Overview

This event monitor measures network bandwidth by retrieving a file from another network device and measuring the time that it takes to complete the transfer. You'll need to have a target file on one or more network devices. The exact size of the file is not important as the event monitor will detect this automatically but to ensure accurate measurements, it is best to use a file that is at least 5 megabytes in size. It is also recommended to use a compressed file, such as a zip file, to avoid false readings due to automatic network compression techniques.

Use Cases

• Testing network file transfer performance

Monitoring Options

This event monitor provides the following options:

File

Enter one or more UNC paths to the file(s) that will be used for the bandwidth test. Instead of entering an actual device name use [devicename] as in the following example: \\[devicename]\c$\folder\file.txt

When the event monitor runs it will substitute [devicename] for each of the devices selected in the Network Devices section.

Alert with [Info/Warning/Error/Critical] if the device cannot be contacted

Use this option to alert if the event monitor cannot connect to the network device.

Alert if the minimum bandwidth per file is less than a specified value

Specify thresholds for warning, error, and critical levels.

Alert if the average bandwidth is less than a specified value

Use this option to alert based on the average bandwidth rate observed over the course of multiple tests. Use the following option to specify how many times each file will be downloaded.

Number of times to download the file

Specify the number of times the event monitor will download each file. Specifying a value greater than 1 will allow the event monitor to calculate average bandwidth rates and alert based on thresholds you select.

Authentication and Security

The account used for authentication must have permission to access the file and all its contents.

Protocols

Data Points

This event monitor generates the following data points:

Data Point	Description
Average Rate	The average bandwidth rate.
Minimum Download Rate	The average minimum download rate.

Sample Output

Tutorial

To view the tutorial for this event monitor, click here.