For network administrators who want to check traffic patterns for irregularities when something seems amiss or who simply want to monitor traffic levels as part of a normal baseline, few tools are as effective as the Multi Router Traffic Grapher (MRTG). And, since it is an open source product, you can't beat the price.
MRTG is just one of the solutions covered in James Kretchmar's Open Source Network Administration from Prentice Hall. Other open source networking tools such as NetFlow, Neo, Oak, Tcpdump, and Netstat are covered as well. Most of the tools are represented in their own individual chapters. You can get a taste for the style and in-depth content of the book by downloading the chapter on MRTG now being offered here on TechRepublic.
This chapter breaks down the benefits of MRTG, shows how to install and configure it on Linux, and walks through the process of using it for effective network monitoring.
Also, if you want to increase your MRTG knowledge, take a look at these two articles:
- Use MRTG to monitor Linux routers and firewalls
- Enhance MRTG's network graphing with the Round Robin Database Tool (this is a TechProGuild article that requires a subscription)
