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Top Interface Errors/Discards (Table)

The Top Interface Errors/Discards view lets you quickly determine likely places where problems are occurring.

When detected in the inbound direction, errors typically indicate problems with the transmission medium (for example, cable or fiber). Outbound errors indicate problems with the interface hardware. The acceptable rate of errors for any given interface is typically zero (0) errors.

Each reported discard is a packet that the reporting interface threw out. The sending host must retransmit such packets if a reliable protocol such as TCP is used to send the data end-to-end. Interface discards are typically the result of congested queues serving the interface.

Use this view to compare discard and error rates for inbound and outbound traffic on selected interfaces. Interfaces in the reporting groups or in the managed objects with the highest total loss rates during the selected time period are included.

You can sort the table columns to compare error rates by interface description, for example. By default, averages are displayed as an average total per interface for the selected time range. However, you can change the Measurement Settings to see an average rate, 'Packets Per Second (Divide by Time)'.

Click the name of an item to see more data from that item.

By default, the Top Interface Errors/Discards view contains the following information:

Device Name

Identifies the managed item that was the source of the performance data. If an administrator defined an alias for the device item, the alias is displayed. Otherwise, the discovered device name is displayed.

Name

Is the name of the interface.

Description

Is the type of interface, such as Gigabit Ethernet. If an administrator defined an alternate interface description, the alternate description is displayed. Otherwise, the discovered description is displayed.

Total Discards In

Is the total number of discarded packets for inbound traffic on the interface during the reporting period.

Total Discards Out

Is the total number of discarded packets for outbound traffic on the interface during the reporting period.

Total Errors In

Is the total number of errored packets for inbound traffic on the interface during the reporting period.

Total Errors Out

Is the total number of errored packets on the interface during the reporting period.

Edit Table View Settings

You can change several settings for each view on a dashboard. In addition to providing a new title, you can change settings that are related to severity ratings. To ensure excellent performance in a large reporting environment, you can set an upper limit on the number of results that are returned. You can also select another group context for the data.

Follow these steps:

  1. Click the Options (gear) icon on the view, and select Edit from the menu.

    The view Settings dialog opens.

  2. Change the view Title or Subtitle to reflect the modified view.
  3. Change the settings that are applied to the view if desired. Not all settings are available for all table view types:
    Measurement Settings

    Lets you select whether a total count or an average is displayed in the view.

    Moderate Status Start

    The lowest value for metrics that are displayed as Moderately Degraded in the view. Applies to the color-coding of gauge charts in gauge/table views.

    Default: Depends on the performance metrics reflected in the view. Click Use Defaults to revert to factory defaults.

    Critical Status Start

    The lowest value for metrics that are displayed as Critically Degraded in the view. Applies to the color-coding of gauge charts in gauge/table views.

    Default: Depends on the performance metrics reflected in the view.

    Results Limit (Max Rows)

    Limits the number of table rows that are returned by the associated database query to preserve monitoring-system performance.

    Direction Settings

    Lets you select the direction of data flow—either into or out of the interface.

    Affected % of reporting period

    Where available, sets the percentage of the reporting interval to which thresholds are applied.

    Default: 25%.

  4. Click to expand nodes in the Context Settings area.
  5. Locate the group whose data you want to see in the view and select it.
  6. Select the scope of your changes from the Apply Changes drop-down. Select one of the following options:

    Note: The availability of these options depends on your user account role rights.

  7. Click Save.

    The view is refreshed to reflect your updates.