memory and disk space to the RMON application. If
you are running RMON subset on a bridge or router,
you might want to consider offloading the task to an
external monitoring device.
Octets The number of octets of data (including those in bad
packets) received on the network (including the FCS
octets but excluding the framing bits). The term
″octet″ is used to refer to 8 bits. The term ″byte″ is
not used because some devices have byte sizes
greater than 8 bits.
Packets The number of packets received on the segment.
Frame and packet are synonymous in this context.
This includes good as well as error packets received.
Broadcast Packets The number of good packets received that were
directed to the broadcast address. A broadcast is a
message that you want every station on the network to
see. Broadcasts are normal in all networks.
Broadcasts are widely used in most LAN protocols to
distribute information to all hosts in the network.
Incorrect device configuration, application errors, or
protocol problems can create broadcast storms, where
broadcast packets are continuously transmitted
throughout the network or in large spikes. Broadcast
storms can greatly degrade the performance of a
network.
Multicast Packets The number of packets received that were directed to
a multicast address. Multicast packets are more
commonly found in DECnet environments where they
are used for communicating with end nodes and
routers. This does not include packets directed to
broadcast addresses.
CRC Align Error The number of corrupted packets received that had a
length of between 64 and 1518 octets (excluding the
framing bits, but including the FCS octets), and
inclusive of the following:
•
Not an integral number of octets in length
•
Bad Frame Check Sequence (FCS)
Undersized Packets A legal Ethernet packet size ranges from a minimum
of 64 octets to a maximum of 1518 octets in length
(excluding framing bits but including FCS octets). An
Undersized packet is one whose length is less than 64
octets but was otherwise well formed. The term ″runt″
refers to an undersized packet.
Oversized Packets An Oversized packet is one whose length is more than
1518 octets (excluding framing bits, but including FCS
octets) but was otherwise well formed.
Jabbers Jabbers are similar to CRC Align Error packets with
the exception that each jabber packet is more than
1518 octets in length. These errors may indicate that
your network needs to be fine-tuned, or network
buffers are insufficiently configured, etc.
Chapter 10. 8260 RMON Support 197