Table 32. MIB Structure for RFC 1271 - RMON MIB for Ethernet

Group

Description

 

 

Statistics

The Statistics group provides an overview of the current segment network

 

activity at any given moment. It collects segment statistics like octets, packets,

 

collisions, broadcast, various error counters and packet size.

 

 

History

The History group records periodic statistical samples from a segment and stores

 

them for later retrieval.

 

 

Alarm

The Alarm group periodically takes statistical samples from variables in the

 

RMON agent and compares them to defined thresholds. When a threshold is

 

crossed, an event will be generated. It is useful to track unusual activity or

 

problems.

 

 

Host

The Host group maintains host tables by keeping a list of source and destination

 

MAC addresses seen in good packets. In addition, statistics like octets and

 

packets transmitted and received, errors transmitted, broadcast and multicast

 

packets are kept on a per host basis. In problem determination, it is extremely

 

useful for isolating the culprit by its interface address that, for instance, is

 

causing the error count to rise sharply.

 

 

Host Top N

The Host Top Ngroup provides lists of a given number of hosts that meet a

 

particular criteria ordered by one of their statistics. For instance, you can list the

 

top 5 packet sending hosts. This helps in isolating the hosts that are creating

 

network problems.

 

 

Matrix

The Matrix group monitors and stores information about conversations between

 

two hosts in the network.

 

 

Filter

The Filter group allows packets of particular interest to be filtered and isolated.

 

These packets can then be directed into capture buffers or used to trigger

 

events. It is useful for monitoring traffic flow and setting alarm conditions.

 

 

Packet Capture

The Packet Capture group allows packets to be captured upon a filter match and

 

stored for later retrieval. It can be used to view the history of packet activity in

 

the event of a failure.

 

 

Event

The Event group controls the generation and notification of events from the

 

RMON agent. It contains a log table that associates logged entries with a

 

specific event.

 

 

10.4.1.1 Statistics Group

The Statistics group contains very useful statistical information gathered by the network probe through its Ethernet interface. The information provided by this group gives a view of the total Ethernet LAN segment activity at any given moment. It samples data and provides information by octets, packets, various error counters and packet size. The statistics take the form of free running counters that start from zero. Here is the list of statistics available under this group:

Drop Events

The number of events in which packets were dropped

 

by the probe due to unavailability of resources on the

 

probe itself. It doesnt represent the number of

 

packets dropped but the number of times this

 

condition was detected. If the drop events counter

 

constantly increments, it is an indication that there is

 

more activity on the segment than can be captured by

 

the network probe. You may want to consider

 

increasing the resources on your network probe. For

 

instance, if you are running the RMON application on

 

a workstation, you may want to allocate more real

196 8260 Multiprotocol Intelligent Switching Hub

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IBM 8260 manual Statistics Group, Drop Events

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