Network Interface Monitor Fields and Graphs

Use these tables to learn more about the network interface fields and graph.

Topics

Interface Information Fields

Field

Description

Description

A text string containing information about the interface. 

This string usually includes the name of the manufacturer, the product name and the version of the hardware interface.

Physical Address

The address of the interface at the protocol layer immediately below the network layer in the protocol stack.

For interfaces that do not have such an address (e.g., a serial line), this object should contain an octet string of zero length.

Speed

The speed of the network interface in bits per second.

For interfaces that do not vary in bandwidth or for those where no accurate estimation can be made, this object should contain the nominal bandwidth.

A PPP connection will report a speed of zero until the connection is up.

MTU

The size of the largest datagram which can be sent/received on the interface, specified in octets.

For interfaces that are used for transmitting network datagrams, this is the size of the largest network datagram that can be sent on the interface.

Administrative Status

The desired state of the network interface.

up - Ready to pass packets.

down - Unable to pass packets.

testing - In test mode. No operational packets can be passed.

Operations Status

The current operational state of the network interface.

up - Ready to pass packets.

down - Unable to pass packets.

testing - In test mode. No operational packets can be passed in this mode.

Input Counter Fields

Field

Description

Unicast Packets

The number of input unicast packets received.

Unicast is the method by which a packet is sent to a single destination.

Non-Unicast Packets

The number of non-unicast (i.e., subnetwork-broadcast or subnetwork-multicast) packets received.

Total Octets In

The total number of octets received on the interface, including framing characters.

Discarded Packets

The number of inbound packets which were discarded.

One possible reason for discarding packets is to free up buffer space. This field will show a red background if an error has occurred in the last poll interval.

Packet Errors

The number of received packets containing errors.

This field will show a red background if an error has occurred in the last poll interval.

Unknown Protocols

The number of packets received via the interface which were discarded because of an unknown or unsupported protocol.

Output Counter Fields

Field

Description

Unicast Packets

The number of output unicast packets sent.

Unicast is the method by which a packet is sent to a single destination.

Non-Unicast Packets

The number of non-unicast (i.e., subnetwork-broadcast or subnetwork-multicast) packets sent.

Total Octets Out

The total number of octets sent on the interface, including framing characters.

Discarded Packets

The number of outbound packets which were discarded.

One possible reason for discarding packets is to free up buffer space. This field will show a red background if an error has occurred in the last poll interval.

Packet Errors

The number of sent packets containing errors.

This field will show a red background if an error has occurred in the last poll interval.

Octets In/Octets Out Monitor

The Octets In/Octets Out graphs show the number of octets received (Octets In) and transmitted (Octets Out) by the interface. The graphs update from right-to-left and represent the percentage of line speed over the last 20 poll intervals.

The scale of the graphs can be changed by choosing Options > Graph Scale > Network from the Monitor Window menu.

The poll interval of the graphs can be changed by choosing Options > Poll Interval from the Monitor Window menu. The valid range is from 1-60 seconds. The poll interval determines how frequently the interface is polled for information.