Suggestion for /proc/net/dev: Additional field "Bandwidth"

Rolf Fokkens (rolf@flits102-126.flits.rug.nl)
Sat, 07 Nov 1998 16:53:36 +0100

I wrote a network monitor "NetMon", an X program with "leds" symbolizing
data throughput on a network device. On a 2.0 kernel I can only see the
number of packets that went though a device in /proc/net/dev, so some
"leds" in NetMon flashes on when a packet passes through an interface.

The 2.1 kernel however counts bytes too! This enables NetMon to control
the "led" intensity depending on the number of bytes that pass the
interface: the throughput. I have ISDN interfaces (64 kbit ipppx), an
ethernet interface (10Mbit eth0) and ppp interaces (28.8 kbit pppx).
NetMon can't see what the max throughput is for an interface in
/proc/net/dev.

This is my suggestion: add a field Bandwidth (max bytes/sec) to
/proc/net/dev. It shouldn't be too hard (I guess), and it's a very
relevant attribute of an interface, especially when interfaces can
operate in both 100Mbit and 10Mbit.

How about it?

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