Overview
The Traffic Analyzer is an excellent tool for analyzing your CDN traffic. A number of detailed charts are included to help you analyze different aspects of delivery, and filters can be applied to filter based on Region, Traffic Segments (account level and specific Sites), and timeframe.
By default when entering the Traffic Analyzer area of the Analytics section, you will be presented with 6 charts representing the HTTP traffic for your account and subaccounts.
These Charts include the core metrics of Bandwidth, Requests, End-User Transfer, Completion ratio, Total GB delivered, and Average response size for your HTTP traffic. You have the flexibility to select other detailed charts, filter for any timeframe desired up to 24 months back, and filter based on your account, subaccounts, Sites, and regions of delivery.
Using the Traffic Analyzer
Within the Traffic Analyzer, up to four different traffic segments can be defined that will allow you to compare different delivery segments (account, subaccount, or Sites) all on the same chart. Once you have made the modifications desired, clicking the Apply button will render the selected graphs.
Any of the charts displayed can be promoted to the top by clicking on the chart.
Comparing Charts
Comparisons can also be made with your data, as you have the option to easily compare one chart to another using the Compare to Selection box.
Common uses may be comparing the amount of HTTP delivery vs HTTPS delivery, comparing one Site's amount of delivery to another, comparing HTTP traffic delivered with HTTP ingest from origin, or comparing HTTP Traffic delivered in GB with HTTP Requests per Second. The numerous options available provide you great flexibility in analyzing your traffic.
Interval Time Period
With the Traffic Analyzer, you also have the option to modify the way the data is displayed, charting the data in 5 minute samples, Hourly, Daily, or Monthly depending on the timeframe specified. This is accomplished by selecting the respective tab in the top level chart.
Detailed Data
Hovering your mouse over the Top level chart will reveal individual data point aggregations based on the sample size selected and the graph metrics. For example, if your filter is showing data for the last 24 hours, graph intervals can be aggregated into 5 minute samples or 1 hour samples. Hovering over a graph for Bandwidth will show the maximum and minimum bandwidth used for that 5 minute or 1 hours interval.
Exporting Data
This Top level chart can be exported, and is downloadable in formats of png, jpeg, SVG vector image, pdf, and CSV file. The CSV file is easily imported into Microsoft Excel for further analysis.
Generating Monthly Reports
Excellent analysis can be performed with the Traffic Analyzer Area, however additional Monthly Reports can be generated in the Accounts area of StrikeTracker, Please refer to the Accounts Section of the user's guide for information on generating your Monthly reports.
Filter Timeframe
By default the Traffic Analyzer will display the last 24 hours of traffic, but other timeframes are available. By clicking the timeframe bar in the Traffic Analyzer, you can modify this selection to any timeframe. Predefined selections are available for quick analysis, and custom date and time ranges may also be selected to provide greater flexibility. 24 months worth of data is stored for your analysis, so you can review your traffic over the last 24 months. In addition to the custom timeframe, predefined timeframes of 24hours, 48hours, 7days, 15days, 30days, 45days, 12Months, This Month, and Last Month are included for quick review.
Segments
By default one segment is created for analysis that will show your HTTP traffic for your account over the last 24 hours for all Regions. By clicking on a Segment, options can be modified to change the data presented. Areas to modify include Traffic Segments, Chart Types, and Regional Filters. Clicking on a Segment Name will expand or collapse the options available for analysis. Each Segment defined will have a different color applied when charted in the graph, allowing for ease in comparison.
Traffic Segments
Up to 4 different Traffic Segments can be defined, with each of these traffic segments sharing the same Chart Types and Regional Filters defined. Each of these segments defined will have a color associated with the segment for ease in differentiating the traffic in the graph. When defining the Traffic Segment, your main account or subaccount can be selected, which will then propagate the drop down menu choice for the Sites in that account. The traffic segment can include all Sites and subaccounts of the selected account, or individual Sites. The charts rendered will include the data points for all 4 traffic segments, color coded by segment. For example, one traffic segment can be defined for your main account, and 3 other segments can be defined for your top 3 Sites. This allows for easy comparison of traffic patterns for your account and top Sites.
Regional Filters
Regional Filters can be added to filter data for specific regions. Regions include North America/Europe, South America, Asia, and Oceania. Each Region Section can be expanded to allow for additional granularity of the filter by enabling or disabling individual geographic locations.
The Regional Filters selected will apply to all traffic segments charted.
Chart Types
Charts are included for the following, and the overall Chart Type can be selected which will select all charts for that type, or the Chart Types can be expanded exposing subcharts within a Chart type that can be enabled or disabled.
