Network Speed Monitor

Network Speed Monitor is a GNOME extension that displays the current network speed on the top bar of your Ubuntu desktop. It provides a real-time view of your download and upload speeds, helping you monitor your network usage efficiently.

Features

• Real-time network speed monitoring
• Easy-to-read display on the top bar
• Customizable refresh interval
• Supports multiple network interfaces

Installation

To install the Network Speed Monitor extension:

1. Download the extension:

   • Clone the repository to your local machine:

     git clone https://github.com/ajxv/netspeed-monitor.git

2. Install the extension:

   • Copy the extension files to the GNOME extensions directory:

     cp -r netspeed-monitor ~/.local/share/gnome-shell/extensions/netspeed-monitor@ajxv/

3. Enable the extension:

   • Open GNOME Tweaks and navigate to the Extensions tab, then enable the Network Speed Monitor extension.
   • Alternatively, you can enable the extension using the command line:

     gnome-extensions enable netspeed-monitor@ajxv

4. Restart GNOME Shell:

   • Press Alt + F2, type r, and press Enter to restart GNOME Shell.

Usage

Once installed and enabled, the Network Speed Monitor extension will display the current download (↓) and upload (↑) speeds on the top bar of your Ubuntu desktop. The speeds are updated every few seconds based on the configured refresh interval.

ScreenShot

Technical Details: Network Speed Calculations

Data Source

The extension reads network statistics from /proc/net/dev, a Linux kernel interface that provides cumulative network traffic statistics. This file contains rows for each network interface with various counters including bytes received (RX) and transmitted (TX).

Speed Calculation Process

1. Data Collection

   • The system reads /proc/net/dev every 3 seconds
   • Interface statistics are aggregated, excluding virtual interfaces (lo, vir, vbox, docker, br-)
   • Two primary values are tracked:
     • Total bytes received (RX)
     • Total bytes transmitted (TX)

2. Speed Calculation Formula

   - Speed = (Current Bytes - Previous Bytes) / Interval Time
   - RX Speed = (Current RX Bytes - Previous RX Bytes) / 3 seconds
   - TX Speed = (Current TX Bytes - Previous TX Bytes) / 3 seconds

3. Unit Conversion The raw byte values are converted to human-readable formats using the following scale:

   • B/s (Bytes/second) : < 1024 B/s
   • KB/s (Kilobytes/second) : < 1024 KB/s
   • MB/s (Megabytes/second) : < 1024 MB/s
   • GB/s (Gigabytes/second) : ≥ 1024 MB/s

Implementation Details

• Update Interval: 3 seconds (configurable via UPDATE_INTERVAL_SECONDS)
• Interface Filtering: Uses prefix matching to exclude virtual interfaces
• Error Handling: Continues operation even if a single reading fails
• Memory Usage: Maintains only previous reading state (2 integers)
• Display Format: "↓ {download_speed} ↑ {upload_speed}"

Resource Usage

• CPU Impact: Minimal (reads one file every 3 seconds)
• Memory Footprint: Constant (independent of network activity)
• I/O Operations: One file read per update interval

Contributing

Contributions are welcome to the Network Speed Monitor extension! To contribute, follow these steps:

1. Fork the repository.

2. Clone your fork:

   git clone https://github.com/YOUR-USERNAME/netspeed-monitor.git

3. Create a new branch:

   git checkout -b my-feature-branch

4. Make your changes.

5. Test your changes.

6. Commit your changes:

   git add .
   git commit -m "Description of your changes"

7. Push your changes:

   git push origin my-feature-branch

8. Create a pull request.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.