This guide is to help step you through getting started with the PeakHour Compatibility Check or getting the PeakHour app up and running.
Starting for the first time
When you first launch PeakHour or PeakHour Compatibility Check, the Configuration Assistant will open and walk you through configuring your first device (or 'target'). A target is a network device or interface that is monitored by PeakHour. You can configure as many targets as you wish.
These are the steps you'll go through to configure your first target:
- Determine which protocol to use: SNMP or UPnP. Your choice is mostly determined by your router and what it supports. Some routers support both, most support UPnP only.
- Locate your device, either automatically (UPnP) or by entering it's hostname / IP address (SNMP).
- (SNMP only) Choose which interface to monitor
- Describe the target and choose any final options.
To begin, click Next.
Choosing a protocol
The first question you're asked is: which protocol to use?
This is entirely depending on what sort of device it is. As a general rule of thumb, most Internet routers support UPnP at least, so try this first.
A couple of tips:
- Download the instruction manual / admin guide from the manufacturers web site. Search the manual for an occurrences of "UPnP" and "SNMP". Most routers have the the option to enable these features within their admin interface, and those options are documented in the manual.
- Try both UPnP and SNMP options to see which one works. Note for SNMP, you will need to know the IP address of the device, as it does not support automatic detection.
UPnP
UPnP is the simplest option as it is completely automatic and requires no configuration. You should try this first if you're unsure about what protocol(s) your device supports.
You'll notice that the number of automatically detected UPnP devices is displayed (in the above screenshot "2 available devices"). If you see that device(s) have been detected, this is a good sign that your Internet router supports UPnP.
If it shows no UPnP devices available or UPnP is disabled (greyed out), you will most likely need to try SNMP.
Choosing a device
Choosing UPnP will take you to the list of detected devices. This screen (shown above) displays a summery of the UPnP devices that PeakHour is capable of monitoring. Along with the name of the device, information such as the device's Internet IP address, connection type and link status are displayed. To the right of that is a real-time output of the device's currently detected throughput.
If you're unsure about which device to monitor, the real-time throughput information can help.
SNMP
SNMP doesn't support automatic detection so you will need know the IP address of the device..
When you choose SNMP, you're first taken to the Locate your device page. By default, Automatically detect is checked so PeakHour will try to find your default gateway or router automatically. This will all work if:
- Your default router can be detected (almost always)
- Your default router supports SNMP and it is enabled
- The SNMP community is set to public
If this doesn't work or the device name / ip address is wrong, uncheck automatically discover and enter the name or ip address of the device you wish to monitor. You can adjust other settings such as the SNMP security settings and version, as required by your device.
Once you've configured your device, click Next to see the list of interfaces.
Choosing an interface
Most devices have more than one 'interface'. For example, your broadband router might have a WAN / Internet Port as well as a number of LAN (local) ports that you plug other devices into. In addition, it might also have a WiFi interface for wireless devices to connect to.
On most devices, each of these is a separate interface and you will need to tell PeakHour which one to use.
To monitor Internet traffic, commonly the interface will be called something like wan0, pppoe0, internet or something similar. It's not really possible to list them because it differs from manufacturer to manufacturer and device to device.
If you answered Enable Telemetry when you first started, PeakHour will downloading 'friendly' interface names for common routers such as Apple's Airport range to help make things a little easier.
Tip
If you want to monitor Internet usage and you're unsure which interface, a good way to test is to visit somewhere like http://speedtest.net whilst the Interface list is visible. Watch each interface and see which one corresponds closest to the throughput of speediest.net.
Finalising
The last screen in the Configuration Assistant lets you set a few important parameters:
| Setting | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Description | The name or description you wish to associate with this target. |
| Swap inbound and outbound data | Some devices may report uploaded data as downloaded data and vice-versa. Check this box to swap download and upload data around. |
| Display: Graph+Details View vs. Details Only view | Graph+Details means the target is shown with a graph in the main display. Details only means that only a summary is displayed. |
| Show in Menu | Show this target's details (current upload/download speed and minigraph) in the menu bar. |
Once you're done, click Finish.
You should now see PeakHour running the menu bar, monitoring your device:
