Documentation forSolarWinds

SNMP Realtime Graph tool

The SNMP Realtime Graph tool in ETS for the Desktop provides real-time data collection and graphing, allowing you to graph data from any management information base (MIB). By selecting the device and the OID (object ID) you want, you can monitor a number of parameters, including:

  • Traffic
  • CPU processor load
  • Voltage on a power plant
  • Unique user per web server
  • Temperature
  • VoIP Traffic

If you can access a device using SNMP, the SNMP Realtime Graph tool graphically monitors and views the statistics of that OID. The monitored SNMP OID can be from a standard MIB or a proprietary vendor MIB.

Open the SNMP Realtime Graph

  • To launch the tool from the Toolset Launch Pad, locate the SNMP Realtime Graph tool and click Launch.

  • You can add the tool to a tab in the Workspace Studio, and access it from there.

  • To launch the tool from the Windows Start menu:

    1. Click Start > All > SolarWinds Engineer's Toolset.

    2. Right-click SNMP Real-Time Graph, click More, and click Run as administrator.

Graph OID values

SNMP Realtime Graph is hardware independent and capable of graphically displaying statistics from any device that supports SNMP and has a valid MIB OID. This tool uses the extensive MIB database of thousands of standard and vendor MIBs, but can also monitor SNMP variables that are not in the SolarWinds MIB database.

  1. Click in the upper-right corner, and select Gadget Settings.

    The Configure SNMP Realtime Graph window opens.

  2. To specify a title and subtitle for the graph, click the Set Monitor Title tab, enter the values, and click Next.

  3. On the Select Devices tab, select an existing device or add a new device.

    If you select an existing device, you can use the Group by or Filtering menus above the device list to help you locate the device.

    Then click Next to open the Select OID Items tab.

  4. Specify the OID items by doing one of the following:

    • To manually enter the item, click Enter OID. Then in the text box, either:

      • Enter the name of the MIB, for example, RFC1213-MIB:ifInOctets.

      • Enter the OID of the MIB to monitor, for example, 1.3.5.1.2.1.2.2.1.10.

    • To select an item:

      1. Click Select OIDs for this host.

      2. Select a MIB from the tree.

      3. Optionally, specify the Units and calculations.

      4. If more than one index is found, select the indexes you want to graph and click OK.

      5. Select the OID items and click Next.

  5. On the Chart Data Retention tab, specify how you want to limit the number of data points on the chart (either by time or by volume). Click Next.

  6. On the General Settings tab, specify the polling interval, appearance, plotting method, and counter rollover method for the graph.

  7. Click Finish, and then wait as the tool establishes a baseline. This can take up to a minute.

  • Monitored OID elements are displayed in a table below the graph, while the real time results are displayed in the graph. If different types of data were selected, multiple axes will be displayed on the left.

  • SNMP Graph can monitor dissimilar data at the same time on a single chart. For example, you can monitor router CPU processor load in percent utilization on the same chart as traffic in bits per second. You can also monitor the number of unique users on a web server at the same time you monitor total traffic downloaded or response time.

About Counter Rollover methods

Depending on the monitored device and OID, statistical information can be derived from 32-bit counters. These counters offer a maximum value of 2 to the 32nd power (4,294,967,296). You can decide how SNMP Realtime Graph compensates when a 32-bit counter reaches maximum capacity and rolls over to zero.

  • Method 1 is the more advanced method. It produces skewed numbers when manual counter resets occur, detects a counter rollover, and uses the following calculation to correct for the rollover to zero:

    currentValue + (maximumCounterValue - lastCounterValue)

    If manual counter resets are rare, this method produces the most accurate results.

  • Method 2 (the default method) detects a counter rollover and ignores the zero value. Instead, a new sample is scheduled in 20 seconds. This method can cause slightly skewed total bytes transferred numbers.

Modify polling settings

Polling interval settings help you ensure you receive the information you need, even when connected over less than optimal conditions. You can increase the polling interval when conditions are poor and decrease the interval during optimal bandwidth conditions. You can also change the appearance of the graph.

  1. With the graph open, click in the upper-right corner, and select Gadget Settings.

    The Configure SNMP Realtime Graph window opens.

  2. Click the General Settings tab, and then adjust the polling interval, appearance, plotting method, and counter rollover method for the graph.

  3. To change the title or subtitle for the graph, click the Set Monitor Title tab, and enter the values.

  4. Click Finish.

Change or rearrange columns in the OID table

Below the graph created when monitoring an OID, SNMP Realtime Graph displays a chart of the current element statistics. You can modify the real time data shown in this table.

  • To add or remove columns:

    1. Right-click any column heading.

    2. In the list of possible columns, select the columns you want to add and clear the columns you want to remove.

  • To rearrange columns, drag a column heading and drop it in the desired location.

Customize an OID

You can customize the OID, updating units, calculations, and the background color.

  1. In the table below the chart, click the pencil icon in the left column of the OID's row.

  2. Specify the changes you want to make.

    The Units field accepts functions. For example, the ifOutOctets.1 OID collects data in octets, but you can display the results in bps by entering the formula bits=*8 in the Units field. This calculation takes the OID data in octets and multiplies it by 8 to show data in bits per second. To view the results in nibbles, change the formula to nibbles=*2, as one octet equals two nibbles.

  3. Click OK.

Export, copy, and print SNMP graph data

You can export chart data to a variety of formats. You can also print the graph image.

To export chart data:

  1. Click in the upper-right corner, and select Export Chart Data.

  2. Select the rows and columns you want to export.

  3. Select the export format, and click OK.

  4. Specify a file name and location for the exported data, and click Save.

To copy graphs, click Edit > Copy as Bitmap or Edit > Copy as Windows MetaFile.

To copy raw data, click Edit > Copy Raw Data.

To print graphs, click File > Print.

Zoom Panel

Drag the handles in the Zoom Panel to the right or left to increase or decrease the time periods shown. Drag the slider bar at the bottom of the Zoom Panel to advance forward or backward in time on the chart.