Monitoring Network Bridge Performance

IPNetwork Monitor enables you to test and track the performance metrics of network bridges. A built-in MIB browser allows you to choose which parameters to monitor, providing access to all variables supported by the bridge, along with their current values and descriptions from the MIBs.

A network bridge is a networking device that combines multiple communication networks or network devices into a single, aggregated network. Bridges selectively forward only the packets intended for devices on the other side, preventing unnecessary packet forwarding among the bridged devices. In essence, when a bridge receives a packet destined for a device on the other side, only the relevant devices receive it.

Network bridges are frequently employed when configuring virtual machine environments. This simplifies network management by connecting the host’s physical network interface with a “virtual” (internal) network interface used by the VMs, without requiring reconfiguration of the host interface.

Acting as repeaters, network bridges can unite several physically or logically separate networks into a unified network. Various devices, including DSL modems and standard network switches, can function as network bridges. Internally, the joined networks operate as a single intranet, allowing direct access to all devices without complex routing configurations.

Network bridges effectively close the gaps between isolated networks.

Common Scenarios for Network Bridge Monitoring

  • Maintain seamless connectivity, including for VLANs and virtual machine internal networks.
  • Evaluate traffic speeds across bridges to identify and mitigate potential bottlenecks and traffic restrictions.

MIBs for Network Bridge SNMP Monitoring

The following MIBs are used for bridge SNMP monitoring:
  • ARROWPOINT-BRIDGEEXT-MIB: This MIB describes ArrowPoint Communications logging functionality.
  • BRIDGE-MIB: This MIB defines managed objects for devices adhering to the IEEE 802.1 MAC-layer bridge standards.
  • CISCO-RSRB-MIB: This MIB manages objects for Remote Source Route Bridging (RSRB), allowing management stations to view attributes of local-remote RSRB peer relationships.
  • CISCO-VLAN-BRIDGING-MIB: This MIB optimizes access to bridging data from RFC 1493, modeling portions of it and adding VLAN ID indexing and bitmapped encoding.
  • LANOPTICS-BRIDGE-OPTION-MIB: MIB II Extension Definitions for the Bridge Manager Option.
  • P-BRIDGE-MIB: The Bridge MIB Extension for managing Priority and Multicast Filtering, as defined by IEEE 802.1D-1998.
  • PPP-BRIDGE-NCP-MIB: The Point to Point Protocol (PPP) Bridge NCP Management Information Base module.
  • Q-BRIDGE-MIB: The VLAN Bridge MIB for managing Virtual Bridged Local Area Networks, defined by IEEE 802.1Q-1998.
Begin monitoring your Bridge SNMP with a free 30-day trial of IPNetwork Monitor. IPNetwork SNMP monitor allows you to monitor network performance, track network usage, identify network problems, and detect unauthorized access. IPNetwork’s SNMP monitor can interact with any SNMP-enabled device. [interfaces_screenshot]

IPNetwork Monitor 1.0 build 141 of March 11, 2024. File size: 112MB