Bandwidth Overview
This report tells you the total bandwidth used by all users on the server, per protocol, for whatever time period you specify. There is also a handy chart that displays the trend line for the time period for both incoming and outgoing bandwidth.
A system admin can change the dates of the report as well as the "Step", which means whether you want to see the report by hour (when viewing a domain's detail), day, week, month or quarter. (Based on the start and end dates -- so a quarterly report would need a full 3 months selected.) Admins can change the chart type by clicking the chart icon next to the Step, or even export the report as needed. Each column in the report is sortable, either ascending or descending, and the sort can change simply by clicking the column header.
System Admins can also switch the report from a "Trend" report, which shows the data for the server as a whole, or display information by Domain. This is called the report's "Mode". Changing the mode to display information by domain also allows a system admin to dig into that specific domain, by clicking on its name, to view the report just as a domain admin would view the report. This means the system admin can delve into individual user data simply by changing the Mode, again, to view the report by User.
The following report items are available:
- Day - The date the messages were sent.
- SMTP In - The total bandwidth used for incoming messages.
- SMTP Out - The total bandwidth used for outgoing messages.
- IMAP - The total bandwidth used for IMAP traffic. This is generally bandwidth used by email clients connected to the mailbox using IMAP as the connection method.
- POP - The total bandwidth used for POP traffic. This is generally bandwidth used by email clients connected to the mailbox using POP as the connection method.
The primary benefit of this report is when tracking down email abuses. If a particular day shows a significant amount of bandwidth used for sending or receiving messages, there's a good possibility that either a user on a domain is spamming the server or that a user was compromised. If a day shows a significant amount of bandwidth used, the admin can change the report's Mode and pull up the list of domains, then click on that domain to further troubleshoot which user is causing the increased load. Understanding "how" the bandwidth is being used -- for example, if IMAP shows a significant increase for a particular user -- makes it easier for an admin to track down what exactly is happening and where.
It's also possible to export this data in CSV format for use in other applications, such as Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, Apple Numbers, etc. To do this, simply click the page icon in the upper right hand corner of the reports page. Once clicked, you'll be able to save the data and name the file to whatever you want.