I am considering switching to an ISP plan that has a limit on monthly data usage. Before I do that I wanted to find out exactly how much I'm using.
I've been searching for a way to do that and I'm getting a bit overwhelmed. My knowledge of networks doesn't go beyond being able to set up a home wireless network, set up wireless devices to connect to the network, and set up mac filtering in the router.
My home network is accessed via Ethernet by a computer, a TV and a work IP phone, and wirelessly from two phones, two computers, a ROKU, a printer, a few Kindle readers, and a Blu-Ray player - from which we do a LOT of streaming, hence, my need to find out how much data I'm actually using.
It's just me and my wife and the occasional friend that accesses the network so I'm not interested in any kind of parental controls or monitoring what sites are visited or what programs access the internet - just how much data goes through my DSL modem.
My router's logs (it's an Actiontec C1000A modem/router) don't record how much data is used - just what network IP address accessed what internet address, so I have to find another way to get the data usage.
My search has brought me to all types of products, including Wireshark, PRTG, CyberSieve and some others.
Aside from them all having a lot more than I need, I'm not sure that anything I've come across would work for what I'm trying to do anyway, as they all are installed on a computer, so the software can only monitor the internet traffic through that computer, right? If I want to watch the amount of data usage for all of the devices accessing the internet through my modem, then I need a cloud-based service, or something attached to/installed on the modem, don't I?
51 Answer
Since you said neither ISP nor your modem can provide you usage information. You can attach a wireless router to your modem, turn off Wi-Fi on the modem and make it your DMZ host. And then connect all your devices to this router.
It is possible to turn off the Wi-Fi of your modem and enable to your wireless router with the same Wi-Fi SSD and password. Your device will most likely reconnect to your new router without complaining.
Reset your router's usage statistics. After some time, you can login to your new router and check on usage information.
