The InterfaceViewer (accessed by clicking any hyperlinked interface identifier in the Interface column of the Interface Configuration list (located in NetworkExplorer–>Inventory–>Interfaces–>InterfaceConfig), displays low-level interface data and network phenomena affecting the selected interface during a specified time period. The top panel lists basic information about the chosen interface, including the Type, Speed, Status (Up or Down, along with the date the interface was discovered to be changed in state), the host device's NetworkView, the DeviceIP, its interface MACAddress, the InterfaceIP (if any), and Ethernet PortFast and Encapsulation settings where applicable (this value appears only when the interface is using 802.1Q tagging).

If a physical interface also contains logical subinterfaces that are locally assigned to VRFs, the Encapsulation field will appear in the top panel of the Interface Viewer window, also listing the protocol.

When an interface is locally assigned to a Network View, the Local VRF field appears in the top panel of the Interface Viewer window.

By default, the Interface Viewer displays any neighboring interface information for the selected interface. The assumption is that the selected interface is actually administratively On and active on the network. Otherwise, the Interface Viewer shows a blank page.

The Interface Viewer also provides a list of Access Control Lists that are bound to the current interface. To change the date or period for data displayed in the Interface Viewer, see Setting the Date and Period.

Viewing Neighboring Interfaces

The Neighbors page (Interface Viewer –> Interface –> Neighbors) lists the MAC addresses, associated VRF Name, and Neighbor VRF Name (if any), the Network View, IP addresses, interfaces and other data for neighbors of the currently displayed interface. If you select an interface that is administratively On and is active in the network, the Interface Neighbor information automatically appears. Otherwise the neighbor information remains blank.

Associated information provided includes the VLAN and/or trunk interface, the neighbor's MAC address, the neighbor type, and the Neighbor Assurance value.

Viewing Network Performance Measurements

Under Performance in the Interface Viewer, the Summary page (Interface Viewer –> Performance –> Summary) lists high-level statistics for inbound and outbound traffic for the selected interface. A table appears in the Interface Viewer, showing Counts, Rates, and Percentages for Inbound and Outbound Octets, Packets, Unicast packets, Non-Unicast packets, Multicast packets, Broadcast packets, Discards, Errors, Changes, Alignment Errors, FCS Errors, and Late Collisions. These statistics cover the entire selected interface, cumulative for all subinterfaces if any.

• The Rates page (Interface Viewer –> Performance –> Rates) shows inbound and outbound throughput and related rates for the interface, including Packet Rate, Broadcast Rate, Discard Rate, and Error Rate.
• The Percents page (Interface Viewer –> Performance –> Percents) shows inbound and outbound traffic statistics expressed as a percentage of total throughput, including % Utilization, Broadcast Percent, Discard Percent, and Error Percent.
• The Counts page (Interface Viewer –> Performance –> Counts) displays inbound and outbound traffic statistics expressed as counts, including columns of statistics for Octet Count, Packet Count, Broadcast Count, Discard Count, and Error Count.
• The Charts page (Interface Viewer –> Performance –> Charts) provides charts that show throughput, broadcasts/second, errors/second, and discards/second. Use the Measure list at the top of the page to select Rate or Percent for the charts' vertical axes.

Changing Performance Data Collection Settings

The General Settings page (Interface Viewer –> Settings –> General Settings) enables you to apply or override the parent group's performance data collection setting, under the Performance Statistics Collection setting (group settings are defined in the Settings icon –> Setup section –> Collection and Groups page –> Groups tab –> Interface Groups side tab).

To ensure collection of all performance data for the specific device, choose the Enabled option.

Choose the Use Default option if you want performance information collection to only use the parent Interface Group's settings.

Interface performance data covers a broad selection of network phenomena, including but not limited to the following: Port throughput, bandwidth utilization, packet errors percentage, broadcast packet percentage, and packet discard percentage.

A second option, Switch Port Management Control, enables or disables the current interface from management by Switch Port Manager.

Viewing Interface Histories

Interface histories consist primarily of First Seen and Last Seen values, indicating the date and time when the interface was first seen by the appliance, and the date and time when the appliance last polled the device and interface. Other information fields in the Interface History table include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Device Name: The name of the device hosting the interface.
• IF MAC: The MAC address of the interface.
• If Oper Status: Shows whether the interface is operationally Up or Down.
• If Admin Status: Shows whether the interface is administratively Up or Down.

Port Control Settings

NetMRI allows administrators to control basic operational settings for managed routers and switches. The following three functions are available in the Port Control page (Interface Viewer –> Settings –> Port Control Settings):

• Admin Status: Set the port to administratively Up or administratively Down.
• Interface Description: A text label describing the port.
• VLAN ID/Name: Change the VLAN assignment for a switch interface. Click Edit for any feature.
  For Admin Status, ports can be set to Up or Down from the drop-down menu.
  
  For VLAN ID/Name, the feature will work for switch or switch-router ports that support VLAN assignment. Choose the VLAN ID from the VLAN ID drop-down list (new values are not entered in this location) and the VLAN Name from the VLAN Name drop-down list. A port can be set to disable any VLAN assignment by enabling the No VLAN checkbox.

In all cases, click Save to commit settings.