10 Strike Bandwidth Monitor - Program Settings
In the Common section, you can configure the following settings:
Minimize on ESC
If this option is selected, you are able to minimize the application by pressing the ESCAPE key on the keyboard. Please see the section Hotkeys for information on other hotkeys available in the program.Shortcut on desktop
When this option is selected, the program creates a shortcut on the Windows Desktop. This shortcut can be removed from the desktop by deselecting this option.Autorun
The client part of program (the main window that displays the monitoring results) will start automatically each time you start Windows.Minimize on startup
The program will be minimized automatically to the system tray (the area next to the clock) on its startup.Program data and settings folder
By default, the program stores its data and settings in the user profile folder:in Windows XP: <disk>:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\10-Strike\Bandwidth Monitor\
in Windows Vista/7: <disk>:\ProgramData\10-Strike\Bandwidth Monitor\
Here you can change the data folder location. When you click OK the program will copy its data to the new location. No program restart is needed.
Play sounds without waiting for the previous sound's end
This setting defines the sound alerts' behaviour in different functions in the program.
In this section, you can configure the following settings:
Maximal polling threads count
This parameter configures the amount of program threads which monitor devices simultaneously. Avoid increasing this parameter too much. This can slow down your computer. So, increase this parameter promptly (only when necessary) and see how you system operates. The recommended value is 20-30 threads or less. Consider the fact that Windows XP SP2 and some other OS do not allow making half-open TCP connections to more than 10 different addresses per 10 seconds (excessive threads will be slowed down by the system).Process Priority
This is the priority which a background monitoring process gets when sharing system resources. The recommended value is Normal.Default interval between sensor polls
This is a default period of time, in which the program starts querying devices again. When you create a new sensor, this default interval will be applied to the sensor automatically. You can change the polling interval for all the existing sensors by clicking the Apply to all sensors button.
In this section, you can configure the following settings:
Message text, e-mail, SMS
This option defines the message text which will be used when an alert arise. It will be displayed on the screen or sent via e-mail or SMS when the alert conditions are met. The program sends a message if:1) the bandwidth speed or the traffic volume conditions are met
2) the interface is disabled or a polling error arises
3) the error is recovered
The message text for the first two options is configured in the "red " field (When condition is met or failure occurs), for the third option - in the "green" field (When failure is recovered).
You can insert multiple data (for example, the host name or address, sensor name, current date and time, interface name, etc.) into the message text using the following keys:
%A - host address
%C - hosts signature
%T - type of the sensor
%S - sensor name
%I - name of the interface
%M - last message
%D - data and time
%U - user
%DSC - sensor's description
%RET - line break
All the keys will be replaced by the corresponding values automatically by the program.
Show balloon tips in tray
When this option is selected, the program will show the balloon (in system tray area) tips when an alert arises.
In this section, you can configure the following settings:
Log
Full path to the program log file.Append or Rewrite
Select an option for recording information to an existing log file. If the Append option is selected, the log will not be created all over again every time the application starts. New log records will be added to the end of the file. With the Rewrite option selected, the log will be cleared every time the application starts.Log file size limit
The application can automatically manage the size of the log file, preventing it from growing over a certain value. When the maximum allowed size is reached, the application deletes the oldest records from the log.
This section of the program settings configures mail server parameters for sending alerts via e-mail:
SMTP server - configure the address of your SMTP server.
Connection type and Port - configure the server's TCP port and connection type: normal (the default TCP port is 25) or secure TLS/SSL (default port 465).
Sender address - configure an address which will be displayed as the sender address in email alerts.
Message subject - configure the subject line for outgoing email messages. You can use the same keys for inserting specific data as we described in the Alerts section of the program settings.
Code page - select a code page for email messages
SMTP authorization is required before sending
If your SMTP server requires an authorization, you will need to select this option and specify your Username and Password.
The program has the two following options for sending monitoring notifications via SMS: 1) Sending SMS via E-mail-to-SMS gateway, 2) Sending SMS directly using a GSM phone. Let us consider both methods in details. Each method is configured independently in the program settings.
1. The program can send SMS via E-Mail using your cellular operator's Email-to-SMS gateway. Therefore, you should first configure connection settings for the SMS gateway (you need to find our the correct settings on the operator's web site or ask their support whether they have an Email-to-SMS gateway).
On the SMS settings dialog, provide an SMS gateway address (get this information from your operator's customer service), message composition rules (Phone number in email subject, Message text in email subject).
You also need to configure E-mail Settings for sending outgoing emails to your SMS gateway (mail server address, port, login, password).
Warning! The Email-to-SMS sending method requires an active Internet connection for sending SMS messages via Email. If your ISP connection goes down, the program will not be able to send SMS notifications. Cell operators usually do not charge for outgoing SMS messages sent via email. But you should clarify this issue with your operator.
If you have difficulties with configuring the E-mail or SMS settings, please read the FAQ topic.
2. The second option for sending outgoing SMS messages is connecting a GSM cell phone to your PC and sending SMS directly.
The GSM phone should support connection to a PC using a COM or USB cable. In the USB cable case, you will need to install a driver which will create a virtual COM port on your system (you will need to know this COM port's number). This driver is usually included to the software provided with your phone. The phone should also contain a GSM modem supporting basic AT commands.
Before trying to send an SMS using the program, you need to check that the phone's modem is operating well using special software provided with your phone ("PC Suite", etc.). After that, you can start configuring our program for sending SMS messages directly using your phone.
