FirePlotter is a lightweight, real-time firewall session monitor and traffic visualiser designed specifically for Cisco ASA/PIX and Fortinet FortiGate firewalls. Unlike traditional heavy network monitoring tools that rely on complex NetFlow or SNMP configurations, FirePlotter securely connects directly to your firewall via SSH or Telnet. It parses current session tables instantly to calculate and stream bandwidth analytics in a clear, graphical format. How FirePlotter Troubleshoots Bandwidth Instantly
When a network suddenly slows down to a crawl, FirePlotter helps you pinpoint the root cause within seconds through a streamlined three-step visibility process:
[ Firewall Live Sessions ] ➔ ➔ ➔ [ Color-Coded Protocol Graph ] ➔ ➔ ➔ Drill Down to IP/Host (Spot bandwidth spikes instantly) (Identify exact bandwidth hog)
Instant Protocol Overviews: The moment you log in, FirePlotter plots real-time data into a live graph colour-mapped to 8 core internet protocols (such as HTTP, FTP, SMTP, and Remote Desktop). This tells you immediately if the bandwidth spike is driven by web browsing, file transfers, or unauthorized traffic.
Granular Drill-Down: Once you notice a protocol spike, you can click into that segment to reveal a comprehensive session table. This table breaks down exactly which internal IP addresses are connecting to which destination URLs, alongside their directional (Inbound vs. Outbound) bandwidth usage.
Time-Slice Analysis: If your network suffered a performance dip prior to opening the software, you can click on any historical point or spike along the generated timeline. FirePlotter will display the exact active sessions and data usage occurring at that specific moment. Key Technical Features
No NetFlow/SNMP Needed: Avoids intensive setup times by calculating metrics directly from active firewall states.
Multi-Threaded Performance: Features an efficient backend designed to process high volumes of concurrent session data smoothly without placing a heavy CPU burden on the firewall hardware.
Session Playback Mode: Allows network administrators to record active traffic windows and replay the session data later for deep-dive forensic analysis.
Free vs. Licensed Tiers: Offers a free “Watch-only” mode to view real-time traffic summaries, alongside a paid commercial license required to fully audit individual IP addresses and pinpoint specific network hogs. When to Use FirePlotter
FirePlotter is ideal for immediate, reactive troubleshooting. If an IT branch manager or firewall engineer needs to quickly answer “Who is eating all our internet bandwidth right now?”, this tool provides the quickest answer without deploying a massive monitoring infrastructure.
(Note: For long-term historical trends, compliance logging, or multi-vendor infrastructure, centralized platforms like PRTG Network Monitor or ManageEngine Firewall Analyzer are typically used alongside it.)
If you need help setting this up, please let me know which firewall model you are running and how your administration access is configured so I can provide the exact connection steps.
Does anybody have a solution for real time traffic visualization
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