XenServer VM average NIC outbound traffic (consecutive samples)

Summary

The average write (outbound) traffic across all network cards on a virtual machine is high.

Configuration

The following configuration parameters are customizable:

• IntervalSeconds - The recurring interval of time in seconds in which to run the script (the default value is set to 300 seconds).

• NumberOfSamples - The number of event occurrences before monitor state changes will be triggered (the default value is set to 3).

• Threshold - The value that defines the warning threshold to be used in the comparison (the default value is set to 500 Mbps).

Causes

Applications running on the virtual machine may cause an intensive network write (outbound) activity.

Resolutions

Consider the following solutions to reduce the average write (outbound) traffic:

• Check whether the write traffic is high for longer periods of time. If yes, consider adding additional network cards to the virtual machine.

• Check whether the write traffic is high on individual or all virtual machine’s network cards. Consider better utilization of all virtual machine’s network cards.

• Check what applications are running on the virtual machine. Configure them to use all available network cards if possible.

Additional

High write (outbound) network traffic can be a result of a high write activity of applications running on the virtual machine.

External

For more information, see the “Citrix XenServer Administrator’s Guide”, the section on networking.