March 15, 2000
Shining the Lights on Broadcast Storms
Switched networks are notorious for broadcast storms. To spot broadcast storms without using an analyzer, step back from your switch and concentrate on the data lights. If all of the lights flash at the same time and the frequency occurs at regular intervals, you may be experiencing broadcast storms.
To prove this theory, connect a protocol analyzer to an unused port and examine the number of packets per second. Unless the switch is segmented into separate VLANs, every port will be a member of same broadcast domain. The packet counter on the analyzer will be counting broadcasts and multicasts, which may lead you to investigate other devices on your network. It also demonstrates how a free status light on your switch can be almost as powerful as your expensive network analyzer!
Posted by james_messer at March 15, 2000 11:22 AM
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