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Generating and reviewing network trend reports can help you establish an overall picture of your organization's network usage and health. You can use reports to troubleshoot congestion, monitor usage, and plan for future capacity requirements.
The following sections provide more information about configuring and generating reports:
This information in this chapter will help you plan, produce, and manage the reports you need to analyze your organization's network usage and diagnose emerging problems. You will learn how to use report templates to generate reports using Trend Reporter. Report templates determine report type (such as Protocol, Segment [RMON], or Host List statistics), and how information is organized and displayed within a report.
You will also learn how to create and edit report templates using Report Editor. Report Editor also allows you to create and modify report template files. Report template files define the report format, graph type, exception filters, and sorting statistics.
To begin working with the applications in this section, you must:
Click the Admin radio button to display the TrafficDirector applications.
The following sections describe more of the prerequisites:
Data must be available from an SQL database before you can use Trend Reporter to generate reports.
When you generate a report, Trend Reporter retrieves the information you request from one or more SQL database servers.
SQL servers are associated with agents. Therefore, when you select an agent for reporting Trend Reporter automatically knows from which SQL database to access report data.
The TrafficDirector Config Server application lets you define access to SQL databases by configuring each database as an SQL server. Although the TrafficDirector application logs (writes) to only a single SQL server (the logging server), you can configure multiple SQL servers to read from.
You must perform several agent and server configuration tasks to ensure that the data you want is logged and stored in an SQL database that Trend Reporter can access.
Before you configure reports, you should determine what kinds of reports you want to generate, and what type of information you want to collect. You should consider your current monitoring strategy and SwitchProbe configurations and placement to ensure you have the network coverage you need to obtain the information you want.
The amount of useful information available to you depends on how well you plan your network coverage.
Using Trend Reporter and Report Editor, you can define and generate custom reports that let you:
The following sections describe:
For each new report you want to create, determine the following information:
The ezreport utility lets you generate reports without first learning all the details of Configuration Manager and Trend Reporter.
The ezreport command-line utility allows you to:
ezreport configures standard reports to be run daily, weekly, and monthly using the Auto Reporter. Reports generated using this function are stored in $NSHOME/reports/other.
Appendix E, "Using Command-Line Utilities," shows the standard reports configured by ezreport based on agent type.
Trend Reporter lets you generate reports quickly. You select a report by report title, then select the agent and domain, and run the report.
When you have identified a report that you would like to run at regular intervals in the future (daily, weekly, or monthly), you add the report to Auto Report Schedule. For more information, see "Scheduling Auto Reports."
Whenever you want to run a report, or schedule auto reports, follow these steps:
Step 1 Click the Trend Reporter icon to start Trend Reporter.
Step 1 Select the report by title, agent, and domain.
When the Trend Reporter application starts, the start and end time range is set to start at the beginning of the previous day (00:00) and end at <current time>.
This feature allows you to run reports for the previous day, plus the current time elapsed so far today by default. Start and end time initialization only occurs when you start the Trend Reporter application.
Step 2 Select Run Report>Generate Now.
Trend Reporter generates the report and outputs to the display screen by default (or in the manner you selected).
Step 3 Do any of the following:
You can launch Trend Reporter from any mode of the TrafficDirector main window: Traffic, Protocol, Application, or Admin.
To do so, follow these steps:
Step 1 Start the TrafficDirector application.
Step 2 Click the Trend Reporter icon.
The Trend Reporter window opens (Figure 31-1).
