19-4
Chapter 19
Cajun P550/P880 /P882 Switch User Guide
7. Refer to Table19-1 for an explanation of the Ethernet
Interface Statistics Dialog Box fields:
Table 19-1. Ethernet Interface Statistics Dialog Box Fields
Statistic Indicates Actions
Sample The sample number. N/A
Interval Start The date and time this log entry
was made.
N/A
Utilization Percentage of utilization. The percentage of available
bandwidth used by traffic.
Bytes Raw number of octets received
at the interface. Provides some
indication of the amount of
network bandwidth being used.
A sharp increase could indicate a
need to reconfigure the network.
Packets Counts the raw number of
readable Ethernet packets of
legal length received at the
interface.
A sharp increase could indicate a
need to reconfigure the network.
(However, octets are a better
indication of bandwidth
utilization.)
Broadcasts Broadcast packets are a normal
part of network operation. For
example, IP networks use
broadcasts as part of Address
Resolution Protocol (ARP) to
resolve network addresses.
Uses monitoring to recognize
oncoming broadcast storms.
Broadcast storms occur when
stations are creating traffic that
generates more traffic.
Possible cause: Broadcasts cause
every host on a network segment
to process the packet.
Possible actions:
• To prevent broadcast storms,
use VLANs to limit the area
of the network that each
broadcast packet affects. In
general, each VLAN creates a
separate broadcast domain.
More VLANs mean less
proliferation of broadcast
packets.
• Monitor the broadcast rate
of your network during
normal operation.
• Establish a baseline.
• Use Rate Limiting to reduce
broadcasts.