Nways Multiprotocol Access Services Software User's Guide Version 3.3

Using the Ethernet Network Interface

This chapter describes how to use the Ethernet interface. It includes Displaying Ethernet Statistics through the Interface Command.

Displaying Ethernet Statistics through the Interface Command

You can also use the interface command from the GWCON environment to display the following statistics.

+ interface 4
                                               Self-Test  Self-Test  Maintenance
Nt Nt'  Interface  Slot-Port                   Passed     Failed     Failed
4  4    Eth/0      Slot: 4  Port: 1                 3          1          0
    Ethernet/IEEE 802.3 MAC/data-link on Ethernet interface
     Physical address         AA0004000318   
     PROM address             10005AFF0016
     Microcode Level          Uu17c
 
    Input statistics:
     failed, packet too long            0   failed, CRC error                  1
     failed, alignment error            0   failed, FIFO over-run              0
     buffer full warnings               0   packets missed                     1
     internal mac rx errors             0
    Output statistics: 
     initially deferred                12   single collision            1
     multiple collisions                1   total collisions            4
     failed, excess collisions          0   failed, FIFO under-run      0
    failed, carrier check               0   CD heartbeat error          0
  

These statistics have the following meaning:

Nt

Global network number.

Nt'

This field is for the serial interface card. Disregard the output.

Interface

Interface name and its instance number.

Port

Port number

Slot

Slot number

Self-Test: Passed

Number of self-tests that succeeded.

Self-Test: Failed

Number of self-tests that failed.

Maintenance: Failed

Number of maintenance failures.

Physical address

The Ethernet address of the device currently in use. This may be the PROM address or an address overwritten by some other protocol.

PROM address

The permanent unique Ethernet address in the PROM for this Ethernet interface.

Input statistics:

failed, packet too long or failed, frame too long

The Failed, Packet Too Long counter increments when the interface receives a packet that is larger than the maximum size of 1518 bytes for an Ethernet frame. This data is exported via SNMP as the dot3StatsFrameTooLongs counter.

failed, CRC error or failed, FCS (Frame Check Sequence) error

The Failed, CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Check) Error counter increments when the interface receives a packet with a CRC error. This data is exported via SNMP as the dd3StatsFCSErrors counter.

failed, framing error or failed, alignment error

The Failed, Framing Error counter increments when the interface receives a packet whose length in bits is not a multiple of eight.

failed, FIFO over-run or failed, FIFO overrun

The Failed, FIFO (First In, First Out) Overrun counter increments when the Ethernet chipset is unable to store bytes in the local packet buffer as fast as they come off the wire.

buffer full warnings

The Buffer Full Warnings counter increments each time the local packet buffer is full.

packets missed

The Packets Missed counter increments when the interface attempts to receive a packet, but the local packet buffer is full. This error indicates that the network has more traffic than the interface can handle.

internal mac rcv errors

Receive errors that are not late, excessive, or carrier check collisions. This data is exported via SNMP as the dot3StatsInternalMacReceiveErrors counter. This statistic is the sum of the FIFO Overruns.

Output statistics:

initially deferred or deferred transmission

The Initially Deferred counter increments when the carrier sense mechanism detects line activity causing the interface to defer transmission. This data is exported via SNMP as the dot3StatsDeferredTransmissions counter.

single collision

The Single Collision counter increments when a packet has a collision on the first transmission attempt, and then successfully sends the packet on the second transmission attempt. This data is exported via SNMP as the dot3StatsSingleCollisionFrames counter.

multiple collisions

The Multiple Collisions counter increments when a packet has multiple collisions before being successfully transmitted. This data is exported via SNMP as the dot3MultipleCollisionFrames counter.

total collisions

The Total Collisions counter increments by the number of collisions a packet incurs.

failed, excess collisions

The Failed, Excess Collisions counter increments when a packet transmission fails due to 16 successive collisions. This error indicates a high volume of network traffic or hardware problems with the network. This data is exported via SNMP as the dot3StatsExcessiveCollisions counter.

failed, FIFO underrun

The Failed, FIFO Underrun counter increments when packet transmission fails due to the inability of the interface to retrieve packets from the local packet buffer fast enough to transmit them onto the network.

failed, carrier check or failed, carrier sense error

The Failed, Carrier Check counter increments when a packet collides because carrier sense is disabled. This error indicates a problem between the interface and its Ethernet transceiver. This data is exported via SNMP as the dot3StatsCarrierSenseErrors counter.

CD heartbeat error or SQE test error

The CD (Collision Detection) Heartbeat Error or SQE (Signal Quality Error) counter increments when the interface sends a packet but detects that the transceiver has no heartbeat. The packet is treated as successfully transmitted because some transceivers do not generate heartbeats. This data is exported via SNMP as the dot3StatsSQETestErrors counter.