The following sections contain more information about using Trend Reporter:
Table 31-1 contains a description of each area in the Trend Reporter user interface:
| This Area... | Is Used For |
|---|---|
Report text field | Non-editable text field indicating the report type you selected. The text field contains the report title as defined in the corresponding *.rt report template file. Select the window button to the right of the Report Text field to bring up the Report Template selection box. The report type selection box lists Report titles and corresponding template files. Report template files (*.rt files) contain parameters that determine the title, header, footer, first view statistic, and display format information. When you select a report from the Report template selection box, the corresponding template file name, first view, and format information are displayed in the Report Preview area. |
Agent | Viewing the agents, agent groups, switches, and Frame Relay agents configured in the TrafficDirector application by selecting the Agent, Agent Group, Switch, or Frame Relay Agent radio button. |
Agent or Switch | For the radio button you selected, contains all configured agents, agent groups, switches, or Frame Relay agents. You can generate reports for any of the devices displayed in this list box (if they have logged data). |
Interface list box | For the selected agent (VLAN), agent group name, Frame Relay agent, or switch agent, contains child components of the parent (found in the Agent/Switch list box). For multisegment reports, selecting only the parent will cause a multisegment report to use the first (max = 10, 20) children of the parent agent. If you select any of the interface list items, the report will use only the selected agent components. For Frame Relay, the term trunk is listed as a child item; however, trunk is used to monitor all DLCI children within the Frame Relay trunk. |
Domain list box | Listing all defined protocol and generic domains. The list of domains displayed depend on the report type you selected. Only one report allows you to make multiple domain selections---Protocol Usage History; others allow you to make only a single domain selection. See "Specifying Valid Agent and Domain Combinations" for more information on which agent and domain combinations you can specify for each report type. Note If you select the Segment History/Summary report types, the list of domains is reduced to display only generic domains. |
Report Details group box | Specifying the report database, the report display resolution, and the report output option---to the monitor, to a file, appended to a file, to a printer (landscape print mode), or to e-mail (available on UNIX platforms for ASCII reports only). The file, append file, printer, LS printer, and mail output options use the Name field to specify File Name, Append File Name, Printer Device Name, LS Printer device name, or Mail user name. Note The Name is optional if you are using Print or LS Print. The report is sent to the default print device if you do not specify a name. |
Data Range group box | Specifying he Data Range fields, report start and end times, baseline start time, and day range start and end times. |
Report Preview group box | Displaying the template file, headers, footer, first view, and format information. The information displayed in this area corresponds to the report template you selected in the Report text field. When you select a report template from the Report Type dialog box, the following information is automatically displayed in the Report Preview area:
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Each predefined report type has a set objective---it focuses on one set of network statistic. For example, a segment summary report only displays information summarizing traffic conditions on one or more specific segment(s). Each report template produces a specific set of network statistics.
Each available report type is represented in the set of report templates loaded during the TrafficDirector installation. You can use these report templates immediately to begin generating reports.
Table 31-2 shows the results you can expect from each report template:
| This Report... | Contains This Information and Has These Features and Benefits |
|---|---|
Application Conversation | Conversation stats for Application protocols (protocol domains). Tracks conversation stats at discrete intervals over the report period; examines detail data samples for Application Conversation stats. |
Application Conversation | Conversation stats for Application protocols (protocol domains). Accumulates conversation stats for the report period; examines summarized data for Application Conversation stats. |
Application Host | Host stats for Application protocols (protocol domains). Tracks host stats at discrete intervals over the report period; examines detail data samples for Application Host stats. |
Application Host | Host stats for Application protocols (protocol domains). Accumulates host stats for the report period; examines summarized data for Application Host stats. |
Application Response | ART client and server stats for traffic on one segment. Tracks ART stats at discrete intervals over the report period; examines detail data samples for ART client and server stats. |
Application Response | ART server stats (averaged from (n) clients) for traffic on one segment. Tracks ART server stats at discrete intervals over the report period; examines detail data samples for ART server stats. |
Application Response | ART client and server stats for traffic on one segment. Accumulates ART stats for the report period; examines summarized data for ART client and server stats. |
Application Response | ART server stats (averaged from (n) clients) for traffic on one segment. Accumulates ART server stats for the report period; examines summarized data for ART server stats. |
Billing Summary | The amount and cost of incoming/outgoing traffic for each host over a LAN or WAN segment. Aggregates (network) segment data from individual host addresses into billing entries, such as cost centers or department; used to justify network cost or create charge-back reports for WAN and PVC utilization. |
Conversation History | Utilization and packet statistics for traffic between hosts for any protocol or application over time. Tracks application usage stats at discrete intervals over the report period. |
