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    Command Linux
    Home - man page - IPTRAF

    IPTRAF

    WillieBy WillieApril 24, 2026No Comments3 Mins Read
     

    NAME

    iptraf – Interactive Colorful IP LAN Monitor  

    SYNOPSIS

    iptraf { [ -f ] [ -q ] [ -u ] [ { -i iface | -g | -d iface | -s iface | -z iface | -l iface } [ -t timeout ] [ -B [ -L logfile ] ] ] | [ -h ] }
     

    DESCRIPTION

    iptraf is an ncurses-based IP LAN monitor that generates various network statistics including TCP info, UDP counts, ICMP and OSPF information, Ethernet load info, node stats, IP checksum errors, and others.

    If the iptraf command is issued without any command-line options, the program comes up in interactive mode, with the various facilities accessed through the main menu.

     

    OPTIONS

    These options can also be supplied to the command:
    -i iface
    immediately start the IP traffic monitor on the specified interface, or all interfaces if "-i all" is specified
    -g
    immediately start the general interface statistics
    -d iface
    allows you to immediately start the detailed on the indicated interface (iface)
    -s iface
    allows you to immediately monitor TCP and UDP traffic on the specified interface (iface)
    -z iface
    shows packet counts by size on the specified interface
    -l iface
    start the LAN station monitor on the specified interface, or all LAN interfaces if "-l all" is specified
    -t timeout
    tells IPTraf to run the specified facility for only timeout minutes. This option is used only with one of the above parameters.
    -B
    redirect standard output to /dev/null, closes standard input, and forks the program into the background. Can be used only with one of the facility invocation parameters above. Send the backgrounded process a USR2 signal to terminate.
    -L logfile
    allows you to specify an alternate log file name. The default log file name is based on either the interface selected (detailed interface statistics, TCP/UDP service statistics, packet size breakdown), or the instance of the facility (IP traffic monitor, LAN station monitor). If a path is not specified, the log file is placed in /var/log/iptraf
    -f
    clears all locks and counters, causing this instance of IPTraf to think it’s the first one running. This should only be used to recover from an abnormal termination or system crash.
    -u
    allow use of unsupported interfaces as ethernet devices. This is needed if you changed the name of an interface (ex: ip link set eth0 name foo0)
    -q
    no longer needed, maintained only for compatibility.
    -h
    shows a command summary
     

    SIGNALS


     SIGUSR1 – rotates log files while program is running
     SIGUSR2 – terminates an IPTraf process running in the background.

     

    FILES


     /var/log/iptraf/*.log – log file
     /var/lib/iptraf/* – important IPTraf data files

     

    Willie
    • Website

    Willie has over 15 years of experience in Linux system administration and DevOps. After managing infrastructure for startups and enterprises alike, he founded Command Linux to share the practical knowledge he wished he had when starting out. He oversees content strategy and contributes guides on server management, automation, and security.

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