Constat Readme File

Version Information:
Constat V.1.2.0 August 2008

Credits:
Creator/Developer: Ivan Cat, ivancat@gmail.com
Documentation: Leonardo D. Cano, cano_leonardo@hotmail.com

::GENERAL INFORMATION::

What is Constat?

constat  is an application that monitors, logs and reports the activity
of network connections  present on your system. It’s  simplicity  makes
it a must have network utility which works under any Linux/Unix distri-
bution. It does not require the X window Server.

constat reports sent/received traffic information for every  live  net-
work  device,  giving you the option of  displaying its output in units
of Kilobytes (KB), Megabytes (MB) and Gigabytes  (GB)  along  with  the
number  of transmitted packets. It also includes a real time monitoring
option based on a timer.

Additionally constat provides the  option  to  view  the  socket  table
(Local/remote  IPs with ports they are binded to) for a specific proto-
col or all protocols at once.


Where can I get Constat?

The latest version of Constat is available for download at two 
different sources:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/cstat/ or,
http://freshmeat.net/projects/constat/

What is the license under which Constat is distributed?

Constat is released under the GNU General Public License (GPL). 
To read the License agreement see the file included in the 
distribution (gpl) or go to http://www.fsf.org/licenses/gpl.txt

::USING CONSTAT::

Installation:

Installing Constat is really simple, just follow the steps:

1.Download Constat from any of the links provided in the previous section.

2.Open a terminal window, unpack the .tar file and go to the newly 
created constat directory just under your current directory.

3.Type the following at the command line:
configure
make <enter>
make install <enter>

4.Remove temporary files created during installation by entering the 
following at the command line:
make clean <enter>

That's all there is to it, you can start using the program now.

::RUNNING CONSTAT::

This section shows how to use Constat once is installed and details 
all the available options.

constat [OPTIONS] <interface>
constat -t [protocol]

	Example:
		constat ethO -- displays information for ethO.
		constat ppp  -- displays information for devices, matching ppp*.
		constat all  -- displays information for all available devices.

		constat -t     -- shows addr./port table for all avail. protocols		
		constat -t tcp -- shows address/port table for the tcp protocol
		constat -b eth -- logs info for eth* every 5 seconds in background

	        constat -bm=10 eth -- logs info for eth* every  10  seconds  in  
				      background
		
		constat -s=5 -- shows last 5 entries from the log file

		constat -n eth -- shows only numbers (no words) for eth*


	Options:
		-a --	same as "all" interface.
		-b --   run in background (enables -d and -m); use -x to stop
		-d --	dumps output to the log file.
		-g --	displays sent/received information in GBs. 
		-h --	displays help and exits the program (same as -help).
		-i --	displays full status information on device(s) including Mac 
			address, packets sent/received, errors and packets dropped.
		-k --	displays sent and received information in KBs.
		-l -- 	displays the list of available devices.
		-m[=<seconds>] -- monitors device(s) activity (5-second timer by def.).
		-n --   numeral output (no words)
		-o --   old style formatting
		-p --   shows the list of available protocols to use with the -t option
		-q --	runs program in quiet mode. Monitors activity and dumps data 
			to log without any output. Options -d and -m must present in 
			order to use (otherwise ignored).
		-s --	displays log file information and exits the program.
		-s[=<n>]shows <n> last entries from the log file
		-t --	displays the IP address/port table for the machine constat
			is running on.
		-v --	displays program version and exits (the same as -version)
		-x --   stop constat running in the background mode

	--help     --	displays program help and exits
	--version  -- 	displays program version and exits.



Uninstalling:

To uninstall Constat just go to the installation directory and type:
make uninstall <enter>








