METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MEASUREMENT OF PEAK THROUGHPUT IN PACKETIZED DATA NETWORKS

A system for measuring peak throughput in packetized data networks includes a remote monitoring probe (12) and console (16). The probe (12) is connected to the network to monitor network activity, while the console is in communication with the probe via the network or other communications medium. The probe maintains a plurality of counters associated with different ranges of percentage of utilization of network bandwidth. For each sampling interval, the probe measures the network and individual network circuit bandwidth utilization and increments the appropriate counters associated with the percentage ranges encompassing the measured bandwidth utilizations. The console polls the probe for the percentage counter data to display the network bandwidth utilization in the form of a bar graph and pie chart. The network bandwidth may then be adjusted based on the displayed data.