How to identify users in SmartMonitor

Because SmartMonitor monitors based on IP address, it is recommended to fix the IP addresses given out by the router so that client PCs will stay on the same IP. This is done from the LAN - Bind IP to MAC section in the router's web interface, simply select the IP addresses to be monitored from the list on the left then add it to the Bind IP to MAC list, those will then always receive those IP addresses via DHCP from the router:

The SmartMonitor software lists all IP addresses under the User Setting – User List section.

On this page, it's possible to set which IP addresses are recorded and to name IP addresses – in networks where there are more IP addresses than the router supports, it's possible to untick the Recording option for un-needed IP addresses. This is useful for devices that wouldn't need to be monitored such as the router IP and other network infrastructure IP addresses.



It's useful to add the IP addresses to groups or to name them, this can be done from the User Setting – Group Setting section by clicking the Add Group icon:



On that page, the group can be named, the types of traffic being monitored can be selected and at the bottom of that page, the IP addresses to be monitored can be selected. Once an IP has been selected here, it can be named to make it easier to identify in SmartMonitor:

How to identify bandwidth usage in SmartMonitor

The main page shows a view of the day's usage but to check other days or find more specific information, go to User Analysis – User By Traffic and select the day to check; that will show the total bandwidth usage although it can be set to specific traffic types using the drop-down box in the upper right of the page. This shows the IP addresses (or names) that have used traffic in order of usage:



It is also possible to check the top ten users that have used the different traffic types from the User Analysis – Top 10 page and the previous 20 days can be checked using the drop-down box in the upper right of the page:



To check the bandwidth usage for a specific user or group, go to User Analysis – Records & Report, select the Group from the drop-down box in the upper right of the page then select either the user or group to check the traffic for. That will then pop-up an additional window showing a daily usage graph along with which traffic types contributed to the bandwidth used. This also allows for selecting which of the last 20 days to view the bandwidth usage for, using the drop-down box in the upper right of the page.

If the traffic type shows as Other, this is usually encrypted traffic that SmartMonitor cannot identify but is still counted towards the total bandwidth usage.

To check what time periods the most bandwidth is being used, go to Report – Service Traffic for an overall view:



To check it for a specific user, go to User Analysis – Records & Report, select the user / group and select Daily Report from the drop-down. The time period to observe can then be selected on the pop-up window.

How to identify which sites have been accessed by which users in SmartMonitor

To see the sites accessed by all users of the network over a single day, go to Service Analysis – HTTP which will show that day's usage. It's possible to search over specific days or check the last 20 days using the options in the upper right of the page.

To see which sites have been accessed by a specific user, go to User Analysis – Records & Report, select the Group to view then select the user to view and select the traffic type (HTTP in this example). It is then possible to select which day to view site access for or perform a search:



Another way to check which sites are being accessed is from the User Analysis – Top 10 page, to do that, click on the user / IP showing in the Top 10 list for HTTP traffic and it will show a percentage for the number of times specific sites were accessed for the day selected.

How to generate reports with SmartMonitor

Many of the results pages such as the Service Analysis – HTTP page have options to export the entries shown for the time period as a PDF, via email or to print:



It is possible to generate more detailed reports from the Report - Customized User Report and Report - Customized Group Report sections, to do that, click Browser and select the Users / Groups from the list, hold down Ctrl when selecting to select multiple entries then click OK.

Back on the Customized Report page, select the Service types to be monitored – for instance the “HTTP Traffic and Counts” will show the pages accessed and how many times by the specified users for the specified time period.

The Top 10 entries will show the ten most accessed URLs / IP addresses for each user / group.

The Duration can be set to only monitor specific time periods such as office hours.

The Export setting can be set to do either PDF or E-Mail:
PDF – This exports a one-time report that is then downloaded by the browser for the time period specified. Click on the From and To boxes to select from a calendar menu that will appear when those boxes are clicked.
E-Mail – This exports the report on a schedule of either Daily, Weekly or Monthly, that is then sent via email to the email address specified for the user account that has specified this report. The email address for the user is configured under System – Admin for each user account. The user account logged in when making the report will be the one that the email reports are sent to.