Conversation Summary | Utilization and packet statistics for traffic between hosts for any protocol or application. Accumulates application usage stats for the report period; identifies the most active application or user conversations on a network segment; provides data for network expansion or segmentation; monitors compliance to corporate network policies for LAN, WAN, and web usage. |
DLCI Link Down History | Percentage of Frame Relay-DLCI link down time during a specific time interval in the report period. Presents DLCI link down time for Frame Relay segments at discrete intervals over the report period. |
DLCI Link Down Summary | Percentage of the Frame Relay-DLCI link down time during the report period. Accumulates link down time over the report period. |
DLCI Usage | Utilization and packet statistics for Trunk or DLCIs within the Frame Relay Trunk. Displays information from top talkers on the Frame Relay segment; examines Frame Relay traffic patterns, specifically DLCI traffic activity. |
Host History | Utilization and packet statistics for top 10 hosts over time. Tracks host stats at discrete intervals over the report period; identifies the discrete intervals where the most active hosts transmitted data. |
Host Outbound | Utilization statistics and outbound packets for hosts. Reports on TopN or all hosts; examines all Host stats, in sorted order. |
Host Summary | Utilization and packet statistics for top 30 hosts. Accumulates host stats for the report period; allows you to pinpoint the primary bandwidth users so you can reallocate network resources to improve network efficiency. |
Host Verbose | Utilization, packet, and error statistics for all hosts. Lists packet information, including the percent of errors per packet for all hosts; compares inbound and outbound traffic and error rates for all hosts. |
Mixed Segment History | Utilization and packet statistics for one to 20 segments of mixed topologies. Compares basic statistics for segments of different topologies (ex. ET, TR, WAN, FDDI, FR, ATM); compares utilization for up to 20 segments. |
Network Conversation Matrix History | Conversation stats for Network protocols (generic domains). Tracks conversation stats at discrete intervals over the report period; examines detail data samples for Network Conversation stats. |
Network Conversation Matrix Summary | Conversation stats for Network protocols (generic domains). Accumulates conversation stats for the report period; examines summarized data for Network Conversation stats. |
Network Host | Host stats for Network protocols (generic domains). Tracks host stats at discrete intervals over the report period; examines detail data samples for Network Host stats. |
Network Host | Host stats for Network protocols (generic domains). Accumulates host stats for the report period; examines summarized data for Network Host stats. |
Network Volume | Accumulated statistics across multiple segments providing gross network measurements. Displays packet and octet values for (N) segments over the report period; examines gross network volume; allows you to observe network volume changes over time. |
Protocol Distribution (Summary) | Utilization, packet, and octet statistics for a hierarchy of domains for a specified agent. Presents accumulated RMON and protocol layer statistics for a network segment over the report period; characterizes traffic in terms of composition, activity, throughput, and packet size. |
Protocol Usage (History) | Utilization and packet statistics for 1 to 20 protocols. Tracks protocol statistics at discrete intervals over the report period; identify highs and lows in protocol and application activity; allows you to redistribute resources for maximum network efficiency; allows you to use protocol and application trend data for future capacity planning. |
Proxy SNMP | Logged MIB OID and value stats. Tracks SNMP OID values at discrete intervals over the report period; examines detail data samples for MIB OID and value stats. |
Round Trip Delay History | Historical view of the response time of one or more nodes on one segment. Tracks ping response time to specific hosts at discrete intervals over the report period; examines network node response time from the SwitchProbe device's perspective. |
Router Backbone Usage (Summary) | Utilization and packet statistics for all interfaces of the router. Utilizing NetFlow Monitor with SwitchProbe devices, you can view statistics and diagnostic information for all router interfaces, including unique support for the router backbone; determines if the router is being used to full capacity and identify overloaded interfaces. |
Segment History | Historical view of utilization, packets, packet size and errors for 1 to 20 segments. Tracks RMON statistics at discrete intervals over the report period; compares packet activity with respect to utilization; identifies highs and lows in segment traffic. |
Segment Summary | Packet and error statistics for 1 to 20 segments. Three individual graphs that show packet type, packet size, and errors in reference to maximum packet size. Accumulates RMON statistics over the report period; identifies performance problems by comparing traffic to error ratios; may reveal an inefficient use of WAN links that could result in sluggish response times. |
VLAN Usage (Summary) | Utilization and packet statistics for VLANs defined on the switches connected to the Fast Ethernet segment being monitored. Monitors RMON traffic statistics across a Fast Ethernet link between switches, featuring VLAN ports; extends standards-based, analysis to the switched infrastructure for comprehensive analysis of VLANs; lets you see the traffic between each of the ports associated with the VLAN. |
WAN Usage (History) | Utilization and packet statistics for WAN segments or Frame Relay Trunk and DLCIs over time. Presents WAN or Frame Relay (trunk and DLCI) statistics in DTE, DCE resolution; examines WAN traffic usage; verifies that you are subscribing for the proper level of bandwidth. |
Host and Conversation report types are valid only for particular agent and domain combinations. Segment reports can show you statistics for multiple segments---for these reports, you can specify multiple agents. Protocol usage reports let you look at statistics logged against a number of either RMON or protocol domains.
