How Accurate is AnologX's NetStat Live?

[Nutdotnet]

Having a little dispute with the local Cable Modem Company. The person I am talking to says that this program is not accurate. I am not going to go into details right now but will if need be.

So please, if you use this program how accurate do you think it is? And if you hold any Network Certs., work for a cable/dsl company, etc...please let me know.

If you haven't used the program yet and would like to check it out you can find it here-
NetStat Live

Thanks!

 

[spidey07]

what is netstat live?

BSEE, CCNP, CCDP, CCNA, CCDA, MCSE+I, CCIE written, others I've forgotten about

 

[Nutdotnet]

<< what is netstat live?

BSEE, CCNP, CCDP, CCNA, CCDA, MCSE+I, CCIE written, others I've forgotten about >>



Spidey, NetStat Live is a Bandwith Monitoring Program. It monitors your trasfer usage for d/l and u/l......

I am trying to get as many answers as possible so if it is indeed an accurate program I can direct the person at the Cable Modem outfit to this webpage and show him how many people, other than myself, that believe that this program is an accurate program.

 

[n0cmonkey]

<< what is netstat live?

BSEE, CCNP, CCDP, CCNA, CCDA, MCSE+I, CCIE written, others I've forgotten about >>



Analogx.com NSL

Have you ever wondered just how fast your network connection is? Not just how fast the modem is connected at, but how much data you can actually get? Does your internet connection sometimes seem slower than normal? Forget hacking the registry or using counter-intuitive tools to get the information you want - enter the world of AnalogX NetStat Live (NSL)! NSL is a small, easy to use TCP/IP protocol monitor which can be used to see your exact throughput on both incoming and outgoing data - whether you're using a modem, cable modem, DSL, or even local network! NSL doesn't just stop there, it lets you see how quickly your data goes from your computer to another computer on the internet; it even will tell you how many other computers your data must go through to get there! But wait - there's more! NSL also graphs your CPU usage of your system! This can be especially useful in identifying if your computer is what's slowing things down, or if it's your internet connection.


I use tcpstat for my network speed tests.

Oh, and Im not certified, but Im definitely certifiable!


EDIT: DUMeter(?) is what I see most people measure their downloads with.

 

[spidey07]

Oh, I can't be much help then. Many bandwidth monitoring programs are flawed in how they measure usage. Depends on how they do the math and how often the program samples the bytes in/out. sorry. I have no experience with NetStat live.

 

[Nutdotnet]

Not really concerned with my Net Speed. More concerned with the usage. You see, I pay $100 a month for 1.5 d/l, 256 u/l, and a 20gig transfer limit per month. Last month, with me just finding out about it when I received my bill a few days ago, I was 25gigs over my 20gig limit (45gig total)....causing a $500 charge on my account ($20 per gig over). This month I am 12 gigs over. I download music, an occasional video, just the typical web stuff that I feel my house should be able to do when paying $100 a month for modem service. There is no way we went 25gigs over last month and no way we went 12 gigs over this month.

The Cable Modem company doesn't know why they are receiving numbers this high, and don't have any idea how to correct it, but they still want to charge me $240 for this months excess usage. I personally feel this is rediculous, especially considering the people I have spoken too really don't know how they monitor the cable modem usage, what program they use, etc......

Just stressed out right now, I am planning on cancelling and going to DSL just for the fact that the cable modem company has been unhelpful and at sometimes rude to me and this situation......

 

[n0cmonkey]

I think DU meter can also measure how much you download. Not sure though since I try to stay away from win32

Do a search for it and find out what all it does.

 

[Nutdotnet]

<< Oh, I can't be much help then. Many bandwidth monitoring programs are flawed in how they measure usage. Depends on how they do the math and how often the program samples the bytes in/out. sorry. I have no experience with NetStat live. >>



Spidey, so are you saying that almost ALL banwith monitoring programs are not very accurate? I am just trying to get as much info as possible so I can hit these people with some firepower if I need to.....I am going to fight as hard as I can to not pay the $240.

 

[spidey07]

WOW, sorry dude. that sucks.

If we're not concerned about bandwidth utilization then it is pretty hard to screw up counting bytes.

 

[Nutdotnet]

Yeah exactly.....except for the fact that my computers that NetStat Live (all of them do and I have four) do not come anywhere NEAR the amount the the Cable Company is showing....

It sux too because they are a real good Cable Modem company. Fast, Stable, etc. I am going to end up going to DSL that CAN be fast but have heard that it can be rather unstable as well.....

 

[spidey07]

<< Spidey, so are you saying that almost ALL banwith monitoring programs are not very accurate >>


Not at all, some are as accurate as you want them to be (poll every 5 seconds, calcutale bytes/in, bytes/out, divide by deltaT...pretty simple) It is just what the apps do with that data that can sometimes skew.

BUT NOT ON THE ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE YOU ARE DESCRIBING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[JackMDS]

Spidey is right most of programs that measure bandwidth do it in variety of averaging technique that produce errors.

However you are not talking Bandwidth (speed), you are talking about the total amount of traffic. Ask your ISP to recommend a program, or to agree on a way that you can monitor the amount of traffic in parallel to them, otherwise what ever you use they will have a way to put it down, and refuse to accept your data.

 

[Nutdotnet]

<< Spidey is right most of programs that measure bandwidth do it in variety of averaging technique that produce errors.

However you are not talking Bandwidth (speed), you are talking about the total amount of traffic. Ask your ISP to recommend a program, or to agree on a way that you can monitor the amount of traffic in parallel to them, otherwise what ever you use they will have a way to put it down, and refuse to accept your data. >>



Good idea man, thanks!