Monitoring Traffic

This chapter includes the following sections:

Traffic Monitoring

Traffic monitoring copies traffic from one or more sources and sends the copied traffic to a dedicated destination port for analysis by a network analyzer. This feature is also known as Switched Port Analyzer (SPAN).

Type of Session

When you create a traffic monitoring session, you can choose either an Ethernet or Fibre Channel destination port to receive the traffic. The type of destination port determines the type of session, which in turn determines the types of available traffic sources. For an Ethernet traffic monitoring session, the destination port must be an unconfigured physical port. For a Fibre Channel traffic monitoring session, the destination port must be a Fibre Channel uplink port.

Traffic Sources

An Ethernet traffic monitoring session can monitor any of the following traffic sources:

  • Uplink Ethernet port
  • Ethernet port channel
  • VLAN
  • Service profile vNIC
  • Service profile vHBA
  • FCoE port
  • Port channels
  • Server port

A Fibre Channel traffic monitoring session can monitor any of the following traffic sources:

  • Uplink Fibre Channel port
  • SAN port channel
  • VSAN
  • Service profile vHBA
  • Fibre Channel storage port

Guidelines and Recommendations for Traffic Monitoring

When configuring or activating traffic monitoring, consider the following guidelines:
  • You can create and store up to 16 traffic monitoring sessions, but only two can be active at the same time.
  • A traffic monitoring session is disabled by default when created. To begin monitoring traffic, you must activate the session.
  • To monitor traffic from a server, add all vNICs from the service profile corresponding to the server.
  • To monitor traffic from a VM, you must first determine the identity of the dynamic vNIC assigned to the VM. Follow the procedure in to find the vNIC and view its identity properties, then add the vNIC as a source for the monitoring session. If you later move the VM using VMotion, a new dynamic vNIC is assigned and you must reconfigure the monitoring source. Viewing Dynamic vNIC Properties in a VM
  • You can monitor Fibre Channel traffic using either a Fibre Channel traffic analyzer or an Ethernet traffic analyzer. When Fibre Channel traffic is monitored using an Ethernet traffic monitoring session, with an Ethernet destination port, the destination traffic will be FCoE.
  • Because a traffic monitoring destination is a single physical port, a traffic monitoring session can monitor only a single fabric. To monitor uninterrupted vNIC traffic across a fabric failover, you must create two sessions—one per fabric—and connect two analyzers. Add the vNIC as the traffic source for both sessions.
  • All traffic sources must be located within the same switch as the destination port.
  • A port configured as a destination port cannot also be configured as a source port.
  • A member port of a port channel cannot be configured individually as a source. If the port channel is configured as a source, all member ports are source ports.
  • A vHBA can be a source for either an Ethernet or Fibre Channel monitoring session, but it cannot be a source for both simultaneously.
  • A server port can be a source only if it is a non-virtualized rack server adapter-facing port.
  • Traffic monitoring can impose a significant load on your system resources. To minimize the load, select sources that carry as little unwanted traffic as possible and disable traffic monitoring when it is not needed.

Creating a Traffic Monitoring Session


Note
This procedure describes creating an Ethernet traffic monitoring session. To create a Fibre Channel traffic monitoring session, the following changes are required:
  • Enter the scope fc-traffic-mon command instead of the scope eth-traffic-mon command in Step 1.
  • Enter the create fc-mon-session command instead of the create eth-mon-session command in Step 3.
Procedure
      Command or Action Purpose
    Step 1 UCS-A# scope eth-traffic-mon  

    Enters Ethernet traffic monitoring command mode.

     
    Step 2 UCS-A /eth-traffic-mon # scope fabric {a | b}  

    Enters traffic monitoring command mode for the specified fabric.

     
    Step 3 UCS-A /eth-traffic-mon/fabric # create eth-mon-session session-name  

    Creates a traffic monitoring session with the specified name.