Table 31-3 explains the valid agent and domain combinations you can specify for each report type available in Trend Reporter:
| Report Title and Template Name | Format--- ASCII or Graphical | View Stat | Files | Number of Agents/ Number of Domains |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Application Conversation Matrix History | ASCII or Graphical | Utilization | Config | 1 |
Application Conversation Matrix Summary | ASCII or Graphical | Utilization | Config | 1 |
Application Host Matrix History | ASCII or Graphical | Utilization | Config | 1 |
Application Host Matrix Summary | ASCII or Graphical | Utilization | Config | 1 |
Application Response Time History | ASCII or Graphical | Vital signs | Config | 1 |
Application Response Time Server History | ASCII or Graphical | Vital signs | Config | 1 |
Application Response Time Server Summary | ASCII or Graphical | Vital signs | Config | 1 |
Application Response Time Summary | ASCII or Graphical | Vital signs | Config | 1 |
Billing Summary | ASCII | Utilization In & Out | Dept, Tariff, Config | 1 |
Conversation History | ASCII or Graphical | Utilization | Config | 1 |
Conversation Summary | ASCII or Graphical | Utilization | Config | 1 |
DLCI Link Down History | ASCII or Graphical | Percent of Link Down Time | Config | 20 |
DLCI Link Down Summary | ASCII or Graphical | Percent of Link Down Time | Config | 20 |
DLCI Usage (Summary) | ASCII or Graphical | Utilization In & Out | Config, Dept. | 1 |
Host History | ASCII or Graphical | Utilization In & Out | Config | 1 |
Host Outbound (Summary) | ASCII | Utilization Out | Config, Dept. | 1 |
Host Summary | ASCII or Graphical | Utilization In & Out | Config, Dept. | 1 |
Host Verbose (Summary) | ASCII | Utilization In & Out | Config, Dept. | 1 |
Mixed Segment History | ASCII or Graphical | Utilization | Config | 20 |
Network Conversation Matrix History | ASCII or Graphical | Utilization | Config | 1 |
Network Conversation Matrix Summary | ASCII or Graphical | Utilization | Config | 1 |
Network Host Matrix History | ASCII or Graphical | Utilization | Config | 1 |
Network Host Matrix Summary | ASCII or Graphical | Utilization | Config | 1 |
Network Volume Summary | ASCII or Graphical | Octets and Packets | Config | 1 to 20 |
Protocol Distribution (Summary) | ASCII | Utilization, packet, and octet stats | Config, Domain | 1 |
Protocol History | ASCII or Graphical | Utilization | Config | 1 |
Proxy SNMP | ASCII or Graphical | Vital signs | Config | 1 |
Round Trip Delay History | ASCII or Graphical | Response Time | Config | 1 |
Router Backbone Usage (Summary) | ASCII or Graphical | Utilization In & Out | Config, Dept. | 1 |
Segment History | ASCII or Graphical | Utilization | Config | 1 to 20 |
Segment Summary | ASCII or Graphical | Utilization | Config | 1 to 20 |
Service Level |
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VLAN Usage (Summary) | ASCII or Graphical | Utilization In & Out | Config, Dept | 1 |
WAN Usage (History) | ASCII or Graphical | ASCII or Graphical | Config | 1 to 10 |
For all graph reports after the first initial view is presented, you have direct access to any of the defined stat groupings or individual stats using the view stat menu option. You can control background graph view output options using the report.prn file in $NSHOME/usr.
The following sections describe how you set and store report parameters:
To generate a report, follow these steps:
Step 1 Start the TrafficDirector application if you have not already done so.
Step 2 Click the Trend Reporter Icon.
Step 3 Select the report you want.
Step 4 Select the agent by doing the following:
Step 5 Select a domain from the Domain list box.
Step 6 Click the Database button (under the Report Details heading) to select the database table type used to generate the report.
Select from the following:
Step 7 To control the number of intervals displayed in History reports, click the Display Resolution button.
Step 8 Select from the list of time intervals.
If you do not change this setting from the one-minute default, the Display Resolution automatically adjusts upwards to display the Minimum Logging Frequency (MLF), or the smallest interval at which report data is logged during the report start and end time period.
The report data logging intervals you define for an agent, and the report period (start time to end time) determine the number of data samples available for reporting. The smaller the logging interval, the bigger the number of data samples; the larger the logging interval, the smaller the number of data samples. The lower the time interval, the higher the number of data samples.
Step 9 Click the Output button to select from a list of output options.
Select from the following options:
Step 10 Enter a name into the Name text-field or click the button to the right of the Name field to display the File Selection dialog for File and Append File.
Step 11 Do one of the following, depending on your platform:
Step 12 Specify the start and end times by doing the following in the Data Range section:
To disable the Baseline option select None as the Month (this dims the dd, yyyy, hh, and mm fields.
Step 13 To save all report parameters (report template parameters combined with report detail parameters) to a file (*.rr), select File>Save As.
The *.rr files are used with the Trend Reporter command-line interface ($NSHOME/bin/dvreport -cfg *.rr or $NSHOME/bin/grreport - cfg *.rr).
The Save As File Selection dialog is displayed.
Step 14 Do one of the following:
Step 15 Click OK to save the file, or click Cancel to close the Save As dialog without saving the file.
You might want to save report configuration parameters as a file and run them again from the command line. When you save report parameter files, Trend Reporter automatically appends an .rr extension to the filename to distinguish it from report template files that end in a .rt extension. Report files are saved to the $NSHOME/usr directory by default.
