Network Page
The Network page shows recent network activity to and from this system.
To open the Network page
- Select the Spotlight connection in the Spotlight Browser.
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Click Network | Network.
Charts on the Network page
Notes:
- Click an item in the legend to highlight its series (line) in the chart. Click a second time to return the series to its normal appearance.
- Move the mouse pointer over an item in the legend to view the current value for that series within the chart.
Total packets in/out |
Shows the incoming and outgoing packet rates as an aggregate across all network cards in the system.
Packets Sent and Packets Received are each represented by a single line on the chart, and by an item in the legend at the right of the chart. |
Packets by network card |
Shows the total rate of packets (incoming and outgoing), broken down by network card.
Each network card on the current system is represented by a single line on the chart, and by an item in the legend at the right of the chart. |
Total kilobytes in/out |
Shows the level of traffic being received and sent by the system in kilobytes per second.
Kilobytes Sent and Kilobytes Received are each represented by a single line on the chart, and by an item in the legend at the right of the chart. |
Errors and Retries |
Shows the number of errors and retries on the network subsystem. A consistent number of retries or errors usually means one of the following:
- A network segment attached to the system is over-utilized.
- There are problems with a network card, cabling or other networking device on a network segment.
Inbound Errors and Outbound Errors are each represented by a single line on the chart, and by an item in the legend at the right of the chart. |
Related Topics
Spotlight Drilldowns
TCPIP Page
The TCPIP page shows recent TCP/IP activity to and from the current system.
TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) is one means by which computers communicate across a network. It is the basic protocol used for communication across the Internet.
Communication programs that use the TCP/IP protocol are built in two layers:
- The TCP layer converts a data stream into a series of packets for transmission across a network. When these packets are received at their destination, another TCP layer reassembles the data stream.
- The IP layer ensures that data packets reach the right destination.
To open the TCPIP page
- Select the Spotlight connection in the Spotlight Browser.
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Click Network | TCPIP.
Charts on the TCPIP page
Notes:
- Click an item in the legend to highlight its series (line) in the chart. Click a second time to return the series to its normal appearance.
- Move the mouse pointer over an item in the legend to view the current value for that series within the chart.
TCP Segments |
When TCP transfers a stream data, it breaks up the stream into small segments. The TCP Segments chart displays three different graphs representing the rate at which TCP segments are transmitted or received in the current Windows system.
Sent |
The rate at which TCP segments are transmitted by the current system. |
Received |
The rate at which TCP segments are received by the current system. |
Retransmitted |
The rate of transmission of TCP segments that have already been sent, but need to be retransmitted because of packet time-out or some other transmission error. |
Sent, Received and Retransmitted are each represented by a single line on the chart, and by an item in the legend at the right of the chart. |
IP Fragments |
When data packets are transmitted across a network via TCP/IP, they may be further fragmented en route, and need to be reassembled. The IP Fragments chart displays the rates at which the fragmented packets are received and rebuilt.
The graphs on the chart display one of the following features of IP fragmentation:
Received |
The rate at which IP fragments are received successfully. |
Created |
The rate at which IP datagram fragments are generated as a result of fragmentation. |
Re-assembled |
The rate at which IP fragments are rebuilt into their original data packets. Packets are fragmented when they travel through a router that needs to send packets that are smaller than the packets received. |
Datagrams |
The rate at which IP fragments are created on the current system. This applies only to routed packets. |
Failures |
The rate at which the current system receives data packets that are too large to be transmitted, and that cannot be fragmented. The cause may be the presence of a "do not fragment" flag in the IP packet header. |
Reassembly failures |
The rate at which errors are reported when IP fragments are reassembled into data packets. This may be due to an error in one or more fragments. |
Each data series in the IP Fragments chart is represented by a single line, and by an item in the legend at the right of the chart. |
UDP Datagrams |
UDP (User Datagram Protocol) is an alternative communications protocol to the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP).
Unlike TCP, UDP does not provide a sequencing service, so when UDP datagrams (packets) arrive at a destination, they are reassembled into a complete message via an end-point application that is active on the port(s) specified in the datagram. The UDP Datagrams chart displays three different graphs representing the rate at which UDP datagrams are transmitted or received in the current Windows system.
