RMON Overview
RMON is the Remote Network Monitoring MIB. It is available in network monitoring devices called probes and in some switches, routers, hubs, and bridges. Network Manager includes a set of application programs, accessible from the RMON Menu, that provide a simple interface to RMON probes.

The main function of an RMON probe is to capture all network frames and record statistics about network traffic. RMON saves statistics about traffic from particular devices and conversations between devices. RMON probes have these benefits:

• RMON probes are non-intrusive. Probes do not depend on the existence of SNMP Agents in network devices; they are protocol independent; and they do not generate ay network traffic that affects performance.

• RMON probes can be deployed throughout the internetwork, preferably one per physical segment, and can be used to diagnose a problem while it is occurring.

Set Network Probe
Choose Set Network Probe from the RMON menu to select an RMON probe for a particular network. Other commands in the RMON menu are not available until you set a probe.

Probe Node
Select the RMON probe from the Probe Node list. Only the Agent nodes attached to the selected network are shown in this list. If the RMON probe you want to use is not in this list, then it has not been correctly attached to the network using the Ports button in the Edit Node Properties dialog box.

Probe Type
Select your RMON probe's manufacturer or Other.

Set Button
Configures the probe to enable the Ethernet Statistics, Hosts, and Matrix features for the selected network. The selected node icon must have SNMP community strings that match the probe's strings.

Selecting A Configured Probe
Once you have set a probe for a network, you can select this probe for configuration and display in one of three ways:

• Select the probe node itself

• Select the probe's network

• Select any node attached to the probe's network

  Generally you will select a network or nodes other than the probe. Network Manager will get the information from the probe for the objects you selected. If you have multi-port devices on networks that all have probes, you must select nodes and also select a network to specify the correct probe.

Statistics Group
Items in the Statistics menu display real-time statistics for Ethernet Networks. To use these commands you must first select a network that has a configured RMON probe.

Display Statistics Table
Use the Display Statistics command to display a list of statistics for all networks monitored by the selected probe. The display is a standard MIB Table as described in the Display MIB Table command. The RMON probe saves a variety of statistics for each network, including byte (Octets) frame (Pkts) counts, error counts, and frame size counts.

All Stats
Use the All Stats submenu to display statistics in a variety of formats for the selected network. These commands are equivalent to using the Statistics / Display Statistics Table and then selecting buttons from the table display.

All Stats / List shows the statistics as a list window.

All Stats / Graph
Shows the statistics as a set of graphs. Each graph can only show six variables, so a total of three graphs will be displayed. Note that the name of the RMON probe is displayed in the graph window title bar. The selected network is displayed in the legend below the graph.

All Stats / Chart
Shows the network statistics in a chart window. As with the graph window, the probe name is displayed in the title and the network name is displayed in the legend, below the chart.

All Stats / Save History
Saves the network statistics using the generic Network Manager long-term history feature, Trend Watch. The Edit Node History dialog box will be displayed. Note that Network Manager history is completely different from the RMON History feature that is built into the RMON probe.

Byte Stats
Displays a subset of the network statistics containing only Byte counts. These commands are identical to the Statistics / All Stats commands except for the information displayed.

Frame Stats
Displays a subset of the network statistics containing only frame and error counts. These commands are identical to the Statistics / All Stats commands except for the information displayed.

Frame Size Stats
Displays a subset of the network statistics containing only Frame Size distribution counts. These commands are identical to the Statistics / All Stats commands except for the information displayed.

History Group
Items in the History menu configure and display long-term statistics saved by a probe for one or more networks the probe is attached to. To use this group you must first display the RmonHistory table, using the first menu in the group. Note that RMON history is completely different from the generic SNMP history mechanism built in to Network Manager.

Display RmonHistory Table
Use the Display RmonHistory Table command to display and modify the RMON history configuration, and to display saved history data. A RmonHistory table window is displayed. View All Stats
Downloads and displays data for the selected RmonHistory table entry. You can press the Stop button to cancel the operation. After the download is complete the data is displayed using the Trend View application. The graph line for the Utilization variable is modified to correctly display percent utilization in graph mode when calculating values per second. The Utilization variable is not usable in the pie and bar views or if calculating values for other time intervals. This command is the same as the View button in the RmonHistory table window. View Byte Stats
Downloads and displays data for the selected RmonHistory table entry. This command is the same as the View All Stats command, but only includes byte counts. View Frame Stats
Downloads and displays data for the selected RmonHistory table entry. This command is the same as the View All Stats command, but only includes packet and error counts.