To save report a report parameters file, select File>Save As from the menu bar.
You can save report parameter files with the Trend Reporter Save As feature. You can generate reports from these files at any time using the report command at the command prompt.
The report utility determines the format of the report, then calls dvreport (if the report is for ASCII text format) or grreport (if the report is for graphical format) to generate the report.
For more information about the command-line utilities, see Appendix E, "Using Command-Line Utilities."
To run a *.rr file from the command line, follow these steps:
Step 1 Open a UNIX shell or MS-DOS window and enter the following command:
cd $NSHOME/bin
Step 2 To generate reports from the report file, enter the following command:
report -cfg filename.rr
The report is generated to the output device you specified.
The Auto Report Scheduler lets you set up the reports that you want to run on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. Once added to the auto report job schedule, Trend Reporter automatically runs the reports at the intervals you configured until you remove the job from the schedule.
The auto report schedule is maintained in the autorpt.cfg file. All auto reports have the same fixed start and end time---they begin at midnight and end at midnight.
You can configure the duration of a day within Trend Reporter. Rather than reporting on all 24 hours, you can define the range of hours that make up a day---for example, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. You can set the duration of a day independently for each report you configure using the Trend Reporter.
Every time you add a report to the schedule, Trend Reporter saves the report template name, the report details specified, and the daily, weekly, monthly parameters you specified to the autorpt.cfg file. This file is used by the auto reporter daemon to generate reports. To view the currently scheduled jobs, follow these steps:
Step 1 Click the Trend Reporter icon.
Step 2 Select AutoReport from the menu bar.
Step 3 Select View Schedule>Remove Job.
The Auto Report Schedule dialog box opens (Figure 31-2). Currently defined auto report jobs are displayed in the upper list box.
Step 4 Do one of the following:
Step 5 If you select Delete a confirmation box opens, prompting you to confirm that you want to delete this report. Click Yes to delete the report, or click No to close the box without deleting the report.
The following sections contain more information about working with Auto Reports:
When adding reports, you can choose from daily, weekly or monthly parameters.
To add a report job to the Auto Report Scheduler, follow these steps:
Step 1 Start Trend Reporter.
Step 2 Use the procedure in "Setting Report Parameters" to set up the report you want to run.
Step 3 Enter a filename in the Name field (or use the keyword AUTO).
You use the keyword AUTO to automatically generate a very long descriptive file name to clearly identify the report output.
Step 4 Select Auto Reports from the menu bar.
The Auto Report Generation window opens (Figure 31-3).
Step 5 Select the day, week, or month parameters (select all that apply).
Step 6 Do one of the following:
To remove a report job from the auto report schedule, follow these steps:
Step 1 Start Trend Reporter.
Step 2 Select AutoReport from the menu bar.
Step 3 Select View Schedule>Remove Job.
Step 4 The Auto Report Schedule window (Figure 31-2) opens.
Step 5 Select the report you want to delete from the upper list box.
Step 6 Click Delete.
A confirmation box opens, prompting you to confirm that you want to delete this report.
Step 7 Click Yes to delete the report, or click No to close the box without deleting the report.
You can take a closer look at a specific interval of a history report. To view a smaller section of data samples, you use the mouse and select a start time and end time, directly from the graph. When you zoom in on a history report, the zoom view uses the display resolution from the original (parent) report. To respect the new report start - end period only the number of data samples is changed.
To zoom in on a section of a history graph, follow these steps:
Step 1 Position the mouse over the point on the history graph where you want the zoom to begin.
Step 2 Click the mouse once.
Step 3 Position the mouse over a second point on the history graph where you want the zoom to end.
Step 4 Click the mouse once.
The Launch Report window opens (Figure 31-4).
Step 5 Under the Application heading, select Segment History (Zoom) or any other available report.
Step 6 Click Launch to launch the Segment History (Zoom) report.
A new Segment History (Zoom) report opens (Figure 31-5).
The following section contains more information about working with the graphs:
Trend Reporter lets you change the display properties of any graphical report using the Properties menu in each of the main report windows.
You can select the following properties for all graph reports:
Figure 31-6 shows a two-dimensional Segment History Report.
The following section describes how you can invert graphs:
You can view a bar graph in inverted or horizontal bar format to invert the axes of the two bar graph displays. Depending on the data you are displaying, you may choose to switch the x and y axes as a matter of viewing preference.
Sometimes inverting the graph provides a better picture of the data and devices you are monitoring.
To change the report display to horizontal bar format, follow these steps:
Step 1 Select Properties from the menu bar.
Step 2 Click Invert.
The graph or graphs displayed in the report are inverted to horizontal bar format (Figure 31-7).
On UNIX platforms, when you generate an ASCII report, the text is displayed in an X terminal.
