The Top Protocols dashboard report displays the transport Layer 4 protocols (e.g., TCP, UDP, ICMP) used the most. This data is useful in determining what protocol is used the most on a network during a specified time period.

Note: This report only displays layer 4 networking protocols. Other traffic that is commonly referred to as a protocol, such as HTTP, FTP, or IMAP, is displayed on the Top Applications dashboard report.

You can choose to display sender traffic by bytes, packets, or flows using the report settings dialog. Providing alternate sorting methods allows you to monitor and identify hosts that are the largest consumers of interface resources other than bandwidth.

  • Protocol. Displays the protocol name.
  • Bytes. Displays the total number of bytes transmitted for the specific item in the report category for the selected date range.
  • Bit Rate. Displays the average bit rate in multiples of the selected unit (e.g., Kbps, Mbps, or Gbps) for the specific item in the report category for the selected date range.
  • Byte Percentage. Displays the percentage of the total traffic for the specific item in the report category for the selected date range.

To display Flow and Packet measurements, click a column heading ( ) for column selection list ( ). You can also include:

  • Packets. Percentage of the total traffic.
  • Packet Rate. Average packet rate.
  • Packet Percentage. Percent of packets for this category.
  • Flows. Total number of flow messages.
  • Flow Rate. Rate at which WhatsUp Gold receives measurements observed at the device.
  • Flow Percentage. Percentage of total measurement for samples received.
  • Utilization. Fraction of interface capacity needed for application traffic.