     
    Step 4 UCS-A /eth-traffic-mon/fabric/eth-mon-session # create dest-interface slot-num port-num  

    Configures the interface at the specified slot and port number to be the destination for the traffic monitoring session. Enters the command mode for the interface.

     
    Step 5 UCS-A /eth-traffic-mon/fabric/eth-mon-session/dest-interface # commit-buffer  

    Commits the transaction to the system configuration.

     

    The following example creates an Ethernet traffic monitoring session to copy and forward traffic to the destination port at slot 2, port 12, and commits the transaction:

    UCS-A# scope eth-traffic-mon
UCS-A /eth-traffic-mon # scope fabric a
UCS-A /eth-traffic-mon/fabric # create eth-mon-session Monitor33
UCS-A /eth-traffic-mon/fabric/eth-mon-session* # create dest-interface 2 12
UCS-A /eth-traffic-mon/fabric/eth-mon-session/dest-interface* # commit-buffer
UCS-A /eth-traffic-mon/fabric/eth-mon-session/dest-interface #
    What to Do Next

    • Add traffic sources to the traffic monitoring session.
    • Activate the traffic monitoring session.

    Adding Traffic Sources to the Monitoring Session

    Adding an Uplink Source Port to a Monitoring Session


    Note

    This procedure describes adding an Ethernet uplink port as a source for a traffic monitoring session. To add a Fibre Channel uplink port as a source, enter the scope fc-uplink command instead of the scope eth-uplink command in Step 1.
    Before You Begin

    A traffic monitoring session must be created.

    Procedure
        Command or Action Purpose
      Step 1 UCS-A# scope eth-uplink  

      Enters Ethernet uplink command mode.

       
      Step 2 UCS-A /eth-uplink # scope fabric {a | b}  

      Enters uplink fabric mode for the specified fabric.

       
      Step 3 UCS-A /eth-uplink/fabric # scope interface slot-num port-num  

      Enters the interface command mode for the specified uplink port.

       
      Step 4 UCS-A /eth-uplink/fabric/interface # create mon-src session-name  

      Adds the uplink port as a source to the specified monitoring session.

       
      Step 5 UCS-A /eth-uplink/fabric/interface/mon-src # set direction {both | receive | transmit}   (Optional)

      Specifies the traffic direction to be monitored.

       
      Step 6 UCS-A /eth-uplink/fabric/interface/mon-src # commit-buffer  

      Commits the transaction to the system configuration.

       

      The following example adds the ingress traffic on Ethernet uplink port 3 on slot 2 of fabric A as a source for a monitoring session and commits the transaction: 

      UCS-A# scope eth-uplink
UCS-A /eth-uplink # scope fabric a
UCS-A /eth-uplink/fabric # scope interface 2 3
UCS-A /eth-uplink/fabric/interface # create mon-src Monitor23
UCS-A /eth-uplink/fabric/interface/mon-src* # set direction receive
UCS-A /eth-uplink/fabric/interface/mon-src* # commit-buffer
UCS-A /eth-uplink/fabric/interface/mon-src #
      What to Do Next

      You can add additional sources to the traffic monitoring session.

      Adding a vNIC or vHBA Source to a Monitoring Session


      Note

      This procedure describes adding a vNIC as a source for a traffic monitoring session. To add a vHBA as a source, enter the scope vhba command instead of the scope vnic command in Step 2.
      Before You Begin

      A traffic monitoring session must be created.

      Procedure
          Command or Action Purpose
        Step 1 UCS-A# scope service-profile org org-name profile-name  

        Enters organization service profile mode for the specified organization and service profile.

         
        Step 2 UCS-A /org/service-profile # scope vnic vnic-name  

        Enters the command mode for the specified vNIC.

         
        Step 3 UCS-A /org/service-profile/vnic # create mon-src session-name  

        Adds the vNIC as a source to the specified monitoring session.

         
        Step 4 UCS-A /org/service-profile/vnic/mon-src # set direction {both | receive | transmit}   (Optional)

        Specifies the traffic direction to be monitored.

