Analyzing Performance and Determining Problems › Determine Problems by Testing Routes

Determine Problems by Testing Routes

By testing routes, you can help to determine problems with network congestion associated with excess traffic. NTS lets you test both explicit and virtual routes. When you perform a test, NTS navigates a route between two specified subareas to obtain the status, transmission priority, and any routes mapped to the specified route.

Access NTS : Route Test Menu

The NTS : Route Test Menu provides options to test routes.

To access the NTS : Route Test Menu

1. Enter 7 at the command prompt on the NTS : Primary Menu.

   The NTS : Route Test Menu appears.

   Note: For information about the fields and options displayed on this panel, press F1 (Help).

Test Virtual Routes

To test a virtual route

1. Type 2 at the command prompt on the NTS : Route Test Menu and complete the following fields:

   Origin

   Defines the resource name of the subarea at which any route navigation begins. This field defaults to the local subarea PU resource name.

   Destination

   Resource name at which any route navigation completes.

   Enter VR in the Route Type field.

   Press Enter.

   The NTS : Route Tested panel appears.

   Note: For information about the fields and options displayed on this panel, press F1 (Help).

Display Virtual Route Status

The NTS : Virtual Route Status panel lets you view the status of a virtual route at a particular stage. The status display provides information about route congestion. If the route is congested, you may need to change the VR and TP of a session or the pacing window size.

The panel provides the following information:

• Sent and received PIU counts
• Pacing window sizes
• Underlying ER and reverse ER
• Any VR congestion information
• Inbound VR PIU pools, if available
• NCP buffer statistics, if the subarea is an NCP

If a subarea PU cannot provide virtual route status information, then it is highlighted and the reason is displayed on the panel.

To display the status of a virtual route

1. Enter VST next to a virtual route stage on the NTS : Route Tested panel.

   The NTS : Virtual Route Status panel appears.

Monitor Virtual Route Status

To monitor the status of virtual routes

1. Enter VST next to an entry on the Virtual Route List.

   The NTS : Virtual Route Status panel appears, showing summary data for the selected virtual route. This data is flagged as TP (Transmission Priority) 0.

   Note: If the region has an active link to CA NetSpy, RTM data for the virtual route appears.

2. (Optional) Press Enter to view RTM data for each TP value.
3. (Optional) Press F6 to return to the display for TP 0.

Test Explicit Routes

To test an explicit route

1. Type 2 at the command prompt on the NTS : Route Test Menu and complete the following fields:

   Origin

   Defines the resource name of the subarea at which any route navigation begins. This field defaults to the local subarea PU resource name.

   Destination

   Resource name at which any route navigation completes.

   Specify ER in the Route Type field.

   Press Enter.

   The NTS : Route Tested panel appears.

   Note: For information about the fields and options displayed on this panel, press F1 (Help).

Display Explicit Route Configuration

Explicit route configuration provides a graphical representation of the status of a particular stage of an explicit route. The explicit route display provides the following information:

• The resource type, SSCP name, PU name, and subarea number for each subarea in the route.
• The status and transmission group of each ER stage. An ER stage with no labeling status indicates that the ER is active over this stage.

If an ER cannot be navigated to the destination subarea, then the blocking subarea is highlighted and the reason is displayed at the top of the panel.

To display the configuration of an explicit route

1. Enter C next to an explicit route on the NTS : Route Tested panel.

   The NTS : ER Configuration panel appears.