Table of Contents

Monitoring Your Network Using Traffic Monitor and Protocol Monitor

Introduction
Viewing Enterprise-Level Statistics Using Traffic Monitor
Using Traffic Monitor
Inverting the Axes of a Bar Graph Display
Transposing a Display
Changing the Sample Rate
Launching Other Tools from Traffic Monitor
Printing the Traffic Monitor Window
Exiting Traffic Monitor
Monitoring Remote Sites by Domain, Protocol, or Application Using Protocol Monitor
Using Protocol Monitor
Selecting the Data You Want to Display
Selecting the Format of Displayed Data
Inverting the Axes of Bar Graph Displays
Transposing the Protocol Monitor Display
xChanging the Protocol Monitor Sample Rate
Launching Other Tools from Protocol Monitor
Printing the Protocol Monitor Window
Exiting Protocol Monitor

Monitoring Your Network Using Traffic Monitor and Protocol Monitor

Introduction

In this chapter you'll learn to use the general network monitoring tools. These tools provide an overview of network activity. You may want to set alarms on one or more of these general parameters, or use the network activity you observe as a basis for more detailed monitoring or troubleshooting, using other TrafficDirector tools.

The tools discussed in this chapter are:

• Traffic Monitor. Lets you graphically monitor Enterprise-level statistics for different network segments.
  

• Protocol Monitor. Lets you view protocol information for multiple domains in a group of agents simultaneously. The Protocol Monitor is useful for "at a glance" assessment of network traffic characterized by protocol as a function of agent and domain.
  

Viewing Enterprise-Level Statistics Using Traffic Monitor

The Traffic Monitor is the most general TrafficDirector monitoring tool. It simultaneously monitors a group of Enterprise-level statistics for a number of agents. You can select the kind of traffic statistics you want to display for the agents, such as utilization, byte rate, broadcast rate. You can also select the type of data to be monitored, such as current, average, minimum, or maximum, to provide an "at-a-glance" overview of your network's functioning.

Traffic Monitor gives you a top-level view of your enterprise network. You can use Traffic Monitor to get several different graphical views of network traffic parameters, so you can see the flow of data through the network as it's happening. You can monitor traffic patterns and see where bottlenecks are occurring. This can help you isolate and eliminate the cause of problems.

You can also transpose displayed variables. This means that, in addition to viewing traffic activity as a function of each agent, you can also view agent activity as a function of different traffic variables. This ability can often help pinpoint problem areas and more effectively balance your network traffic. Transposing variables is described later in this section.

In addition to monitoring network-level activity as it is happening, you may want to set alarms that will notify you when data thresholds you select are exceeded. In this way, you can track network parameters without having to continuously monitor those parameters. You can use Watchdog to set alarms on any Traffic Monitor data thresholds. Watchdog is described in Chapter 12, "Setting Alarms Using Watchdog."

You can use Traffic Monitor as a starting point to monitor and diagnose your network, then zoom in on a selected segment, domain, or host using other TrafficDirector application tools.

Using Traffic Monitor

In this section you'll learn how to start and use Traffic Monitor. The discussion starts with a general procedure, then gives detailed explanations of each feature.

To use Traffic Monitor:

Step 1 From the TrafficDirector window, select the agent or agent group for which you want to monitor enterprise-level traffic. You'll see one graph cluster or pie chart for each agent in an agent group.

Step 2 Click on Traffic Monitor from the TrafficDirector window. The Traffic Monitor window appears.

Step 3 Select the Properties menu, then select the type of graph you want to view. You have a choice of a 3-D bar graph, a 2-D bar graph, or a pie chart. The default is a 3-D bar graph.

Step 4 Select the View menu, then select the data type you want to monitor. Traffic Monitor lets you monitor several different types of data. You can only monitor one type of data at a time. The data types you can monitor are:

• Vital signs. A summation of the general health of the network. Includes utilization, broadcasts, multicasts, errors, etc.
  

• Packet size. The percent of packets that are a given size (18, 64, 128, etc.).
  

• Packet destination. The percent of packets going to each destination.
  

• Ethernet WAN errors, Token Ring errors, or FDDI errors, depending on the type of network.
  

The default is Vital Signs.

Step 5 Select the View menu, then select the data value you want to view. The data value types you can view are:

• Current values. The actual value of the data at the time the sample was taken.
  

