Measuring dropped packets

The DNCA provides several metrics to help identify dropped network packet conditions. These metrics are only data points to help to assess likely causes for dropped packets.

Unfortunately, few network switch metrics can indicate when a switch has overrun its internal buffers, causing dropped network packets. Indirect metrics such as port bandwidth and CPU utilization can indicate a possible issue. These metrics samples the state of the network switch at some pre-determined time interval. If a peak condition occurs between sampling periods, however, no indication would be available at all.

The best indicator is to evaluate captured Discover sessions for missing pages, partial pages, or both missing pages and partial pages. Static validation of test Discover sessions can provide another data point in analyzing the cause of sessions with missing pages. Real time tracking of Discover sessions with compound events that are trigger for missing pages can help to determine whether a solution resolves the issue.