HTTP Charts
A group of charts specific to your HTTP traffic. Each individual chart can be enabled and the details of each charts is described below.
HTTPS Charts
A group of charts specific to your HTTPS traffic. Each individual chart can be enabled and the details of each charts is described below.
Sub-Charts for HTTP and HTTPS Charts
HTTP(S) Bandwidth
HTTP(S) traffic is charted showing the bandwidth for the selected time period in Megabits per second. Hovering over the chart will display the maximum Mbps, minimum Mbps, and the date/time interval.
HTTP(S) Requests
HTTP(S) traffic is charted showing the requests (hits) per second (RPS) made to the CDN for the selected time period. Hovering over the chart will display the maximum RPS, minimum RPS, and the date/time interval.
HTTP(S) Completion Ratio
Completion Ratio for your HTTP(S) traffic is charted showing the % completion. Hovering over the chart will display the completion percentage and the date/time interval. If less than 100% completion is shown, in most cases this is due to and end user electively aborting the download, or downloading only partial content.
HTTP(S) Total Gigabytes Delivered
HTTP(S) traffic is charted showing the content delivered for the selected time period in Gigabytes. Hovering over the chart will display the total GB delivered for that date/time interval.
HTTP(S) End-User Transfer Rate
HTTP(S) traffic is charted showing the average hit transfer rate for the selected time period in Kbps/Mbps. Hovering over the chart will display the average Mbps rate for that date/time interval. Data is not aggregated per "end-user" or IP address, therefore each hit is unique for the calculations. A large number of end-users hitting your content with slow internet connection speeds can skew the data and make the Mbps rate appear low even through the CDN can deliver at much greater speeds.
Transfer HTTP(S) Average Response size
HTTP(S) traffic is charted showing the average response size for the content delivered for the selected time period in Kbytes or Mbytes. Hovering over the chart will display the average response size for that date/time interval. The response size often correlates directly with file size although that is not always the case. For example, a byte range request for a portion of the file will be treated as one request, and therefore average response size is not always equivalent to average actual file size.
Origin Shield Charts
A group of charts specific to your Origin Shielding traffic. Origin Shielding is a feature that can be enabled to offload your origin, causing less load, hits, and bandwidth used from your origin. Each individual chart can be enabled and the details of each charts is described below.
Sub-Charts for Origin Shield
Origin Shield Bandwidth
Origin Shield traffic is charted showing the bandwidth used between the Highwinds PoPs and the Highwinds Shield POPS for the selected time period in Megabits per second. Hovering over the chart will display the maximum Mbps, minimum Mbps, and the date/time interval. Without origin shielding enabled, this bandwidth would have hit the customers origin.
Origin Shield Requests
Origin Shield traffic is charted showing the requests (hits) per second (RPS) made to the Highwinds Shield PoPs for the selected time period. Hovering over the chart will display the maximum RPS, minimum RPS, and the date/time interval. Without origin shielding enabled, these requests per second would have hit the customers origin.
Origin Shield Completion Ratio
Completion Ratio for your Origin Shield traffic is charted showing the % completion. Hovering over the chart will display the completion percentage and the date/time interval.
Origin Shield Total Gigabytes Delivered
Origin Shield traffic is charted showing the total Gigabytes transferred between the shield and PoPs for the selected time period in Gigabytes. Hovering over the chart will display the total GB transferred for that date/time interval. Without origin shielding enabled, these Gigabytes would be additional traffic to and from the customers origin.
Origin Shield Average Response size
The average data transferred between the PoPs and Shield is charted showing the average amount of data transferred for the selected time period in Kbytes or Mbytes. Hovering over the chart will display the average response size for that date/time interval.
HTTP Ingest Charts
A group of charts specific to the traffic ingested to the CDN from your origin. Each individual chart can be enabled and the details of each charts is described below.
Sub-Charts for HTTP Ingest
HTTP Ingest Bandwidth
HTTP Ingest traffic is charted showing the bandwidth between the Highwinds PoPs and the customer's origin for the selected time period in Megabits per second. Hovering over the chart will display the maximum Mbps, minimum Mbps, and the date/time interval.
HTTP Ingest Requests
HTTP Ingest traffic is charted showing the requests (hits) per second (RPS) made to the customers origin for the selected time period. Hovering over the chart will display the maximum RPS, minimum RPS, and the date/time interval.
HTTP Ingest Completion Ratio
Completion Ratio for your HTTP Ingest traffic is charted showing the % completion. A low completion percent may indicate a problem with the CDN communicating to the customer's origin. Hovering over the chart will display the completion percentage and the date/time interval.
