Graphing statistics overview
Overview
The NFM-P Statistics Plotter displays statistics data in graphical form. Figure 9-1, NFM-P Statistics Plotter shows the Statistics Plotter window, which has the following panels:
Figure 9-1: NFM-P Statistics Plotter
The Statistics Manager form, and the Statistics tab of an object properties form, each have a statistics class drop-down menu. An icon beside each statistics class in the menu indicates the plot types that the class supports; the icons are shown in Figure 9-2, Plotting support indicators .
Figure 9-2: Plotting support indicators
About the NFM-P Statistics Plotter
The NFM-P Statistics Plotter allows you to plot counter values for real-time or historical statistics. An NFM-P GUI client can open up to five Statistics Plotter windows, and each window can simultaneously plot up to eight counters. You can maximize or minimize a panel in the Statistics Plotter by clicking on the up or down arrow on the left side of the divider bar between it and the neighboring panel.
You can open a new plot for a specific object using the following:
Note: Objects that are not stored in the NFM-P database, such as LSN subscriber hosts, have no Statistics tab on the object properties form; the Plotter button for such an object is on the home tab of the properties form.
See To create a statistics graph and To modify a statistics graph for information about creating and modifying plots.
Configuration panel
You use the configuration panel to specify the objects and statistics counters in a graph. You can enter up to eight counters in the panel. If more than one counter from the same monitored object is required, you can click Duplicate and choose the new counter and class. After you choose the counters, you can close the panel to increase the space available for the graph panels. The configuration panel contains the following columns:
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Marker—shows the symbol that marks each data point when markers are enabled
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Y Axis—allows you to choose the Y axis for a plot; see Choosing the Y axis in this section for information
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Monitored Object—identifies the object of a plot; if an object has child objects that support plotting, the Monitored Object in a new plot is a drop-down menu of the child objects, as shown for plot 4 in Figure 9-1, NFM-P Statistics Plotter
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Statistics Group—allows you to choose the statistics class; an icon beside each class indicates the supported plot types, as described in Figure 9-2, Plotting support indicators
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Statistics Counter—allows you to choose the statistics counter
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Data Format—allows you to choose how the statistics data is quantified; see Statistics data formats in this section for information
Detail panel
The detail panel contains the plotted statistics line graphs. The panel can contain historical or real-time graphs, but not both.
Real-time statistics are plotted as they are collected. Historical plotting uses the data stored in the NFM-P database. For real-time statistics, you can enable or disable automatic scrolling. See Overview panel in this section for more information.
You can zoom in and out on a graph, and can enable or disable the display of markers and a legend that includes the monitored object name. Markers are useful for identifying different lines, for example, when a graph is printed in black and white. You can save a graph as an image, with or without the legend information or markers.
You can enable or disable the X, Y1, and Y2 grid lines. The Y1 and Y2 grid lines are displayed only when the corresponding Y axis is enabled. See Choosing the Y axis for more information about the Y1 and Y2 axes.
Overview panel
The overview panel displays a high-level view of the plot data. The shaded box in the panel, which is called the slider, contains the plot area that is displayed in the detail panel. When you double-click on the slider, you can set automatic scrolling to on or off. The slider is green when automatic scrolling is enabled, and red when it is disabled. You can click on the slider and drag it horizontally to change the display in the detail panel. When the slider is not selected and real-time statistics are being plotted, the slider automatically scrolls to show the latest statistics. When automatic scrolling is disabled, the detail panel statically displays the plot area shown in the slider.
Data list panel
The data list panel displays the plotted statistics values in a tabular format. You can save the table data to a file in CSV or HTML format. See the NSP NFM-P Classic Management User Guide for information about using the contextual menu in the plot value list heading.
Choosing the Y axis
A statistics graph has one X axis, but can have one or two Y axes. The X axis is a time scale, and a Y axis is a scale for data values. The second Y axis facilitates the viewing of plots whose data scales differ widely, for example, when one set of plotted values is in the range of 900 000 to 1 000 000, and another set of values is in the range of 100 to 500. Figure 9-1, NFM-P Statistics Plotter shows the two Y axes; Y axis 1 is on the left side of the detail panel, and Y axis 2 is on the right side.
