Download Quick Tip: How to Use Real- Time Interface Statistics for Faster

Quick Tip: How to Use RealTime Interface Statistics for
Faster Troubleshooting
© 2014, SolarWinds Worldwide, LLC. All rights reserved.
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Troubleshooting network errors can be time-consuming without the right monitoring and diagnostic tools.
Most network management systems poll device interface statistics via SNMP, which provides details on the
amount of your link that is utilized, bytes transmitted, percent of utilization, etc. Network administrators
use these statistics to analyze network performance and take necessary steps to mitigate frequent network
outages.
The most likely causes of network interface issues are high bandwidth utilization, errors, and discards from
a misconfigured router on one end or the other. With SolarWinds® Network Performance Monitor (NPM)
you can easily identify these issues. Once you identify the number of interfaces to monitor, you can track
their performance by polling them at frequent intervals. NPM allows you to set up and configure alerts for
when interface utilization exceeds the threshold limit. This helps you recognize and resolve issues before
your end-users experience performance degradation or availability issues.
Identify Interfaces with High Errors, Discards, and Utilization - in Real-Time!
The Top 10 view in NPM provides key availability and performance metrics, and it helps you keep track of
interfaces. You can also drill-down to get more details about specific interfaces. Using historical data and
customizable charts, you can look for unusual activities and pinpoint the exact time a spike in link utilization
occurred or find out the number of errors and discards.
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To investigate further, you might need contiguous data in real-time. SolarWinds Engineer’s Toolset (ETS)
enables this by integrating seamlessly with NPM.
Dive Deeper with Real-Time Interface Statistics
To determine if a router or switch is routing significant amounts of traffic, you need a tool that can isolate
exactly which port is generating the traffic. Interface Monitor displays real-time interface statistics by
capturing and analyzing SNMP data from routers and switches. You can select metrics for received (Rx),
transmitted (Tx), or both kinds of traffic (Rx + Tx) from statistics groups such as percent utilization,
bandwidth, total bytes transferred, error packets, and discarded packets. In addition, you can set up
warning and critical thresholds for specific interfaces.
Step 1: Select the interfaces you want to monitor and configure: polling interval, metrics, and thresholds
based on your requirements. You can set the polling interval to collect statistics as frequently as every 5
seconds.
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Step 2: Select the metrics you want to display in real-time and see the results immediately for all the
selected interfaces.
Interface Monitor provides current, min/max, and average values for each metric such as Error Packets,
Discarded Packets, Percent Utilization, etc., including Warning and Critical Thresholds for all the
interfaces.
You can now save time, troubleshoot issues faster and more accurately, and utilize the interface statistics
in real-time by downloading SolarWinds ETS now.
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Top 5 Reasons to Try SolarWinds Engineer’s Toolset
Engineer’s Toolset delivers an advanced collection of monitoring, discovery, diagnostic, and Cisco tools.
Here are the top 5 reasons to use SolarWinds Engineer’s Toolset

All the network tools you need in one complete package

Monitoring tools include Real-Time Interface Monitor, SNMP Real-Time Graph, & more

Diagnostic tools include Ping Sweep, DNS Analyzer, and Trace Route, & more

Network discovery tools include Port Scanner, Switch Port Mapper, Advanced Subnet Calculator, &
more

Cisco® management tools include Real-time NetFlow Analyzer, Config Downloader, & more
SolarWinds Engineer’s Toolset has more than 60 Network Tools that help you manage and perform your
everyday network management related tasks at ease. It provides all the right tools to easily and
effectively troubleshoot your network.
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About SolarWinds
SolarWinds (NYSE: SWI) provides powerful and affordable IT management software to customers
worldwide. Focused exclusively on IT Pros, we strive to eliminate the complexity in IT management
software that many have been forced to accept from traditional enterprise software vendors. SolarWinds
delivers on this commitment with unexpected simplicity through products that are easy to find, buy, use,
and maintain, while providing the power to address any IT management problem on any scale. Our
solutions are rooted in our deep connection to our user base, which interacts in our online community,
thwack®, to solve problems, share technology and best practices, and directly participate in our product
development process. Learn more at http://www.solarwinds.com.
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