Description: The best estimate of the total number of collisions on this Ethernet segment during this sampling interval.

The value returned will depend on the location of the RMON probe. Section 8.2.1.3 (10BASE-5) and section 10.3.1.3 (10BASE-2) of IEEE standard 802.3 states that a station must detect a collision, in the receive mode, if three or more stations are transmitting simultaneously. A repeater port must detect a collision when two or more stations are transmitting simultaneously. Thus a probe placed on a repeater port could record more collisions than a probe connected to a station on the same segment would.

Probe location plays a much smaller role when considering 10BASE-T. 14.2.1.4 (10BASE-T) of IEEE standard 802.3 defines a collision as the simultaneous presence of signals on the DO and RD circuits (transmitting and receiving at the same time). A 10BASE-T station can only detect collisions when it is transmitting. Thus probes placed on a station and a repeater, should report the same number of collisions.

Note also that an RMON probe inside a repeater should ideally report collisions between the repeater and one or more other hosts (transmit collisions as defined by IEEE 802.3k) plus receiver collisions observed on any coax segments to which the repeater is connected.