provides a visual representation of the network traffic on a specific interface, helping users monitor and analyze their network activity in real time.

Use case 1: Show graph for a specific interface

Code:

speedometer -r eth0 -t eth0

Motivation: Monitoring network traffic on a specific interface is useful for identifying potential bottlenecks, ensuring optimal performance, and detecting any abnormal or excessive network activity. By using the ‘speedometer’ command with the ‘-r’ and ‘-t’ options followed by the interface name, users can quickly visualize the network traffic graph for that specific interface.

Explanation:

• ‘-r eth0’: Specifies the receive (incoming) traffic interface as eth0.
• ‘-t eth0’: Specifies the transmit (outgoing) traffic interface as eth0.

Example output: The ‘speedometer’ command will continually update and display a graph showing the network traffic on the eth0 interface.

Incoming:  1.0 KiB/sec
Outgoing:  1.5 KiB/sec

 1.0K ┤                        ╭┤
     │                        │
     │                        │
     │                        │
     │                        │
 0.5K ┼                  ╭─╮   │
     │                  │ │   │
     │                  │ │   │
     │                  │ │   │
     │                  │ │   │
     │            ╭─╮   │ │   │
     │         ╭──║ │   │ │   │
     │╭────╮   │  ║ │   │ │   │
 0.0K ┼╮    ┼──║  ║ │╭──╯ │   │
     ││    │  ║  ║ ││    │   │
     ││    │  ║  ║╭─╯│    │   │
     ││    │  ║  ║│  │    │   │
     ││    │  │  ║│  │    │   │
     ││    │  │  ║│  │    │   │
     ╰┴────┴──│──║│  │    │   │
        0s   5s 10s 15s  20s  25s

Conclusion: By utilizing the ‘speedometer’ command with the appropriate arguments, users can easily monitor network traffic on selected interfaces and quickly identify any anomalies or performance issues. The visual representation provided by the command enhances the ability to analyze and understand network traffic patterns in real time.