SDX Interfaces Test

Like CPU cores, memory and storage, the ADC SDX Appliances also provide NIC interfaces and SSL crypto hardware that can be shared across ADC VPX instances that are provisioned on the appliance.

If an NIC on the SDX appliance goes down or is handling more traffic than the rest, the performance of the instances using that network interface is sure to be impacted. Such an anomaly can also threaten the availability of the SDX appliance as a whole. To avert such an outcome, it is good practice for administrators to keep an eye on the up/down state of each NIC and observe the data/packet traffic flowing into and out of the NIC. This way, administrators will be able to instantly detect the unavailability or overloading of an NIC and initiate corrective measures. This is what the SDX Interfaces test seeks to achieve!

This test auto-discovers the NICs on a target SDX appliance, reports the state of each NIC, and also reveals how much traffic is handled by every NIC. In the process, the test quickly pinpoints unavailable NICs and the ones handling heavy traffic.

Target of the test : Citrix ADC SDX

Agent deploying the test : A remote agent

Outputs of the test : One set of results for each interface supported by the target ADC SDX.

Configurable parameters for the test
Parameter Description

Test Period

How often should the test be executed.

Host

The host for which the test is to be configured.

SDX Username and SDX Password

To monitor a ADC SDX device, the eG agent should be configured with the credentials of a user with read-only privileges to the target device. Specify the credentials of such a user in the SDX Username and SDX Password text boxes.

Confirm Password

Confirm the password by retyping it here.

SSL

The eG agent collects performance metrics by invoking NITRO (ADC Interface Through Restful interfaces and Objects) APIs on the target ADC SDX device. Typically, the NITRO APIs can be invoked through the HTTP or the HTTPS mode. By default, the eG agent invokes the NITRO APIs using the HTTPS mode. This is why, the SSL flag is set to Yes by default. If the target ADC SDX device is not SSL-enabled, then the NITRO APIs can be accessed through the HTTP mode only. In this case, set the SSL flag to No.

Show Enabled Interface Only

If this flag is set to Yes, then the network interfaces that have an admin state of "Enabled" will only be monitored by the eG agent. By default, this flag is set to No, indicating that by default the eG agent will monitor all network interfaces that are enabled/disabled.

Show Up Interface Only

If this flag is set to Yes, then only the network interfaces that are operational - i.e. whose current status is "up" - are monitored. By default, this flag is set to No, indicating that by default the test will monitor all network interfaces that are up/down.

Measurements made by the test
Measurement Description Measurement Unit Interpretation

State

Indicates the current state of this interface.

 

The values that this measure can report and their corresponding numeric values have been listed in the table below:

Numeric Value Measure Value
100 Up
0 Down

If the value of this measure is Up, it means that the interface is receiving traffic normally. If the value of this measure is Down, it indicates a network issue because of which the interface is unable to send or receive traffic.

Note:

By default, this measure reports the above-mentioned Measure Values to indicate the current state of an interface. However, in the graph of this measure, the measure values will be represented using their corresponding numeric equivalents only.

Admin state

Indicates the current admin state of this interface.

 

The values that this measure can report and their corresponding numeric values have been listed in the table below:

Measure Value Numeric Value
Enabled 1
Disabled 0

Note:

By default, this measure reports the above-mentioned Measure Values to indicate the current admin state of each interface. However, in the graph of this measure, the measure values will be represented using their corresponding numeric equivalents only.

Total virtual functions

Indicates the total number of virtual functions available on this interface.

Number

The ADC SDX appliance also provides SSL crypto hardware that can be shared across ADC VPX instances that are provisioned on the appliance. Crypto capacity is typically represented and allocated in units of SSL cores and chips. Crypto virtual interfaces - also known as Virtual Functions - represent the basic access of the SSL hardware. When the SSL hardware operates in cryptographic blocks, they can be used to form virtual functions.

Assigned virtual functions

Indicates the number of virtual functions assigned to this interface.

Number

You can assign up to seven virtual functions on a 1G interface and up to 40 virtual functions on a 10G interface.

Received packets

Indicates the rate at which this interface receives packets.

Packets/Sec

These are good indicators of the level of network activity on an interface.

You can compare the value of each of these measures across interfaces to identify the busiest / overloaded interface.

Transmitted packets

Indicates the rate at which this interface transmitted packets.

Packets/Sec

Data received

Indicates the rate at which this interface receives data.

MB/Sec

Data transmitted

Indicates the rate at which this interface transmitted data.

MB/Sec

Received errors

Indicates the rate at which errors occurred during data reception on this interface.

Errors/Sec

Ideally, the value of these measures should be 0.

Transmitted errors

Indicates the rate at which errors occurred during data transmission by this interface.

Errors/Sec