HTTP Ingest Total Gigabytes Delivered
HTTP Ingest traffic is charted showing the total Gigabytes transferred between the CDN and the customer's origin for the selected time period in Gigabytes. Hovering over the chart will display the total GB transferred for that date/time interval.
HTTP Ingest Average Delivery Rate
HTTP Ingest traffic is charted showing the average origin request transfer rate for the selected time period in Kbps/Mbps. Hovering over the chart will display the average Mbps rate for that date/time interval.
HTTP Ingest Average Response Size
The average data transferred between the CDN and the origin is charted showing the average amount of data transferred for the selected time period in Kbytes or Mbytes. Hovering over the chart will display the average response size for that date/time interval.
Cache Performance Charts
A group of charts specific to the CDN Caching Performance. Each individual chart can be enabled and the details of each charts is described below.
Sub-Charts for Cache Performance
Gigabytes Cached on Edge
Gigabytes Cached on Edge is charted showing the total Gigabytes stored (cached) on the Highwinds CDN Edge Servers globally. Hovering over the chart will display the total GB cached for that date/time interval.
Object Count Cached on Edge
Object Count Cached on Edge is charted showing the total number of Objects (Files) stored (cached) on the Highwinds CDN Edge Servers globally. Hovering over the chart will display the total number of files for that date/time interval.
Origin Ratio by Requests
Origin Ratio by Requests show the total number of requests (hits) to the origin as a percentage total requests. The percentage is calculated by taking the total number of hits (requests) to the origin divided by the total number of hits to the CDN. The resulting percent shows the percentage of CDN hits that had to also request the content from the origin. These request can include new content not yet ingested and requests to update content already in cache. Content that has lower TTL (Time to Live) values or no-cache content will have a higher percentage of the requests hitting the origin. A lower percentage is desired if possible, and the graph is color coded in green, yellow, and red. If possible it is recommended to obtain an origin ratio line that is in the green area. Green shows very good origin ratio percentage, Yellow is adequate origin ratio percentage, and Red is poor origin ratio percentage.
Origin Ratio by Bandwidth
Origin Ratio by Bandwidth shows the total amount of bandwidth used to and from the origin as a percentage of total bandwidth. The percentage is calculated by taking the total amount of bandwidth used to and from the origin divided by the total amount of CDN bandwidth used. The resulting percent shows the percentage of CDN bandwidth that had to also request the content from the origin. This bandwidth can include new content not yet ingested and bandwidth used to update content already in cache. Content that has lower TTL (Time to Live) values or no-cache content will have a higher percentage of bandwidth to/from the origin. A lower percentage is desired if possible, and the graph is color coded in green, yellow, and red. If possible it is recommended to obtain an origin ratio line that is in the green area. Green shows very good origin ratio percentage, Yellow is adequate origin ratio percentage, and Red is poor origin ratio percentage.
Shield Ratio by Requests
Shield Ratio by Requests show the total number of requests (hits) to the Shield PoP(s) as a percentage of total requests. The percentage is calculated by taking the total number of hits (requests) to the shield POP(s) divided by the total number of hits to the CDN. The resulting percent shows the percentage of CDN hits that had to also request the content from the shield PoP. If a shield POP was not in place, these requests would have directly hit the customer's origin, therefore origin shielding can greatly reduce the request and bandwidth load to the customer's origin. Examples of these requests include include new content not yet ingested and requests to update content already in cache. Content that has lower TTL (Time to Live) values or no-cache content will have a higher percentage of the requests hitting the origin shield. A lower percentage is desired if possible, and the graph is color coded in green, yellow, and red. If possible it is recommended to obtain a shield ratio line that is in the green area. Green shows very good shield ratio percentage, Yellow is adequate shield percentage, and Red is poor shield ratio percentage.
Shield Ratio by Bandwidth
Origin Ratio by Bandwidth shows the total amount of bandwidth used to and from the origin as a percentage. The percentage is calculated by taking the total amount of bandwidth used to and from the origin divided by the total amount of CDN bandwidth used. The resulting percent shows the percentage of CDN bandwidth that had to also request the content from the origin. If a shield POP was not in place, this bandwidth would have been to/from the customer's origin, therefore origin shielding can greatly reduce the request and bandwidth load to the customer's origin. Examples of bandwidth used can include new content not yet ingested and bandwidth used to update content already in cache. Content that has lower TTL (Time to Live) values or no-cache content will have a higher percentage of bandwidth to/from the origin. A lower percentage is desired if possible, and the graph is color coded in green, yellow, and red. If possible it is recommended to obtain a origin ratio line that is in the green area. Green shows very good origin ratio percentage, Yellow is adequate origin ratio percentage, and Red is poor origin ratio percentage.