iftop

Iftop is a command line tool used for monitoring network traffic in real-time. It provides a real-time display of the current bandwidth usage for each network interface on the system.

1. Iftop stands for "interface top" and is primarily used for analyzing network connections and identifying network bottlenecks.
2. It continuously displays a list of network connections along with their source and destination IP addresses, ports, and bandwidth usage.
3. The tool uses the pcap library to capture and process network packets, making it compatible with most Unix-like operating systems.
4. Iftop provides both a live and cumulative view of the network traffic, allowing users to analyze data over different time intervals.
5. The display can be sorted based on various criteria such as total bandwidth, connections per second, or source/destination IP addresses.
6. It includes options to filter network traffic based on source or destination IP addresses, network ports, or protocols.
7. Iftop also supports IPv6 and can display information about IPv6 connections.
8. The tool offers continuous updating of the display, allowing users to monitor network traffic in real-time without constantly refreshing the output.
9. It supports color-coded output, making it easier to identify different types of network traffic.
10. Iftop requires root or superuser privileges to capture network packets, so running it as a regular user may not provide complete data.