You specify the Y axis for a plot using the Y Axis drop-down menu in the configuration panel. The graph legend indicates which Y axis is associated with each plot, as shown in Figure 9-1, NFM-P Statistics Plotter .
Statistics data formats
Using the Data Format column in the configuration panel, you can choose how the statistics data is represented in a plot. Depending on the type of object and statistics counter, the following options are available:
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Periodic—displays the periodic counter value, which is the difference between the current and previous raw counter values
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Rate (units)—displays a normalized throughput value; you can choose from rates such as bps, kbps, Mbps, or Gbps
Plotting real-time statistics data
The Statistics Plotter has a configurable polling interval and retention period for real-time statistics collection. The retention period specifies how long the NFM-P collects real-time statistics before it deletes the oldest sample. For example, at a sampling rate of 10 seconds, the plotter stores 8640 samples per counter in one day. The retention period and a default polling interval are configured on the User Preferences form; see the NSP NFM-P Classic Management User Guide.
The detail and data list panels indicate when a real-time statistic is missing from a plot. The detail panel plot markers in the plot list panel Markers column change from solid to dark grey with the marker color as the border. The data list panel displays N/A or Data Missing instead of a data value.
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N/A indicates that events are skewed. For example, there is data event plot for plot 1 and plot 2 at time T1, and a data event plot for plot 3 and plot 4 at time T2. Accordingly, the table row displays N/A for plot 3 and plot 4 at time T1, and for plot 1 and plot 2 at time T2. N/A is displayed whenever the same graph plots counters from different classes or different NEs.
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Data Missing indicates an error during statistics collection. Data Missing is displayed when an NE reports an error or when the polling interval elapses before the response to a previous poll arrives.
You can remove a plot at any time during real-time statistics collection; the plot disappears immediately from the detail and data list panels.
Plotting utilization statistics
The NFM-P can plot ingress and egress utilization statistics using calculated values. Plotted utilization statistics provide a quickly accessible view of the bandwidth usage, on a specified port or channel, in graphical and tabular form.
Ingress utilization statistics represent the received total octets during a collection interval, expressed as a percentage of the port bandwidth. Egress utilization statistics represent the transmitted total octets during a collection interval, expressed as a percentage of the port bandwidth.
You can plot the utilization statistics for all physical ports. Utilization statistics are available for members of the following objects, but not for the objects themselves:
See To plot utilization statistics for information about how to plot utilization statistics.
Plotter profiles
The NFM-P provides default statistics plotter profiles that you can use to generate customized statistics plots. This enables you to save a specific plotter configuration, for example, a set of queues to monitor, and later apply it to the same type of object. After you save a customized profile, you can use a right-click menu option on an object of the same type to open a plotter window. The window is automatically populated with the statistics counter information in the profile.
The right-click contextual menu for plotter profiles is available for objects in the network navigation tree and map, depending on the object type. The menu is available to all users, but a user with the Administrator or Statistics Plotter Profile Management role can specify whether a specific profile is included in the menu for other users.
Note: Only an Administrator or Statistics Plotter Profile Management user can create and delete customized profiles.
You cannot delete a default profile.
To list and view profiles, use the Statistics Plotter Profiles form, which lists all profiles, or a contextual menu option that lists the profiles that are specific to a type of object. Default profiles are available for objects that include the following:
You can create a customized profile directly from the plotter window, or use a default profile as a template to create a customized profile. See To create a customized plotter profile for information about creating customized plotter profiles. See To plot statistics using a plotter profile for information about how to create a plot using a plotter profile.
Link endpoint profiles
When you create a plot for a port that is a link endpoint, you can enable the automatic plotting of the same counters for the port at the other end of the link. If the function is enabled in a plotter profile, the profile is accessible from links of the same type in topology maps. Using a right-click menu option, you can quickly plot and compare counter data for both endpoints of a link to monitor or troubleshoot the link.