On the SMS settings dialog, select the second SMS sending option Send SMS via the GSM Phone. You need to select a necessary COM port, select Baud rate (57600 by default), and provide the AT initialization string (ATE0 by default). Other options are optional. You should not change it unless you know what you are doing. :)
Click the Test... button to test the connection with your phone. The program should gather some information from the phone and display it on the screen. If the test finishes successfully, the program likely will be able to send SMS messages.
Warning! The outgoing SMS will be charged as usually when you send them using the phone. You should configure the monitoring SMS notifications having in mind you will have to pay for them. Long messages can be broken into several smaller messages.
The program can send out alert messages using popular messengers Slack and Telegram. You will need to configure these services before sending messages from the program.
For Slack
- Register in Slack.
- Enable the Slackbot integration for your team and get your Webhook URL.
- Specify your Webhook URL in the corresponding field of the program settings. It looks like https://hooks.slack.com/services/Txxxxxxxx/Bxxxxxxxx/xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
For Telegram
- Create a Telegram bot. Get its API token and the chat ID for receiving your alert messages.
- Specify these parameters in the settings.
Specify the proxy server parameters if necessary.
After the successful configuration, you can enable the Send to Messenger option in the sensor alert settings.
During the process of monitoring, the program stores the monitoring results statistics (traffic values went through each sensor) in its internal file database. For each sensor, the program creates and maintains one statistics file. The statistics files are located in the TStat subfolder of the program data folder. The large amount of statistics gathered by the program (more than 1 MB per sensor) can slow down its operation. It is recommended to clear or backup the stats periodically.
The program can automatically clear the stats for each host on the program startup when a certain file size limit is reached. To enable this feature, you need to select the Clear statistics for each sensor when it reaches the following size threshold option and configure the size limit in kilobytes. When the program starts it will check the file size and delete some old part of it if the threshold is reached. If you would not like to lose the gathered statistics, the program can make a backup copy of the files before the deletion in the StatBackUp subfolder. Select the Create a backup copy of the .stat file before deletion option to do that.
In this section of the settings, you can also watch the total stats file size, create a backup archive, and clear all the files.
The host polling mechanism is implemented as a Windows service. It allows you to monitor the traffic volume and bandwidth continuously without logging on to the computer. To install the "Bandwidth Monitor Service", click the Install Service button. To start/stop the service click Start or Stop. If you stop the service, you will stop the monitoring process as well.
In this section of the program settings, you can manage the 10-Strike Bandwidth Monitor Service:
Start and stop it
To stop the monitoring process, stop the service.Install and Uninstall the service
The service is installed automatically when the application is installed on the computer. If you need to remove the service without uninstalling the application, click the Delete Service button.You can view the Current State of the service.
You can also edit the TCP port for connecting to the service from the main GUI program. The main program (graphic console) and the service exchange the information between each other over the TCP protocol. The default TCP port number is 45231. You can change the port number the program should use for connecting to the service if necessary. After changing the port, you need to restart the application and the service both.
Please note, that in Windows Vista and newer editions of Windows, applications are launched with the current user privileges. However, managing services requires the administrator privileges. Therefore, the application is to be run on behalf of the Administrator, or use the standard Windows service management mechanisms.
If you use WMI sensors, please note that the service must be started by a user with administrator rights. To edit the username on behalf of whom the service to be started, you need to:
- Click the Manage Services button.
- The Services window will appear. Find the 10-Strike Bandwidth Monitor Service and open the Service properties window with a double click.
- Open the Log on tab. Select the This account option (in the Log on as: group).
- Click Browse.... In the window that opens, press Advanced... and then Find now. Select a local account with administrator rights in the search results. Press OK and OK again.
- In the Password field, enter the password of that account, and repeat the password again in the Confirm Password field. Click OK to save the changes.
- Restart the service.
This section allows you to perform the centralized Agent administration. Configure settings for remote Agents here and send them to active (online) Agents via network.
Use password
When you enable this option, do not forget to configure the same passwords in the sensors' settings (which gather data from Agents).IP address filter
You can create a list of valid IP addresses the Agents should communicate with. This is a security option which can help you to block other unwanted computers which can read traffic data from Agents. The list should contain an IP address of your machine where the main bandwidth monitoring program is installed.
After configuring the parameters, click the "Apply settings to all agents..." button. Check the list of hosts where the Agents are installed, enter the current password for connecting to Agents (if it was set), and click the Send button. The program will send the new settings to the remote Agents.
In this section, you can configure hotkeys which you can use for accessing the program functions quickly when the program is minimized to the system tray. All the key combinations are used together with the WIN key (the one with the Windows logo).
To configure a hotkey, select a function in the Action list, then click the mouse cursor on the Key field and press a key you would like to use for the hotkey combination with the WIN key (for example, H). All changes take effect when the new settings are applied.
Here you can change the program appearance:
Configure check list columns...
Hide unnecessary columns, rename the existing columns, sort columns. You can also sort columns with a mouse on the main window (drag a column's header to a necessary place).Transparency
Make the main program window transparent.Sort hosts in the tree...
Select a method how hosts should be sorted in the tree. The hosts can be sorted by name or IP address.Units
Select units of measuring the traffic and bandwidth speed for displaying on charts and in reports.
Networking Software Bundles