         
        Step 5 UCS-A /org/service-profile/vnic/mon-src # commit-buffer  

        Commits the transaction to the system configuration.

         

        The following example adds the ingress traffic on a dynamic vNIC as a source for a monitoring session and commits the transaction: 

        UCS-A# scope service-profile org / sp1
UCS-A /org/service-profile # scope vnic ether-dynamic-prot-009
UCS-A /org/service-profile/vnic # create mon-src Monitor23
UCS-A /org/service-profile/vnic/mon-src* # set direction receive
UCS-A /org/service-profile/vnic/mon-src* # commit-buffer
UCS-A /org/service-profile/vnic/mon-src #
        What to Do Next

        You can add additional sources to the traffic monitoring session.

        Adding a VLAN or VSAN Source to a Monitoring Session


        Note
        This procedure describes adding a VLAN as a source for a traffic monitoring session. To add a VSAN as a source, the following changes are required:
        • Enter the scope fc-uplink command instead of the scope eth-uplink command in Step 1.
        • Enter the create vsan command instead of the create vlan command in Step 3.
        Before You Begin

        A traffic monitoring session must be created.

        Procedure
            Command or Action Purpose
          Step 1 UCS-A# scope eth-uplink  

          Enters Ethernet uplink command mode.

           
          Step 2 UCS-A /eth-uplink # scope fabric {a | b}  

          Enters uplink fabric mode for the specified fabric.

          Note    This step is required when adding a local VLAN as a source. To add a global VLAN as a source, omit this step.
           
          Step 3 UCS-A /eth-uplink/fabric # create vlan vlan-name vlan-id  

          Creates a named VLAN, specifies the VLAN name and VLAN ID, and enters uplink VLAN mode.

           
          Step 4 UCS-A /eth-uplink/fabric/vlan # create mon-src session-name  

          Adds the VLAN as a source to the specified monitoring session.

           
          Step 5 UCS-A /eth-uplink/fabric/vlan/mon-src # commit-buffer  

          Commits the transaction to the system configuration.

           

          The following example adds a local VLAN as a source for an Ethernet monitoring session and commits the transaction: 

          UCS-A# scope eth-uplink
UCS-A /eth-uplink # scope fabric a
UCS-A /eth-uplink/fabric # create vlan vlan23 23
UCS-A /eth-uplink/fabric/vlan # create mon-src Monitor23
UCS-A /eth-uplink/fabric/vlan/mon-src* # commit-buffer
UCS-A /eth-uplink/fabric/vlan/mon-src #
          What to Do Next

          You can add additional sources to the traffic monitoring session.

          Adding a Storage Port Source to a Monitoring Session


          Note

          This procedure describes adding a Fibre Channel storage port as a source for a Fibre Channel traffic monitoring session. To add an FCoE storage port as a source for an Ethernet traffic monitoring session, enter the create interface fcoe command instead of the create interface fc command in Step 3.
          Before You Begin

          A traffic monitoring session must be created.

          Procedure
              Command or Action Purpose
            Step 1 UCS-A# scope fc-storage  

            Enters Fibre Channel storage port command mode.

             
            Step 2 UCS-A /fc-storage # scope fabric {a | b}  

            Enters Fibre Channel storage port fabric mode for the specified fabric.

             
            Step 3 UCS-A /fc-storage/fabric # create interface fc slot-num port-num  

            Creates a Fibre Channel storage port interface and enters the interface command mode.

             
            Step 4 UCS-A /fc-storage/fabric/fc # create mon-src session-name  

            Adds the storage port as a source to the specified monitoring session.

             
            Step 5 UCS-A /fc-storage/fabric/fc/mon-src # commit-buffer  

            Commits the transaction to the system configuration.