To have the ASCII Tabular reports open an xterm other than the one from which you started rmonmgr you must set the following environment variables:
where <windows> is the location of your workstation window manager files.
On Microsoft Windows platforms, you must save the report to file, then use the following procedure to view the ASCII report file.
Step 1 Enter the following command at a DOS prompt to navigate to the Reports directory:
C:\> cd c:\nshome\reports
Auto reports are found in the following subdirectories of the reports directory:
Step 2 Navigate to one of the subdirectories listed above. For example,
cd daily
Step 3 Do one of the following:
type [reportname.txt] | more
The contents of the report file are displayed.
To better understand network trends and trend reporting, it is helpful to know where the information that Trend Reporter uses comes from.
There are two kinds of tables in the SQL database server from which you can generate reports. Depending on which database you choose, you will see very different results.
The following description and discussion of the TrafficDirector database tables will help you understand the differences and help you make the correct choice to achieve the results you want.
When you generate a report, the TrafficDirector application retrieves the information you request from one or more SQL database servers. SQL servers are associated with agents when the agent is configured using Configuration Manager. Selecting an agent indicates which SQL database to call for data.
Summary reports do not display data using a time interval. Summary data is accumulated (totalled and summarized) over the report period. Therefore, for any multiday report, it is more efficient to retrieve daily data samples from the Daily (Summary) database tables than to accumulate 96 (if 15 min. MLF) data samples times the number of days from the detail database tables.
However, you can gather equivalent data from the detail database tables. Use the detail database tables only if you want multiday reports that do not start or end on even day boundaries (12:00 midnight).
Detail tables contain delta values representing network activity over intervals of time---or detail data---that are useful for showing an accurate picture of short term patterns in network activity.
The TrafficDirector application accumulates detail values over a twenty-four hour period to create the Daily tables.
Daily tables (Summary tables) contain delta values that represent 24-hour intervals. Reports based on Daily information are useful in determining long-term trends and patterns of network activity. Use daily tables to generate history reports that show statistics over a period of weeks or months, and for summary reports that span multiple days.
If Peak Business Hour (PBH) is enabled (set in dbupdate.cfg), the average is over the PBH range rather than over the 24-hour range. This process is performed each day and, once committed to the database, cannot be changed.
You can control the number of data samples displayed between the history reports start and end times by specifying the Display Resolution (or interval) when you run the report. The Display Resolution value defaults to 1 minute. If you do not change this setting, the Display Resolution automatically adjusts upwards to display the Minimum Logging Frequency (MLF), or the smallest interval at which report data is logged during the report start and end time.
Therefore, if you generate a report that returns more than 721data samples, the display resolution will be increased until the number of data samples fit within 721 samples. The behavior of both truncate and increase display resolution is controlled using the inc-dr-to-show-500-ds parameter in default.dvp.
You can magnify a portion of the history graph to take a closer look a particular group of samples. See "Zooming In on History Graphs" for more details.
An asterisk (*) is used to indicate when a domain has been reinstalled during a particular interval. The data displayed for the interval reflects activity logged from the point that the domain was reinstalled until the end of the interval. The data sample at the identified interval contains an inaccurate representation because it does not represent data logged for the entire interval.
The domain reinstalled condition can be misleading for Summary and History Reports with high display resolutions (times 2 or more above MLF).
By determining at what point, and for how long, a domain was deinstalled, you can determine how accurate the information displayed might be. To determine when a domain reinstalled condition occurred, generate a History report with display resolution set to 1 minute to create the report at MLF and pinpoint the location of the data sample(s) identified with the asterisk (*).
Using Report Editor, you instantiate new report templates from application memory, or load and modify existing report templates. The Report Editor application initializes with defaults for each report type. The TrafficDirector installation loads each report type as predefined report template definitions in the $NSHOME/usr directory. Predefined report templates are created from, and equivalent to, each default definition available within Report Editor.
Report Editor lets you configure report parameters such as report type, title, header 1, header 2, footer, and format. You can save all report template parameter information in a report template (*.rt) file and use it later to generate reports from Trend Reporter.
The following sections contain more information about configuring report templates:
The following list describes each report parameter and how using it can affect reports:
Topology and Protocol report types return one set of statistics for each time period (t0). Host list report types return (n) stats for each time period (i.e., a list of host addresses monitored [logged] during the time period [15 min]).
