It really depends on what you are looking for. You can go into the switch and use a "show interface" command to see statistics on that port since it was last reset. Assuming that the port counters were all reset at the same time, you could look at the input/output counters on all the ports to see which one is the "busiest". You can also see the amount of traffic over the last 5 minutes, but there is no other historical data kept long term on the switch. What MRTG does is polls the switch via SNMP at some interval and gives you long term graphs. This is the better way to get good information and it is true that it would require some configuration--SNMP would have to be enabled on the switch, and MRTG would have to be configured to monitor the relevant ports. Of course, you would have to wait some interval to collect enough data to have meaningful results. How hard/easy it is to configure MRTG to do this is directly related to the person's level of comfort with MRTG; enabling SNMP on a switch is trivial. Bill Mayo
________________________________ From: David Lum [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Tuesday, May 05, 2009 11:09 AM To: NT System Admin Issues Subject: Cisco Catalyst 2950 / 3550 info How hard is it to get a report on traffic for each port on Cisco 2950's and3550's? I know our network guy uses MRTG for some things, but I'm getting resistance to asking him to tell me which port is generating the most traffic. The current response is "there needs to be a config change to get that data". I have experience with Dell managed switches (PowerConnect 5324 and the like) and it's a simple matter to find which port has passed (is passing) the most traffic, so I am skeptical about the amount of effort required on a Cisco switch to achieve the same thing... David Lum // SYSTEMS ENGINEER NORTHWEST EVALUATION ASSOCIATION (Desk) 971.222.1025 // (Cell) 503.267.9764 ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~
