How to Work With and Create Link Utilization Reports

Link Utilization

The Link Utilization report shows you details of WAN connectivity over time, and helps you identify systems that are not configured or operating correctly. This report is best used for a small number of systems and is ideal for identifying connectivity issues that occur at specific times of day. The time range is divided into segments, each displaying periods of network connectivity state.

The report displays the following values:

• System Name
• Time Range
• Radio Modules
• Carrier Name
• Uptime Percentage
• Data Usage

This report applies only to systems running AirLink OS.

As mentioned above, the Link Utilization report is intended to identify systems that are problematic, based on the report parameters. Sierra Wireless recommends configuring this report to display only systems that are operating beneath your performance expectations. Ideally, a properly configured Link Utilization report will return only a few (but nevertheless important) results.

Conversely, you may also want to use the Link Utilization report to get a picture of your fleet (or, ideally, a subset of your fleet) under normal operating conditions, and establish a baseline. In that case, Sierra Wireless recommends configuring the report using the default report properties (for example, leaving Uptime %, Traffic greater than, and Shutdown Event Type filters at default).

Viewing a Link Utilization Report

The color key along the bottom of the report shows you the possible statuses.

You can change the display and perform other actions using the buttons along the top of the report.

• Expand All : Expands the view to show all WAN interfaces for the displayed systems. Click again to collapse the expanded view.
• Page : For reports with over 20 systems, use the Page buttons to view Link Utilization information for additional systems.
• Full Screen : Expands the report to the full width of the browser window
• Download PDF : Saves the current report view as a PDF.

Hover over any segment to view details.

Clicking a segment displays a page showing the events for that segment, and the location of the system.

Filtering Report Results

You can fine-tune your report results with the filters shown below.

Click to clear filters.

Creating a Link Utilization Report

To begin, from the Reporting dashboard, click the Create a New Report icon.

An empty report screen appears.

Select a Template

Choose how often you’d like this report to be run. Click:

• Single for a one-time report

• Weekly

• Monthly

• Yearly

Under Report Properties, you can complete the scheduling for your new report. The section below describes how to configure the time and the day on which you’d like your report to run.

To run a report immediately, click Run Report.

Define the Report Properties

The required fields for creating a valid report are Type, Name and Range.

Select the Report Type

Select Link Utilization from the Type menu.

Enter a Name and Description

Give your report a brief, descriptive name. You may want to use the AirLink gateway or router model or serial number.

Below the Name field, you can enter a longer report description. You may want to include the report’s schedule and reporting zone.

Select the Reporting Range

The Range menu lists the options for the reporting period. You can select a predefined Reporting Range, or configure a Custom range.

If scheduling a recurring report, select one of the relative date ranges (Yesterday or Last 7 Days, for example). Selecting an absolute range will generate the same results each time.

If you click Custom, a calendar appears, allowing you to select a start date/time and an end date/time for your report.

Select Recipient Email Addresses

Click the Recipient Emails field to select the people you would like to be notified when the report is run.

You can also manually enter email addresses in this field.

Select Which Interfaces to Include

Use this option to filter out inactive interfaces and run the report only for interfaces that have been passing traffic.

The default value is Yes. If you select No, the generated report will include all WAN interfaces available on a router. A report that includes all interfaces may be useful to identify and troubleshooting inactive interfaces on similarly configured gateways.

Select Uptime Percentage

Use this option to include interfaces that have an uptime less than the entered value. The uptime percentage is defined as time online against time powered up.

The default value is 95%. Select a lower value if tolerance of the stability of a certain interface is high. A lower value may help you identify and troubleshoot unstable WAN interfaces.

Select Traffic Size

Use this option to filter out interfaces that have passed less traffic than the entered value.

The default value is 50 MB. If the value is 0, all WAN interfaces will be included in the report. A higher value may help you identify WAN interfaces that have consumed an unexpected amount of data during the report period.

Select Shutdown Event Type

Filter the report based on the following shutdown event types:

• All (default value)
• Clean Shutdown
• Unclean Shutdown

A “Clean Shutdown” event is when a router shuts down as expected. An “Unclean Shutdown” event is when a router shuts down unexpectedly. When “Clean Shutdown” is selected, Shutdown Events in the report will include only “Clean Shutdown” events. When “Unclean Shutdown” is selected, Shutdown Events in the report will include only unexpected shutdown events.

Select the Systems

Select the systems for which you want to run your new report. Select checkboxes for the desired system(s), or filter the list to narrow down your choices. You do not need to use the checkboxes to select specific systems. Selecting the checkboxes will override general filters.

Select Advanced Settings: Start and End Dates

The Advanced settings are strictly optional. If you enable these settings, you may want to set a reminder (external to ALMS) to notify yourself of the start and end dates.

Click the Advanced button to display options for selecting start and end dates for your reports. For example, you can configure a weekly report to run for two months starting one week from today.

Clicking Start Time or Run Until displays a calendar on which you can define a start date/time and end date/time.