eG Monitoring
 

Measures reported by TopApplicationTest

One of the key challenges that network administrators face every day is identifying the applications/protocols that are the leading consumers of bandwidth resources and the root-cause for traffic congestion. The TopApplicationTest test helps administrators tackle this challenge! This test automatically discovers the top-n applications/protocols in terms of the volume of traffic they generate, and reports the following:

  • how much data is transmitted/received by each application/protocol through every interface on the target Netflow device;

  • how much bandwidth resources are used by each application/protocol through every interface on the target Netflow device;

With the help of this information, administrators can quickly and accurately isolate those applications/protocols that are consuming maximum bandwidth and those that could probably be choking the network link. Sizing decisions can be taken based on the metrics reported.

Outputs of the test : One set of results for every top-n application/protocol (in terms of traffic volume) communicating with each interface supported by the target device.

First level descriptor: Interface name

Second level descriptor:  Application/Protocol

Metrics are also reported for an Others descriptor. Netflow statistics pertaining to all applications/protocols that are not the top-n applications/protocols are aggregated and presented against the Others descriptor for each interface.

The measures made by this test are as follows:

Measurement Description Measurement Unit Interpretation
bytes Indicates the total amount of data transmitted and received by this application/protocol during the last measurement period. KB Compare the value of this measure across applications/protocols to identify which application/protocol is contributing to the high level of network traffic.

Use the detailed diagnosis of this measure to determine the top netflows (in terms of the volume of data transacted) from/to this application/protocol, and the amount of data transacted in bytes and packets in every flow. With the help of this detailed diagnosis, you can quickly compare the top netflows, know which netflow generated the maximum traffic, and figure out between which source and destination that flow occurred. Once the problem conversation is isolated, you can then investigate why traffic on that conversation was high.
packets Indicates the total number of packets transmitted and received by this application/protocol during the last measurement period. Packets Compare the value of this measure across applications/protocols to identify which application/protocol is contributing to the high level of network traffic.
bytesPerSec Indicates the rate at which this application/protocol transmitted/received data. Kbps  
packetsPerSec Indicates the rate at which this application/protocol transmitted/received packets. Packets/sec  
trafficRate Indicates what percentage of the total traffic on this interface was generated by this application/protocol. Percent A value close to 100% for this measure indicates that traffic generated by this application/protocol is imposing the maximum load on the network. If users complain of a latent network, you can compare the value of this measure across applications/protocols to accurately identify the application/protocol that is responsible for any congestion on the network.
BWUtilized Indicates the bandwidth utilized by this application/protocol. Percent A value close to 100% is indicative of excessive bandwidth utilization by this application/protocol when receiving data.

If users complain of a latent network, you can compare the value of this measure across applications/protocols to accurately identify the application/protocol that is responsible for any congestion on the network.
in_traffic Indicates what percentage of total incoming traffic on this interface pertains to this application/protocol. Percent  
out_traffic Indicates what percentage of total outgoing traffic on this interface pertains to this application/protocol. Percent  
in_bw Indicates the percentage of bandwidth utilized by traffic coming into this interface when receiving data for this application/protocol from different sources and when receiving data from this application/protocol. Percent A value close to 100% is a cause for concern as it implies a potential congestion in incoming traffic on this interface.
out_bw Indicates the percentage of bandwidth utilized by traffic going out of this interface when transmitting data to this application/protocol and when transmitting data for this application/protocol. Percent A value close to 100% is a cause for concern as it implies a potential congestion in outgoing traffic on this interface.
in_octets Indicates the amount of data received by this application/protocol. KB Compare the value of this measure across applications/protocols to know which application/protocol is receiving maximum data over this interface.
out_octets Indicates the amount of data sent by this application/protocol. KB Compare the value of this measure across applications/protocolsto know which application/protocol is transmitting maximum data over this interface.
in_packets Indicates the number of packets sent by this application/protocol. Number  
out_packets Indicates the number of packets received by this application/protocol. Number  
in_octetsRate Indicates the rate at which data is received by this application/protocol. Kbps If the value of this measure consistently drops for this application/protocol, it could indicate an incoming traffic congestion.
out_octetsRate Indicates the rate at which data is sent by this application/protocol. Kbps If the value of this measure consistently drops for this application/protocol, it could indicate an outgoing traffic congestion.
in_packetsRate Indicates the rate at which packets are received by this application/protocol. Packets/Sec If the value of this measure consistently drops for this application/protocol, it could indicate an incoming traffic congestion.
out_packetsRate Indicates the rate at which packets are transmitted by this application/protocol. Packets/Sec If the value of this measure consistently drops for this application/protocol, it could indicate an outgoing traffic congestion.