Table 31-4 lists what category each report type corresponds to.
| This Category... | Corresponds to This Report Type |
|---|---|
Topology | DLCI Link Down History/Summary, Network Volume Summary, Segment History/Summary Note Topology-specific report templates available in Version 5.2 (multisegment history/summary: ET,FDDI, TR, WAN and Segment history/summary: ET,FDDI, TR, WAN, and multisegment- history-mix reports) will work with this release, but are obsolete and are not displayed in the report type selection box. |
Protocol | Mixed-Segment-history, Protocol Distribution Summary, Protocol Usage history, WAN Usage. |
Host List | App Conv Matrix History, App Conv Matrix Summary |
Table 31-5 describes the information displayed with each report format.
| This Report Format... | Displays This Type of Information |
|---|---|
Plot, Bar, Stacked Bar, Pie | Information in graphical format with a corresponding legend. You might select this format when you are using the information as a standalone report. |
ASCII tabular | Information as alphanumeric text in columns and rows. You might select this format when you are using the information as a standalone report. |
Comma-Separated Value | Information as alphanumeric and numeric text in strings, with values separated by a comma. You might select this format when you want to import the information into a spreadsheet or other application. |
Tab-Separated Value | Information as alphanumeric and numeric text in strings, with values separated by a tab. You might select this format when you want to import the information into a spreadsheet or other application. |
Table 31-6 describes the configuration file parameters.
| This Parameter... | Shows This Type of Information |
|---|---|
Type | Report type. |
Title | Default report title. |
Header 1 | Descriptive information defined in the first header. |
Header 2 | Descriptive information defined in the second header. |
Footer | Descriptive information defined in the footer. |
Report format | Bar Chart, Stacked Bar, Pie, Plot Chart, ASCII tabular, Comma- Separated Values, Tab-Separated Values. |
Config File | Optional parameter to specify an additional report parameter field to use for overriding other, previously defined parameters (domain, output, database parameters). |
Stat | Identifies which statistic or statistic-group to display as the initial graph view. |
Exception on Stat | Identifies exception statistic. Must be a single statistic. It cannot be a statistics group. Used to enable exception report logic; used in conjunction with exception operator and exception value parameters. If exception statistics is empty, exception report logic is disabled and the other parameters are ignored. |
Sort | Identifies which single statistic to use to sort (high-low) the accumulated Host list. Used for Host history/summary and Conversation history/summary report. |
Department | Identifies department configuration file that contains Host Address accumulated mapping configuration data |
Rate | Identifies the multiplier for billing (the default is 0.01). |
Tree | Identifies the domain hierarchy default file used with Protocol Distribution (summary) report. The default is domtree.inf. |
You can run Report Editor only from the TrafficDirector Admin level.
To create new report templates or edit existing ones, follow these steps:
Step 1 Start the TrafficDirector application.
Step 2 Click the Admin radio button.
Step 3 Click the Report Editor icon.
The Report Editor window opens (Figure 31-8).
Step 4 Do any of the following:
Before you begin working with the procedures in this section, familiarize yourself with the information in Table 31-7.
| This Field... | Contains This Information |
|---|---|
Report Type text field | Non-editable text field indicating the report type you selected. |
Report title | The default title of the report. |
Header | Any descriptive text you want displayed in the first header. |
Header 2 | Any descriptive text you want displayed in the second header. |
Footer | Any descriptive text you want displayed in the footer. |
Report Format | Allows you to select the report format:
|
Config File | Configuration files that contain optional report parameters that override other report parameters. Overriding report parameters is useful when maintaining many report parameter files. Note Overriding the domain, output, or database parameters on (100+) *.rr or *.rt files is very useful. |
Save/Cancel/Details buttons |
|
An exception report is a multisegment report that shows you, for the statistic you specify, only the segments and associated data that qualify (meet the exception condition).
For example, you might define an exception report that only displays utilization above 35 percent. When you run this exception report on 2 to 20 segments, only those segments that meet the exception criterion are included in the report. That is, for 5 segments, where only 2 qualify, only those 2 segments will produce a report.
You can define exception stats for any topology or protocol report types. You define exception reports using the Report Editor Report Template Details Dialog box by selecting a single statistic, selecting an operator (greater than or less than), and entering a value.
The Report Editor screen controls the type of report and the common report parameters. To control specific report details, follow these steps:
Step 1 Select the report type.
Step 2 Click the Details button.
The Report Template Details dialog box opens. The content of this dialog box is dependent on the Report Type you selected from the Report Editor screen.
To configure report template files, follow these steps:
Step 1 Start the Report Editor application.
Step 2 To select a predefined report type, do the following:
(a) Click the button to the right of the Type field to display the Select Report Type list box (Figure 31-9).
(b) Select the report type you want from those displayed in the Select Report Type list box.
(c) Click OK.
Step 3 To change the title displayed in the Title field (optional), highlight the text.
Step 4 Click Delete to clear the field.
Step 5 Enter a new title.
Step 6 Enter descriptive text (optional), such as Company Name, Department Name, or Customer Name in the Header1, Header2, and Footer fields.
