
Bandwidth monitoring is the collection, aggregation, and analysis of network traffic by endpoint (user), port, interface, and protocol (application).

For instance, Cisco’s NetFlow is a bandwidth monitoring protocol that collects IP network traffic data. There are many enterprise solutions that enable network managers to understand their bandwidth usage.

They can then enact policies that prioritize traffic for high demand applications. For instance, software solutions can monitor bandwidth utilization by port, and even by direction, which is extremely useful in pinpointing problems or to justify additional bandwidth. By using sophisticated network monitoring software, they can track traffic throughout large and complex networks and determine how bandwidth is being utilized.

Understanding how bandwidth is utilized in a network is of critical importance to a network manager who is chiefly responsible for ensuring peak network performance. Bandwidth utilization refers to the amount of bandwidth consumed on a network or network segment and the breakdown of its composite traffic.
