HP proCurve User Manual page 90

Monitoring Network Traffic
Using Traffic Monitor
9-2
Figure 9-1. Traffic Monitor Main Page
The five statistical attributes sampled by Traffic Monitor are:
Utilization%: Represents the traffic on the selected network or segment as
a percentage of a segment's bandwidth (based on the theoretical maximum
for the type of connection) which is currently being utilized. Monitoring the
utilization gives a measure of how much of the network capacity is being used
on a particular segment. For example, if you are examining a 10 Mbps or a 100
Mbps segment, utilization can tell you how much of the 10 Mbps or 100 Mbps
segment's bandwidth (in percentage such as 20%, 35%, 50%, etc.) is being used
by the devices on the segment.
Frames/sec: Represents the number of frames per second being transmitted
over the network or segment. Each protocol (such as Ethernet, IP, IPX, etc.)
has a different frame or packet specification.
Broadcasts/sec: Represents the number of broadcast packets being
transmitted over the network or segment per second. Broadcast packets are
addressed to, and must be processed by, all nodes on the network. This
indicator gives an estimation of the amount of bulk communications taking
place over the network. In general, this type of activity should be kept to a
minimum as point-to-point messages use bandwidth much more efficiently.