• Average values. The average value of the data taken during the sample period.
  

• Minimum values. The minimum value of the data taken during the sample period.
  

• Maximum values. The maximum value of the data taken during the sample period.
  

The default is Current Values.

Step 6 Select the Sample menu, then select a sample interval. This is the time that passes between data samples. The range is from 30 seconds to 5 minutes. The default is 1 minute.

Now you can visually monitor enterprise-level data on your network.

You can change parameters at any time. You can also:

• Zoom in on specific data by launching other tools such as Segment Zoom (see Chapter 8, "Monitoring and Troubleshooting Single Domains").
  

• Set alarms as needed using Watchdog (see Chapter 12, "Setting Alarms Using Watchdog").
  

Inverting the Axes of a Bar Graph Display

You may want to view Traffic Monitor data in inverted form. You can invert the axes of the two bar graph displays (2-D and 3-D).

To invert the axes of a Traffic Monitor display:

Step 1 Select the Properties menu on the Traffic Monitor window.

Step 2 Click on Invert. TrafficDirector inverts the display.

Transposing a Display

Traffic Monitor has a powerful feature that lets you transpose both bar graph and pie chart displays to provide two different views of the same data. In the default display, the statistics you select are displayed as a function of different agents in the agent group you have selected. (If you selected a single agent, transposition is of no value.) However, when you transpose the display, the agents are displayed as a function of the selected statistics.

Suppose you want to compare Utilization percentage data for different agents. It is more effective to transpose the display and view agents as a function of utilization percentage. .

To transpose the Traffic Monitor graph and pie charts:

Step 1 Select the Properties menu.

Step 2 Click on Transpose. TrafficDirector transposes the display.

Changing the Sample Rate

The sample rate is the interval between samples requested from the agent. The range is from 15 seconds to 5 minutes. The default is 1 minute.

To change the sample rate:

Step 1 Select the Sample menu on the Traffic Monitor window.

Step 2 Click on the desired sample rate.

Launching Other Tools from Traffic Monitor

When you view enterprise-level network data using Traffic Monitor, you'll probably want to take a closer look at certain network statistics. You can zoom in on domain or host information, set alarms, and view statistics and history graphs directly from the Traffic Monitor window. The tools you can launch are:

• Segment Zoom. Launches the Segment Zoom tool that lets you "zoom in" for a close-up view of what's happening in a domain. See Chapter 8, "Monitoring and Troubleshooting Single Domains" for more information.
  

• Host List. Launches the Host List tool, which displays the list of hosts for the selected agent and domain. See Chapter 8 for more information.
  

• Watchdog. Launches the Watchdog tool, a proactive monitoring tool that lets you set alarms and sends traps to the Manager when an event occurs. See Chapter 12, "Setting Alarms Using Watchdog" for more information.
  

• Segment Statistics Graph. Provides four data views for the selected segment:
  

  • Vital Signs
    

  • Size Distribution
    

  • Destination Breakdown
    

  • Error Breakdown
    

See Chapter 8 for more information.

• Short-Term History Graph. Provides short-term data (residing in the selected agent) for a brief time period you select. See Chapter 8 for more information.
  

• Long-Term History Graph. Provides long-term data (residing in the selected agent) for a longer time period you select. See Chapter 8 for more information.
  

Printing the Traffic Monitor Window

You may want to print a copy of the Traffic Monitor window for future reference. To print the Traffic Monitor window:

Step 1 Select the File menu on the Traffic Monitor window.

Step 2 Click on Print.

Exiting Traffic Monitor

To exit Traffic Monitor:

Step 1 Select the File menu on the Traffic Monitor window.

Step 2 Click on Exit.

Monitoring Remote Sites by Domain, Protocol, or Application Using Protocol Monitor

Protocol Monitor is very similar to Traffic Monitor. It lets you monitor multiple remote sites by domain, protocol, or application. You use Protocol Monitor to get a graphic, real-time picture of the network operation at multiple remote sites in terms of domain, protocol, or application behavior. Protocol Monitor lets you select the data you want to display, the sampling interval, and the form and format in which you want to view the data.

You can customize Protocol Monitor to present the graphical display of your choice. See Appendix A, "Customizing Protocol Monitor" for detailed information. Don't try to customize Protocol Monitor unless you are thoroughly familiar with the concepts involved.