RMON alarms are stored in the log as Trap event types. Use the Log commands to view alarms. Use the Notifications command to perform special actions, such as calling a pager, when an alarm occurs.

Note that RMON Alarms are different from the generic SNMP threshold available with Network Manager histories. Although the function is the same, RMON alarms and histories are performed by the RMON probe and are based on network monitored statistics, whereas Network Manager alarms and histories are performed by Trend Watch and are based on SNMP variables polled from SNMP Agents.

Display RmonAlarm Table
Displays the configured RMON alarms. An RmonAlarm table window is displayed. Use the Edit button to modify a selected entry. Use the New button to create a new entry. The Alarm dialog box is displayed in both cases. View Log
Views Alarm Traps for the selected probe or RmonAlarm entry. This command is the same as the View button in the RmonAlarm table display.

Display Host Table
Display statistics for all nodes on the selected network. A MIB Table window is displayed. Network shows the network name. Address shows the node name, or the MAC address if the node is not in the map. Creation Order shows the order in which entries were added by the probe to this table. The remaining columns contain various byte, frame, and error counters for each device. Show TopN Talkers
Detects and display the devices that are generating the most traffic of a particular kind on the selected network. The Top N Talkers Setup dialog box is displayed to configure and start the Top Talkers Report. ,B>All Stats
These commands view host statistics for one or more selected nodes. List shows the data in a list window. This view is the same as the Display Host Table format, except that only the selected nodes are displayed. Graph displays the data as a real-time graph. Since each graph contains only six variables, there will be two graphs displayed for each selected node. Note that the RMON probe name is shown in the title bar. The network and node names are shown in the legend below the graph. Chart displays the data as a real-time chart. As with the graph, the RMON probe name is shown in the title bar. The network and node names are shown in the legend below the chart. Save History saves the host statistics using Network Managers built in history mechanism. The Edit Node History dialog box is displayed. The node name is shown as part of the MIB table name instance. This simplifies the Trend View display when you later view the statistics. Note that this is not the same as the RMON History feature. RMON probes can only save histories for networks, not nodes, and even then only a subset of the available statistics is saved. Byte Stats
Displays statistics for the selected nodes. The Byte Stats commands are the same as the All Stats commands except that only Byte statistics are displayed. Frame Stats
Display statistics for the selected nodes. The Frame Stats commands are the same as the All Stats commands except that only Frame and Error statistics are displayed.

Display Matrix Table
Displays conversation statistics for each device pair in the selected network. A MIB table window is displayed. The Network column shows the network name. The Source Address field shows the node name or MAC address for the device generating traffic, and the DestAddress field shows the node name or MAC address for the device the traffic is directed to. The source and destination addresses are normally converted to node names. Use the Config / Show MAC As Node Names to toggle between MAC address and node name display. The remaining fields are statistics saved for the conversation, including total packets, total bytes, and total error counts. Show Conversation Matrix
The Show Conversation Matrix displays a real time graphical representation of conversations between devices. You must first select two or more nodes that are attached to a monitored network. You can also start this application by selecting two or more devices in the Show TopN Talkers dialog box and then clicking the Matrix button. After downloading an initial set of data, a dialog box prompts for a poll interval. A larger poll interval provides a more representative display an downloads less data. Click OK to continue.

Display RmonCapture Table
Views the current capture profiles for the selected probe, to modify, add or delete profiles, and to view captured packets. An RmonCapture window displays a list of capture profiles. Click Edit modify or create a capture profile. From the Edit Capture dialog box you can set up capture filters and create new filter profiles. View Captured Packets
Downloads and displays captured packets for a selected entry in anRmon Capture table. This is the same as the View button in the RmonCapture table, described in the Display RmonCapture Table command. Open Saved File
Displays a previously downloaded capture file. A dialog box will prompt you for a file name. The capture files have a .cap file extension. The file will be opened and displayed in a log window. Please refer to the View button of the Display RmonCapture Table command for more information. Export To File
Exports the selected capture file view to a Sniffer format file, with a .snf extension. You will be prompted for a file name to use.

This applies to:

LANDesk* Network Manager