             

            The following example adds a Fibre Channel storage port on port 3 of slot 2 as a source for a Fibre Channel monitoring session and commits the transaction: 

            UCS-A# scope fc-storage
UCS-A /fc-storage # scope fabric a
UCS-A /fc-storage/fabric # create interface fc 2 3
UCS-A /fc-storage/fabric/fc* # create mon-src Monitor23
UCS-A /fc-storage/fabric/fc/mon-src* # commit-buffer
UCS-A /fc-storage/fabric/fc/mon-src #
            What to Do Next

            You can add additional sources to the traffic monitoring session.

            Activating a Traffic Monitoring Session


            Note
            This procedure describes activating an Ethernet traffic monitoring session. To activate a Fibre Channel traffic monitoring session, the following changes are required:
            • Enter the scope fc-traffic-mon command instead of the scope eth-traffic-mon command in Step 1.
            • Enter the scope fc-mon-session command instead of the scope eth-mon-session command in Step 3.
            Before You Begin

            Configure a traffic monitoring session.

            Procedure
                Command or Action Purpose
              Step 1 UCS-A# scope eth-traffic-mon  

              Enters Ethernet traffic monitoring command mode.

               
              Step 2 UCS-A /eth-traffic-mon # scope fabric {a | b}  

              Enters traffic monitoring command mode for the specified fabric.

               
              Step 3 UCS-A /eth-traffic-mon/fabric # scope eth-mon-session session-name  

              Enters the command mode of the traffic monitoring session with the specified name.

               
              Step 4 UCS-A /eth-traffic-mon/fabric/eth-mon-session # disable | enable  

              Disables or enables the traffic monitoring session.

               
              Step 5 UCS-A /eth-traffic-mon/fabric/eth-mon-session # commit-buffer  

              Commits the transaction to the system configuration.

               

              When activated, the traffic monitoring session begins forwarding traffic to the destination as soon as a traffic source is configured.

              The following example activates an Ethernet traffic monitoring session and commits the transaction:

              UCS-A# scope eth-traffic-mon
UCS-A /eth-traffic-mon # scope fabric a
UCS-A /eth-traffic-mon/fabric # scope eth-mon-session Monitor33
UCS-A /eth-traffic-mon/fabric/eth-mon-session # enable
UCS-A /eth-traffic-mon/fabric/eth-mon-session* # commit-buffer
UCS-A /eth-traffic-mon/fabric/eth-mon-session # show

Ether Traffic Monitoring Session:
    Name       Admin State       Oper State   Oper State Reason
    ---------- ----------------- ------------ -----------------
    Monitor33  Enabled           Up           Active

UCS-A /eth-traffic-mon/fabric/eth-mon-session #

              Deleting a Traffic Monitoring Session


              Note
              This procedure describes deleting an Ethernet traffic monitoring session. To delete a Fibre Channel traffic monitoring session, the following changes are required:
              • Enter the scope fc-traffic-mon command instead of the scope eth-traffic-mon command in Step 1.
              • Enter the delete fc-mon-session command instead of the delete eth-mon-session command in Step 3.
              Procedure
                  Command or Action Purpose
                Step 1 UCS-A# scope eth-traffic-mon  

                Enters Ethernet traffic monitoring command mode.

                 
                Step 2 UCS-A /eth-traffic-mon # scope fabric {a | b}  

                Enters traffic monitoring command mode for the specified fabric.

                 
                Step 3 UCS-A /eth-traffic-mon/fabric # delete eth-mon-session session-name  

                Deletes the traffic monitoring session with the specified name.

                 
                Step 4 UCS-A /eth-traffic-mon/fabric # commit-buffer  

                Commits the transaction to the system configuration.

                 

                The following example deletes an Ethernet traffic monitoring session and commits the transaction:

                UCS-A# scope eth-traffic-mon
UCS-A /eth-traffic-mon # scope fabric a
UCS-A /eth-traffic-mon/fabric # delete eth-mon-session Monitor33
UCS-A /eth-traffic-mon/fabric* # commit-buffer
UCS-A /eth-traffic-mon/fabric #