Understanding and Controlling Data Traffic
Bandwidth is the amount of data transferred between your hosting account and the internet. Every time a visitor loads an image, sends an email, or uploads a file via FTP, it consumes part of your monthly quota.
Why monitoring is important: If your traffic reaches the monthly limit, your website may be automatically suspended until the end of the month. Regular checks help you upgrade to a larger plan in time or identify resource-heavy processes.
The Traffic Categories in cPanel
cPanel breaks down your usage in detail so you can see exactly which service is causing the most traffic:
| Service | What is counted? |
|---|---|
| HTTP | Visitor views of your website (images, text, scripts). |
| FTP | File transfers via an FTP client. |
| SMTP | Emails sent from your account. |
| POP3/IMAP | Emails downloaded from the server to your device. |
Analysis Periods
Use the various charts to identify different trends:
- 24 Hours / Last Week: Ideal for finding sudden traffic spikes (e.g., due to a bot attack or a promotion).
- Past Year: Helps with seasonal planning (e.g., more traffic during the holiday season).
- Pie Charts: Show you at a glance which of your domains is consuming the most traffic.
Important note on email bandwidth:
Only sending (SMTP) and retrieving (POP3/IMAP) of emails are counted. Incoming emails sent to you from other servers do not count against your bandwidth limit.
Only sending (SMTP) and retrieving (POP3/IMAP) of emails are counted. Incoming emails sent to you from other servers do not count against your bandwidth limit.
What is NOT counted
Some processes are exempt from the bandwidth limit:
- Uploads/downloads directly via the cPanel File Manager.
- DNS queries for your domain.
- Internal server processes (e.g., automated cron jobs).
Is your bandwidth approaching the limit?
Contact us for an upgrade or check Awstats to see if unwanted bots are consuming your traffic!
