Overutilization? How do I know?

[Tbarney]

I have a Cisco 1600 on a 56k frame relay circuit. My carrier tells me we are overutilizing the circuit and that is why our response is slow at times. What kinds of counters can I look at to tell this is happening? I can tell with Motorola and some other routers, they give me a X% circuit used number on certain menu screens.

Thanks for any help!

 

[wybnormal]

One way is to login to the router and then go into the enable mode. type in Show interface (interface) S0 or S1 depending on your config.. you will see some averaged stats over 5 mintes of time. That is a rough guide..

A better bet would be to get a demo copy of solarwinds and condig SNMP on the 1600. Then you use the performance gauge from Solarwinds for real time stats on the link utilization. the Engineers version will run a reporting app that can graph it over time.

A longer term option if you are comfortable with perl is MRGT. Again, SNMP based.

MikeS
Find me at

http://www.packetattack.com

"The trouble with giving up civil rights is that you never get them back"

 

[marsd]

A 56k access circuit is pretty minimal.
I'd believe your provider when he says that you
are overutilizing your access.
However you can just use sh int (int name) and
sh frame-relay pvc and pay attention to your fecn
becn stats and overall traffic to verify.

You can use traffic shaping on your FR link to
ameliorate this issue. I haven't a lot of experience
doing it however. Maybe someone else can help if you
want to try that.

 

[Tbarney]

Thanks Mike and Mardd for your replies. I have no doubt it is overutilized, I know it's a small circuit. I would just like to see the stats on it to where I understand it more and I (hitting myself on the head) AM JUST NOT GETTING IT.
I have looked at the stats on the interfaces which show 5000-6000 bits per sec avg but I don't think that is overuse.. am I wrong? I see a few errors CRC, not many. and nothing dropped... Also looked at FECN and BECN for dropped, congested frames... still loking for a smoking gun...

 

[wybnormal]

Many frame providers have a way for you to pull up your own stats.. I should say I know Pacbell and others here on the west coast have them. Your rep should be able to provide with this info. Or, the rep should be able to get a copy of the actual traffic stats for your link.

The interface stats will not show a peak.. the numbers are averaged over time so in a sense, they lie. This is why I recommended something SNMP based where you can get some realtime stats.

Good luck!

MikeS
Find me at

http://www.packetattack.com

"The trouble with giving up civil rights is that you never get them back"