Sent |
The rate at which UDP datagrams are transmitted by the current system. |
Received |
The rate at which UDP datagrams are received by the current system. |
No port |
During transmission, UDP provides port numbers to distinguish different user requests. The No Port metric displays the number of packets received per second that do not have an end-point application active on the specified port. |
Sent, Received and No Port are each represented by a single line on the chart, and by an item in the legend at the right of the chart. |
IP Datagrams / IP Datagram Errors |
IP datagrams (packets) are the message units that are transmitted across a network (and across the Internet) via the Internet Protocol.
Use the IP Datagrams control to choose to view IP Datagrams or IP Datagram Errors.
The IP Datagrams chart:
The rate at which IP packets are sent, received, and routed to other destinations.
Sent |
The rate at which IP datagrams (packets) are being sent by the current system. |
Received |
The rate at which IP datagrams are being received by the current system. |
Forwarded |
The rate at which the current system is routing IP datagrams to another destination. |
Received delivered |
The rate at which the system successfully receives and accepts IP packets. |
The IP Datagram Errors chart:
The number of errors that occur when IP packets are sent, received, and routed to other destinations.
Outbound discarded |
The number of outbound packets discarded because of an issue unrelated to the packets themselves (for example, if the send buffer is full). |
Outbound no route |
The number of outbound packets discarded because the system cannot route the packets to the destination IP address. |
Received address errors |
The number of times that the system has received packets that do not have a valid return address. |
Received discarded |
The rate at which received packets are discarded because of an issue unrelated to the packets themselves (for example, if the receive buffer is full). |
Received header errors |
The number of times that the system has received packets that have errors in the IP header area (for example, a packet checksum error). |
Received unknown protocol |
The number of times that the system has received packets that are correctly addressed, but that use a protocol unsupported by the IP handler on the system. |
Notes:
- Each data series in the IP Datagrams chart is represented by a single line, and by an item in the legend at the right of the chart.
- The information represents the number of errors detected since the chart was last refreshed.
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Spotlight Drilldowns
NBT Page
The NBT page shows the machines that have a connection to the diagnosed system, and the corresponding level of traffic (in kilobytes per second) being generated between the connections.
Note: This is only for NBT (NetBios over TCP/IP) connections – that is, only Microsoft Networking connection over TCPIP.
To open the NBT page
- Select the Spotlight connection in the Spotlight Browser.
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Click Network | NBT.
Related Topics
Spotlight Drilldowns
SPX Page
The SPX page shows recent SPX activity to and from the current system.
SPX (Sequenced Packet Exchange) is a communication protocol used in Novell Netware networks. It is similar to TCP, and provides connection services between nodes on a network. The combination of SPX with IPX (Internetwork Packet Exchange) provides connection services similar to TCP/IP.
To open the SPX page
- Select the Spotlight connection in the Spotlight Browser.
-
Click Network | SPX.
Charts on the SPX page
Notes:
- Click an item in the legend to highlight its series (line) in the chart. Click a second time to return the series to its normal appearance.
- Move the mouse pointer over an item in the legend to view the current value for that series within the chart.
Bytes In/Out |
The rate at which bytes are handled by the IPX/SPX protocol.
- Sent — Number of bytes sent using the IPX/SPX protocol
- Received — Number of bytes received by the IPX/SPX protocol
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Frames In/Out |
The rate at which SPX frames (equivalent to IP datagrams) are handled by the IPX/SPX protocol.
- Sent — Number of SPX frames sent per second
- Received — Number of SPX frames received per second
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Errors (static) |
This chart shows all of the SPX static errors counted since the machine was last restarted. The graphs on the chart are:
- Adapter — The number of errors in receiving SPX packets due to adapter problems.
- Link — The number of errors in receiving SPX packets due to physical network (link) issues such as ethernet problems.
- No Listen — The number of errors in receiving SPX packets due to a remote computer not being found.
- Resource local — The number of errors in receiving SPX packets due to a lack of computer resources on the local computer.
- Resource remote — The number of errors in receiving SPX packets due to due to a lack of computer resources on the remote computer.
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Errors (dynamic) |
This chart shows the rate at which SPX dynamic errors occur. The graphs on the chart are:
- Re-sent — The number of times per second that frames need to be resent for any reason.
- Rejected — The number of data frames per second that are rejected from this computer.
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Related Topics
Spotlight Drilldowns