Step 7 To select the report format, follow these steps:
(a) Click the button to the right of the Report Format field to display the Select Report Format Type list box.
(b) Highlight the report format type you want.
(c) Click OK.
The list of available formats may vary between three sets---Graph (bar, s-bar, plot, pie), ASCII (tabular, CSV, TSV), and All.
Step 8 To specify a configuration file, enter the file name directly, or click the button to the right of the Config File field.
Step 9 Select the file you want from those displayed in the Config File Template File Selection Box (FSB).
Step 10 Highlight the file you want.
Step 11 Click OK.
Config files include any files that contain report parameters. When specified, the additional config file parameters override the previously defined parameters. The order of parsing parameters is important. The last parameter definition is used.
Step 12 To control specific report details, click Details.
Step 13 The Report Template Details Topology screen opens (Figure 31-10).
The Segment reports (Segment History and Segment Summary) are available for use with six different topologies---ATM, Ethernet, FDDI, Frame Relay, Token Ring, and WAN.
Step 14 In the Topology Specific Stat section, select primary view statistic from the pop up dialog box.
Step 15 Click the button to the right of the Primary View field to display the Select Statistics pop up dialog box.
Step 16 Select the statistic or statistic group you want the report to display in the initial report view.
Step 17 Highlight the statistic variable you want.
Step 18 Click OK.
Individual statistics are represented below the == list separator and defined statistic groups combinations and (n) (1...3) graphs per report page appear above the list separator. The list of available statistics changes for different topologies.
Although the == list separator is selectable, it is not a valid or useful field.
The saved template represents all topology types. The specific behavior is dependent on the agent(s) you select at report run time. For multisegment reports, all agents must be of the same topology.
Step 19 Optional: To create a template for an exception report (multisegment use only) enable an exception statistic parameter, follow these steps:
(a) Click the window button.
(b) Select one statistic.
When the optional Exception Filter stat: field is empty, the exception report feature is disabled.
(c) Select either greater than or less than by clicking the option menu in the Operation field.
(d) Enter the value you want in the Value field.
(e) Click OK.
(f) Go to Step 20.
Step 20 For Host List report types, click the Details button on the Report Editor screen.
The Report Template Details Host List screen opens (Figure 31-11):
Step 21 In the Host List Specific Stat box, select the appropriate primary view statistic from the pop up dialog box.
Step 22 Click the button to the right of the Primary View field to display the Select Statistics pop up dialog box.
Step 23 Select the statistic or statistic group you want the report to display in the initial report view.
Step 24 Select the sort statistic for the report by clicking the button to the right of the Sort Stat field.
Step 25 Highlight the statistic you want from those displayed in the Select Sort Statistics list box.
Step 26 Click OK.
The Sort Order accumulates all host addresses into a Summary list (report start-to-end). Sort the accumulated list by specified statistic value (high to low). Truncate the accumulated list to TopN size.
Step 27 Enter the number of hosts that you want to include in this report in the Top N field (1-50 [default = 30, maximum = 50]).
Step 28 In the Auxiliary File box select, or enter, the appropriate department file type. To select a department file, click the button to the right of the Department File field and select the file you want from those displayed in the Department File file selection box. Highlight the file that you want and click OK.
Step 29 For Protocol report types, click the Details button on the Report Editor window.
The Report Template Details Protocol window opens (Figure 31-12).
Step 30 In the Protocol Specific Stat box, select the appropriate primary view statistic from the pop up dialog box.
Step 31 Click the button to the right of the Primary View field to display the Select Statistics pop up dialog box.
Step 32 Select the statistic or statistic group that you want the report to display in the initial report view.
Step 33 Highlight the statistic variable that you want.
Step 34 Click OK.
Step 35 To create a template for an exception report (multisegment use only), enable an exception statistic parameter by clicking the window button, and selecting one statistic.
When the optional Exception Filter stat: field is empty the exception report feature is disabled.
Step 36 For Protocol Distribution Reports only (otherwise, skip to Step 41)---
In the Auxiliary File box select the appropriate domain file.
Step 37 To specify a domain file, click the button to the right of the Domain Hierarchy field.
Step 38 Select the file (domtree.inf default) you want from those displayed in the Domain File file selection box
Step 39 Highlight the file you want.
Step 40 Click OK.
Step 41 Click OK.
Step 42 To save the file, select File>Save As or click the floppy disk icon on the tool bar and do the following:
The Report Editor application makes it easy to display and modify report template variables. To examine or modify a report template use the open menu option and load the report template parameters into the Report Editor application.
See "Creating and Modifying Report Templates" for a description of the report parameter and dialog fields.
Posted: Mon Feb 8 15:00:16 PST 1999
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