How to use Bandwidth Graphs Print

This guide will help you use the information provided by the bandwidth graphs displayed in cPanel >Logs >> Bandwidth.

Today graph

This graph shows the data transfer rate (in bits per second) for the current day, averaged into 5-minute intervals.

By default, this graph updates every 2 hours. However, your hosting provider may have adjusted the bandwidth data processing interval (in the WHM Statistics Software Configurationinterface). If so, this will affect how much of today's bandwidth data is available to you.

This graph is useful for —

• Spotting very small-scale trends, such as quick spikes in traffic at specific times.
• Discerning changes during the day, such as increases and decreases in traffic.

This graph is not useful for —

• Determining the total amount of data transferred for the current day. To obtain that information, visit the Bandwidth by Day table by clicking the pie chart for the current month.
  •  Note: We recommend viewing the Bandwidth by Day table at least 24-48 hours after the day ends. This allows the system to gather and process the traffic data.

Past 7 Days graph

This graph shows the data transfer rate (in bits per second) for the past 7 days, averaged into 5-minute intervals.

This graph is useful for —

• Spotting larger-scale trends; for example, spikes in traffic at the same time each day for the past 3 days.
• Discerning changes during the past week, such as increases or decreases in traffic over a period of 2 to 7 days.

This graph is not useful for —

• Determining the total amount of data transferred over the past week. To obtain that information, visit the Bandwidth by Day table by clicking the pie chart for the current month. From there, you can see the total amount of data transferred for each day.
  •  Note: We recommend viewing the Bandwidth by Day table at least 24-48 hours after the last day of the period for which you wish to obtain data. This allows the system to gather and process the traffic data.

Past 12 Months graph

This graph shows the total amount of data transferred over a period of 12 months.

This graph is useful for —

• Spotting long-term trends over an entire year. For example, you would be able to see that you have seen a steady increase in traffic over the past 10 months, that last month's traffic increased compared to the previous 4 months, and that you get a heavy burst of traffic at mid-month every month.

This graph is not useful for —

• Determining the total amount of data transferred over the past year. You can obtain that information by adding the data found in the Total (all services) section, next to the individual pie charts listed below the Past 12 Months graph.

Monthly pie charts

The monthly pie charts which appear below the line graphs on the Bandwidth page allow you to visually compare the relative amounts of data used by the various services and domains you run from your cPanel account.

The pie charts are useful for —

• Determining the total amount of data transferred for the month. (See the Total (all services) item.)
• Comparing information between months for each domain and service. For example, from the pie charts you can determine:
  • When there is a noticeable change in the relationships between services from month to month.
    • e.g., SMTP total bandwidth increased from 5% to 50% in one month, while HTTP bandwidth decreased.
  • When there is a change in the bandwidth usage of one domain relative to another.
    • e.g., The domain example1.com accounts for about half of the overall traffic of all sites, and example2.com accounts for about 25%.

Clicking a pie chart sends you to the Bandwidth Transfer Detail screen for that month.

 Note: You can look up usage information for an individual website or service by clicking on the appropriate usage link next to the monthly pie chart. This directs you to a new screen, where you can see detailed monthly traffic information for that particular service and website.

Bandwidth Transfer Detail screen

All Traffic monthly graph

This graph shows the hourly average bytes transferred for the month selected. It provides a more detailed version of the data shown in the Past 12 Months graph.

This graph is useful for —

• Spotting trends over a period of several days or weeks. For example, you would be able to see whether traffic is heavier at certain times of day, or on certain days of the week.

This graph is not useful for —

• Determining the total amount of data transferred over the past month. To obtain the amount of data transferred, see the pie chart on the main Bandwidth page, or the Bandwidth by Day table below the graph.

Monthly traffic graphs by service

Beneath the All Traffic graph, you will see 1 or more graphs for specific services, such as HTTP, IMAP, POP3, SMTP, and FTP.

These graphs serve the same purpose as the All Traffic graph, but the data is separated to make recognizing trends for a service easier.

These graphs are useful for —

• Comparing bandwidth trends among services. For example, you can see when HTTP traffic has stayed constant throughout the month, but FTP traffic has dropped and IMAPtraffic has doubled.

Bandwidth by Day table

The Bandwidth by Day table lists the total amount of data transferred on a given day of the month, in megabytes, for the cPanel user account. It also shows the total monthly amount of traffic per service (HTTP, SMTP, FTP, POP3 and IMAP).

Clicking on a day in the table sends you to a new screen, where you can see more information about the traffic for that particular day.

This graph is useful for —

• Determining the total amount of data transferred for a particular day.

All Traffic daily graph

This graph shows 30-minute averages of bits transferred per second. It is a more detailed version of the All Traffic monthly graph from the Bandwidth Transfer Detail screen.

This graph is useful for —

• Determining when traffic was heavy or light during the day.

For example, you would be able to see that:

• Traffic is heavier between 8 am and 3 pm every day.
• Traffic increases every weekday between 5 and 7 pm.

This graph is not useful for —

• Determining the total amount of data transferred for that day.

For many sites, the traffic for one service will be significantly higher than the traffic for other services. This makes spotting trends in the lesser-used services difficult to see in this graph. However, the bandwidth for each service is shown below this graph.

Daily traffic graphs by service

Beneath the All Traffic graph is a series of 1 or more line graphs for specific services, such as HTTP, IMAP, POP3, SMTP, and FTP.

These serve the same purpose as the All Traffic graph, but the data is separated to make recognizing trends for a single service easier.

This graph is useful for —

• Determining daily traffic patterns for each service.
• Comparing the traffic used by various services at different times of day.

For example, you would be able to see that:

• HTTP traffic is highest during business hours, but FTP traffic is heaviest between 11 pm and 2 am.

Related documentation

For more information about how this data is calculated, read Apparent Discrepancies in Bandwidth Usage Statistics.